10 things about month 12

December is such a great month! It gets dark so early, there might be snow, and there are major holidays...and, for those who think this year can't end soon enough, New Year's Eve with all its promises and hopes.

I found a list online of the best things about December.  Holidays are great, and they had them at #1, but look at what else we enjoy in the 12th month:

2. Hot Drinks - I drink hot tea all year long, and even in the hottest dog days of August, I sip the Lipton.  Coffee, not so much, but I like hot tea.

3. Smell - as fall fades away, with the aroma of fallen leaves and crisp air, we get to smell cinnamon and pine and all those winter aromas. Even fake pine air freshener smells better than gardenia air freshener!

4. Winter Clothes - I don't have to modify my wardrobe greatly; it's not a huge deal to switch from cargo shorts to cargo longs. Add a long-sleeve tee under my short-sleeve tee, and you have the complete Brick Heck look that I favor. Timberland boots, Carhartt jacket, a woolen stocking cap and scarf and gloves and I'm ready to go.   

5. Cozy, Cozy, Cozy - Snuggle time is much better than "you're so sticky" time! Pile on the blankets and afghans and turn down the heat!

6. Netflix  We don't Netflix or Hulu or Amazon here.  We do Hallmark Christmas movies with Lacey Chabert and we love 'em! I have installed a Kevin Spacey filter on the cable box.

7. Vay-cay   We are retired.  What would we vacate?

8. Fluffy Snow - yay yay yay!  Let's hear it for those December Snows, which are just practice, rehearsals for those January blizzards.  Any snow that can be swept away with a broom makes the house and yard pretty without straining the back.


9. ABC Family - Again, Marky no watchy, except when "Step By Step" reruns are on. But have you seen "A Family For Christmas" starring Lacey Chabert?  It's on Hallmark, where everything turns out happy in the end and there are no lessons or ponderous morals or symbolism.  In a Hallmark movie, a tree is just a tree, eggnog is eggnog, and nothing is confusing.

10 - A Time for Reflection - In summer we are too busy swabbing sweat off our fevered brows to think about habits to change and new plans to make and resolutions to give up gluten.  December is the perfect time to make those plans.  I hope all of yours work our perfectly.

Please pass the eggnog!