Re-thinking My Re-Thinking Post

This morning I got to thinking (or rather re-thinking) my "to-do" list for the next two weeks. Christmas Eve and Day don't have to turn into the be-all of the holiday anymore. Heck, I can drag it out all the way to New Year's! My own re-invented version of the season. ;)

So I down-sized my shopping list since I was a bit apprehensive about how long my knee would last and decided to make my ham shank affair sometime between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. I'll probably make a no-brainer comfort food like Chicken and Dumplings, for Christmas to eliminate my stress. It's such an easy recipe.

Funny, this blog has helped me see how carried away I can get with ideas to comfort myself through the holiday...mainly food oriented. What happens is that I go overboard and wind up overwhelming myself to the point of doing nothing. Just a lot of energy and stress to no end. This is then followed by guilt. I'm only entertaining me :)  for heaven's sake. And while I deserve it, it shouldn't exhaust and depress me. Kind of defeats the purpose.

So, as I said in an earlier post, simplifying. Maybe one special nosh every other day. Frankly, I get so much happiness from writing these posts knowing I have a family of sorts around the globe that reads them, that I'd rather hit the keyboard than try to re-create the holidays of past. Holidays that now only live in my memories.

If I feel energetic enough, maybe I'll clear a portion of my desk and drag out my 4-in-1-printer. It's an HP. Why I bought that brand I'll never know, but it was a good price at the time. Sadly HP inks are not as stable as Epson Dura-bright ink (my printer of choice for the last umpteen years) and will smear at the slightest touch of moisture, like your finger. But maybe it'll scan nicely. Then I'll print out whatever on my Epson.

Once I figure the scanner out, I'll start uploading some of my old family photos. Also need to sign up with a service that backs up my computer once a day. After losing so much this summer, I really should. But we'll see how it goes.

I wrote yesterday that I'd try to take some pictures while I'm out, but don't know what I'll find. It's not the eerie "Twilight" type of gloom, with fog, woods and trees covered in moss and bracken. Just boring grey.

Mr. Blue and I had a most excellent game of tug-of-war with Rocky Raccoon, his unstuffed "roadkill" toy. So now the little dear, after spending some time under my chair here, has retired to his little red bed. He's such a sweetie.

Last night before I went to bed I noticed Laurie Eno over at the Daily Corgi blog had a post on "herding Corgis" which was very interesting. Showed a whole 'nother side of this tenacious little breed. You should give it a look, there are two short videos. It always amazes me that such a short little dog was the result of breeding for the purpose of herding cattle in Wales. Cattle are huge by comparison!

P.S. After taking the trash out, I was so pooped that I decided to forage in the garage pantry and freezer for dinner rather than go out. I am soooo out of shape! Once back in the house, I pulled out the South Beach Diet book which I will be reviving after the holidays.

I figure that if I drop about 15 pounds, it'll be less stress on my knee making it easier to exercise. At a certain point in life, you just learn that diet alone won't be enough, working out is needed. I'm just too young to feel this ancient.

P.P.S. No new photos unless I take some of my backyard and there's nothing new there. It just looks more pathetic in the gloomy light. Oh, for a little fog.