just beginning to look….

It is November 3rd.  And it really is just beginning to look like Christmas.  Already.

Back in the day I could have had it start to look like Christmas in September.  Waiting until after Halloween was over just about killed me.

Then I married my man and moved to California.  Unless you are a shopping mall or something else retail-related, Christmas doesn't start until after Thanksgiving - at the END of NOVEMBER!  Plus my grinch-and-scrooge-had-a-baby-and-gave-birth-to-Eric husband banned Christmas music until November 1st.  So I finally got used to containing my Christmas enthusiasm to one simple month (plus a few extra weeks for some good music).

Well, now I am back in Canada and back to the Christmas starts after Halloween.  But I'm not into it.  Nope.  No desire.  It'll come - don't you worry - it'll come.  But for now I am just watching everyone else put up their lights.  Granted, the reality is, now is the time to put up lights…. it is still fairly mild, so get it done when it isn't minus 100.  But having them up doesn't mean turning them on.  Just saying.

Christmas shopping, on the other hand, has hit fully.  In fact I am dying to get lists and get 'er done.  My children, however, don't seem to want anything for Christmas.

The other day, while visiting my mom, I saw this little treasure in the common room:

I didn't even know that Sears still made a Wishbook!!  But they do!!  We spent hours upon hours looking at those each year…. marking them all up with the things we wanted.  Good times, good memories.

And we had another little Christmasy sign the other day:

It didn't stay.  And that was the first and only snow so far.  It's pretty late by my memory to only have had that little bit of the white stuff.

And admittedly, I was happy for it.  But now that it has been a little nicer again, I'm fine without it.  Really, just fine.  But when it happens - when we have some full on snow - I'll be ready and I'll be happy.  Especially if it is in December!