PostChristmas

I have Christmas songs going through my head. In particular: "Feliz Navidad." That's pretty typical of the day after Christmas.

Here we got snow. About 4 or 5 inches. It's still pretty -- it hasn't been destroyed by mud yet. Last night coming home from my Aunt Helen's was a challenge. The snow was coming down and blowing.

All in all, it was a good Christmas.

Bargains

Today I hope to drag Eric out to hunt for bargains. It's the best time to get Christmas wrapping paper. It'll be another couple of weeks before you can get the really good deals on winter clothes. This is how we shop. We very rarely buy things at full price. It's more of a challenge or game than anything else. Though with the way things have been financially lately, it's about all we can do. Still, when I was doing well financially, I still did the bargain-hunting thing. Like I said -- it's a game, really.

Movies

We have so many movies to see! There's the James Bond movie, the Lord of the Rings, the Star Trek movie -- I forget what else. I like to go to the matinees. It's not just that it's half-price, but there are usually fewer people in the theater. Crowds stress me (crowds stress most people), so avoiding them is better than charging headlong into them.

Things Ferrety

We set up the ferrets' rice box in the bedroom. This seems to have roused Gabby a bit. She loves to dig. She'd been getting very bored in the bedroom. We still haven't finished ferretproofing the whole house yet. That's another job. Our incentive is that as soon as we get the place ferretproofed, we'll be able to get some new ferrets! I can hardly wait to add to our little business. Three ferrets is just too few for us. I'm sure many of you know what that's about.

...

About a year ago I left the FML (Ferret Mailing List). With Eric in and out of the hospital with his abscess and me dealing with major depression, dysthymic disorder, and anxiety disorder, I just couldn't deal with some of the pointed criticism and outright attacks by some members of the list. So I left to heal myself. Now I'm feeling better than I have in years. I'm thinking of re-joining and actually being active on the list. I want to be able to do more for ferrets, and now I'm actually feeling up to putting myself out there and doing it. Same goes for the Ferret Health List. But I have to get back into these things slowly. I'm also going to be doing some of the layout on the magazine. Eric is really starting to burn out on the dealing with people thing, so I'm going to get in there and take over a bit.

That's about all for today. I'll be back soon. -- Mary

Musings on Christmastime

I've finished all my Christmas shopping. Finished wrapping. Tonight Eric and I baked gingerbread cookies. I'm looking forward to Christmas this year because I finally feel good again. I'm actually enjoying the lights on my neighbors' houses and the holiday music in the stores. I'm calm and pleasant as I make my way through crowded grocery stores and shopping malls. I wish I could say it's just the Christmas spirit, but we all know it's that I've finally found an antidepressant medication that kicks butt. It's about time. It has taken about a year to get me to this point. I have to say that the way I feel now, it was worth the trial and error. I have not felt this good in a very long time (years). Kudos to Forest Pharmaceuticals.

Grinching

Ok, so not all is joyous in my corner of the universe. I've thought about it for the past two weeks or so and I've decided that I don't like those giant inflatable snowmen and Santas that people around here (and around you, too?) have put on their front lawns. It's that old American motto: "If big is good, bigger is better." No. Not really. Every time I see one of these snowmen I think, "Stay-Puf Marshmallow Man" from Ghostbusters. The Santas are just disturbing. It's like Land of the Giants or what was that movie with the giant chicken? Mysterious Island? Can we expect to see giant Easter Bunnies this spring? (Day of the Lapis, was that the name of that awful flick with DeForest Kelley?) What's next? Giant baby Jesuses? Please. No.

As I drive from here to there during these holidays, I try to focus on the brightly lit homes without the giant thises or thats. I don't mind the overdone homes -- the ones you know will have a serious electric bill for December. Humans are like that: drawn to shiny things. I'm no exception. It's only dangerous if I'm driving.

Ferrets

The ferrets are all well. Gabby had her rabies shot and Koosh his distemper shot last week. All three fuzzies go for teeth cleaning on January 2nd. Although we try to keep up with keeping their teeth clean, it can be a challenge. This past year has been particularly difficult, with Eric being sick much of the time (even doing a superficial teeth cleaning takes two of us -- especially on Koosh). So we'll have it done and start with fresh, clean teeth again.

That's about it for now. I'll let you all know how my Christmas goes. I'm always excited to see how people like the presents I got them.

I hope you and yours have a very happy, healthy, and safe holiday. --Mary

Snow Day!

Today we got snow. This is what our little bear outside looks like:

Tomorrow, I'll clean him off and put a wreath around his neck. I finished my Christmas shopping. Really. I'm shocked, too. But I did it.

That's about it for now. --Mary