Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
For many years, as a child, I remember that on Christmas Eve, around 8:00 pm, the phone would ring. Mom always answered the phone and announced that Santa had been spotted by one of the neighbors on our street. A few minutes later, Dad would say, “I thought I heard something at the door!” Our family always stayed in the den at the back of the house, and sure enough, Santa walked through the door carrying a big bag of presents. Santa’s visits went on for at least three, maybe four years.
I was so excited that I forgot he was supposed to come through the chimney. I was a little suspicious because after he left, I would run to the backyard and look for the sleigh and reindeer, but I never spotted them.
Ready or not, here I come!
The last time Santa visited our den, I noticed a distinctive ring on Santa’s finger. The ring belonged to Brownie, our next-door neighbor. By using my deductive powers, I figured out who Santa was! Then it all came together: he always arrived at 8:00 pm, the phone always alerted us of his arrival, he always went through the back door, and I never saw or heard his sleigh or reindeer.
Ratchet forward twenty years! I got to play Santa for my nieces, Hannah and Lisa. I remember excusing myself and going to the garage to put on the suit. Sue assisted me in stuffing the pillow in my belly, and right before I departed for our back door, Sue reminded me to take off my ring. Sue was also aware that the next-door neighbor was Santa when she was a little girl!
We were up and moving around 7:00 am, planning our day, which now consists of a trip to Macy’s for a new dress for Dr. Mary, then to Orange Hills Farmers Market to get steaks for tomorrow night’s early birthday dinner. Robin and Bob will be coming over, and Chef Bob will perform magic on the steaks and whip up some of his twice-baked potatoes. We will supply plenty of grog and dessert. In three more days, I will turn 81, and I am hoping the old body will return to normal!
Oh my!!
We went to South Coast Plaza and visited Macy’s, where Dr. Mary found two new “dress-up” dresses and two pairs of fabulous shoes. She was like a kid in a candy store. I shop with her, doing the heavy lifting. We were in and out of there in about 45 minutes; we are NOT shoppers!
Shopping we will go!
After the shopping spree, we needed food, and we went to our hangout, Benji’s. We tried one of the local Mexican chains, but it was packed to the gills; it must be Christmas party time.
We had lunch at Benji’s
We went to Pacific Ranch Market to pick up some great steaks for tomorrow’s “early birthday dinner”. We got three fillet mignon and a New York Strip. The meat quality at this market is exceptional.
Robin and Chef Bob are coming over tomorrow to celebrate my birthday early, since we are already committed to an event on the 16th.
We are talking thick steaks!
Yummy!!! (ps For $46 a pound, they come home and cook it for you!)
Our power went off at 9:00 am, and SCE said it would be back on at 4:00 pm. Well, we got power back on around 8:30 pm, so we sat around the table making phone calls and drinking wine, hic. We managed to kill off 1 1/2 bottles before heading to the TV room.
The power was out all day!
After a few calls, Dr. Mary wanted to visit the crime scene, so we walked a couple of blocks to see SCE equipment being used to restore power. They must have had 15 trucks and a large crew working hard.
They were still working at 7:00 pm.
When power returned, we were talking to our son Joe, who was at LAX returning from an all-week conference in New Orleans.
We turned on TCM and started watching “Christmas in Connecticut,” but it lasted only about 10 minutes. A famous writer and expert on marriage and homemaking is asked by her publisher to host a national hero for Christmas dinner at her renowned Connecticut home. Still, she must scramble to keep the secret that she’s single, can’t cook, and doesn’t own a home.
We shut off the movie and headed to bed,
I checked the list one more time!
It took us 13 seconds to fall asleep! Sitting in the dark requires a lot of energy!
