Blue Santa

It was still warm when I wrote on Saturday.  On Sunday, the day the front was supposed to move in, I kept waiting and waiting til it got cold (it was supposed to happen sometime late afternoon), and finally around 8:00PM gave up and started out.  It was JUST starting to get a little windy out there, and my neighbor John cautioned me that he's seen a few bolts of lightening.  I like to live dangerously, and I cheerfully waved him off.  But I did take the precaution of tying a sweatshirt around my waste, just in case, and boy did it come in handy!  The front was in full force about 45 minutes in, and it was glorious.  The wind really picked up as Banks and I went north on Congress, down the loooong hill, past all the outdoor restaurants and clubs (Banks tried to crash the Continental Club, and the bouncer said "Sorry, Petie, it's a $15 cover charge").  The trip back uphill was exhilarating.  Those of you in the north or the east just cannot understand how wonderful it is to finally get Christmas weather after eight months of 80 degrees. 

So Monday was my day off, and then this morning -- whoa!  A scarf-wearing, face-chapping, nose-running gallop around Stacy Park.  Banks absolutely goes crazy in weather like this.  It brings out the puppy in him, and is such a far cry from the indifferent, lethargic summer companion who really starts to show his age around mid-June.

I've been holding off posting today because I was holding out for a picture that Cindy snapped of our GNO group last night at Chuy's, which she hasn't been able to forward to me yet because she's having problems with her new phone (tell me about it -- mine is so antiquated I can't even figure out how to retrieve my voice messages), so I'll get it to you later.  But about four years ago, we started the best Christmas tradition.  We decided that, as all of us are adults with decent jobs, and do not really need another bracelet, or gift card, or book for Christmas, we would draw names, and each buy what we thought that particular woman's childhood self would have wanted for Christmas.  We wrap our presents, take them to Chuey's, present them to each other, and then place them in the Blue Santa gift bin.  It is SO much more fun that the usual, sedate gift exchange.  Whoever gets Brian's name always goes for the tomboy toys (like a tool set or a fire engine), Janette's gifts reflect her show biz/drama queen future, Cindy's are the traditional girly things like dolls and child-sized kitchens, and I'm not sure anyone knows exactly what to do with me.  But it's a blast and it gets more elaborate every year.  Janette is going to do a short write-up and hope to get it published in Guideposts magazine next year.

Try it!