yet more christmas insanity and a pleasant surprise.

It still hasn't snowed here. But it's been very humid and foggy, so the trees and all the available surfaces have a good covering of hoarfrost , so it looks like it snowed, kind of. This morning was very foggy.



But then it cleared up.



The frost is damned slippery though and I almost ate it like 12 times today. You can't see that the ground is slippery, but oh my oh my it is slipperier than a greased pig. And, to continue the colorful expressions, I've been busier than a one armed paper hanger in a windstorm today. So I've done alot of walkin' and slippin'.

I had to do the big Christmas grocery shop today. So did the rest of Norway. All of us packed into the one Ultra grocery store, and everyone with big carts, all trying to get past that damned bottleneck in the frozen foods aisle. Maybe, just MAYBE, it's a good idea to NOT put up the giant animated scary talking ho ho ho-ing Santa Claus right in the middle of the frozen foods on the busiest shopping day of the year? I dunno, just an idea. Arg. He hit me with his big animated meaty waving arm when I got stuck standing under him. I almost punched him.

Anyhow, I pushed on through and got my turkey breast for $12 a pound. (I could have had a whole turkey for cheaper, but did not WANT a whole turkey, not for two of us. I did that LAST Christmas and had so much leftover turkey I could still be eating it NOW if I wanted to.) I also got a Juleskinke (a ham) and sundry other items that all ended up costing an assload more than I expected. But what the hell it's Christmas and I finally got into the spirit of the beknighted thing, like, TODAY. I even bought a tiny little cypress tree to be a Christmas tree slash outdoor plant. It's cute. And soft and furry. I just like to pet it.

The surprising thing was...today? At the Ultra? They had BAGGERS. Yes, a person who took my things and placed them in bags FOR ME. I could have DIED I was so thrilled. I told the young man (yes, I use terms like "young man" now that I am old) that there are people who do this for a living in the US and he didn't really believe me. Then, when I told him that the baggers will also take your items to your car for you, he was verily blown away. See, a cultural exchange, right there at the overpriced grocery store. He did a GREAT job bagging by the way. Nothing squooshed, nothing mashed, all as it should be. You Weegies sure are taught good bagging skills at an early age!

Anyhow, here is a picture of what is passing for Christmas decor Chez Texpatriate this year. We are fairly minimal, though I do have alot of tree decorations from past years. This year, though, it's just us and a house with alot of red accents.



And, thank effing god, it's the winter solstice, which means the days from here on out get longer. It'll still get dark really early for a while, but each day we gain light, and that is heartening. We all wait for Christmas not only for the holiday, but also because we know the darkness has reached its end......