Uncle! And A Very Merry Christmas...

Merry Christmas!

On the eve of this very special holiday, I want to wish you and yours all the brightest and the merriest!

I am so sorry to have worried you by not being online to blog. I fear if I even tried to explain in detail what has transpired these last few weeks, it would keep you here beyond the New Year. But I feel you are owed an explanation, and you know me, I'm a chattering magpie so here goes! BUT if you just want to look at the pictures and skip the explanation, feel free.

In a nutshell, I cancelled every holiday activity I had because the House Tour took it out of both Mr. Magpie and me. The preparation for it was day and night for weeks on end... painting, repairing, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, pruning, planting,adding a section of fence, moving all sorts of things, etc. The good news is the structure stood as over 1200 people came through our Victorian cottage retreat on the tour (they gave out at least that many brochures at our house and ran out!), and over 1600 tickets were sold. So we are not exactly sure how many people came through (at least the 1200, but possibly more), but it was a huge success which pleased the girls. And the other houses were fun to see. The only downside was tiredness and the fact that our sisal rugs were destroyed, but it was all for a good cause! And I have lots of pictures for you which several of you had requested. I will share after the New Year. :-)



And yes, that's the tour train dropping people off by the hundreds! ;-)

After that was over, I literally collapsed for several days (Lisa can testify) and couldn't get out of bed as Mr. Magpie battled a sinus infection, and then I had to show the house which meant undoing the "live" decorations the garden club did that died before the week was out and spiffing with fakes and other greens....



Then it was frost blankets both before and after the tour to protect our new plantings and also our tropicals (our banana trees, glimpsed beyond the candles, didn't make it!)...



Then it dawned on me that I hadn't bought the first Christmas gift for ANYONE except my MIL, and I had to scurry day and night to shop for over 30 people and for stocking stuffers for 14 and ferry all that out of St. Augustine to our home where I hadn't put up the first Christmas decoration and still have the Thanksgiving out where it sits on Christmas Eve...



So shop I did, and I kept promising myself that if I could get it all done, THEN I could blog...



And yes, I had visibility out of the back of the window through that one hole you see there! ;-)



I finally got home and thought I was HOME FREE! I had the one frivolous day (one in over a month!), the one I couldn't wait to have with my precious Cecelia...



We wore hats...



We chattered (on the tête-à-tête)...



We played...



We made ornaments (for Cecelia to give to her family)...



We danced (or she and various critters danced)...



We sang and sang and sang (she LOVES to sing)...



We ate mac and cheese and made Christmas cookies (and ate most of them, but managed to save a few for Clement!)...



We played charades...



And laughed...



And we made wonderful memories, THE BEST, because you're only eight once!



And then what I thought was an allergy, turned out not to be. I became very ill and was in bed with fever for days. Mr. Magpie was out of town, so friends came to my aid and left food on my doorstep and medicine. God bless them every one!

After being in bed for days, I was so excited to see Mr. Magpie, and when today dawned, I realized it was Christmas Eve (we have cancelled our plans due to my illness... though Mr. Magpie will visit with our good friends at their homes), and we will spend a quiet Christmas here thanks to the good folks at Cracker Barrel! They are fixing our meal for us, and their cornbread dressing is as good as homemade!



Even though every Christmas of my life has been filled with family and friends and hub-bub, I decided that Christmas doesn't has to be limited to a day (the wisemen, after all, came after the big event), and we are going to celebrate Christmas another weekend with our dear friends. In the mean time, Mr. Magpie and I are going to spend a quiet Christmas together, giving thanks for all the blessings that God has poured out on both us, this country, and the world...



As to blogging, I am still having coughing fits, and I will do my best to try to get back in the swing of things as my health permits. Just know I have missed you and thought of you often.

I want to thank each and every one of you who left such kind messages at Eddie's blog and mine. You are each so loved, and I thank God for your friendship which is a treasure beyond worth. I also thank God for the treasure of His son, the Savior, whose birth we celebrate tomorrow and with the angels proclaim:

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!"

Warmly and with all good wishes for a Merry, Merry Christmas...

Mrs. Magpie (Sheila)