Morning Glory

MoK over at Six Degrees of Blondness tagged me earlier in the week …

1. Wrapping or gift bags? Wrapping. I enjoy picking out the perfect gift-wrap, tying the ribbons, and writing the tags. I only use gift bags for the really awkward shapes.

2. Real or artificial tree? I’ve had an artificial tree for years. The only time I don’t like it is when I have to figure out how to get it back into the box for storage. This year (for the second year in a row) I only put up a small, 2′ table-top tree. I’m the only person here on Christmas morning, so I just don’t see the point in putting up a big tree. Perhaps when grandkids come along, I’ll go back to the big one.

3. When do you put up the tree? Traditionally, on Christmas Eve. Over the years, it’s been moved back to the weekend immediately before Christmas. The little tabletop version went up the second weekend of December, when I put up the rest of my Christmas decorations.

4. When do you take the tree down? New Year’s Day, or the first weekend after that. Growing up (back in the olden days), everyone had real trees. Our neighborhood had a community bonfire on New Year’s Day, and everyone brought their dried-out Christmas tree to the beach by the lake to feed the fire. Those bonfires are among my happiest childhood memories.
5. Do you like eggnog? No, I LOVE eggnog. Especially with a little fresh-ground nutmeg and a splash of spiced rum.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Definitely my first pair of figure skates, with the big pink pom-poms with the jingle bells on them.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes. It’s set up under my 2′ Christmas tree.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? That would have to be the new kitchen faucett given to me by my ex-husband one year.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards? E-mail, mostly to faraway family in Canada and the mid-west that I know I won’t get to see over the holidays.

10. Favorite Christmas movie? Tough one. Probably It’s a Wonderful Life.

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). This year, I was able to get all but one gift online. I haven’t been to the mall in years.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? There’s no part of our traditional Christmas dinner that I couldn’t get any other time of the year, except the eggnog (and I could have that, too, if I made it myself). I love ribbon candy, especially the spice flavors.

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree? I’m a pretty colorful person, so I have go with colored lights.

14. Favorite Christmas song? “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

And now, for the disclaimer:

1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.

2. Share Christmas facts about yourself.

3. Tag random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

Mark at By My Troth

Sandy at Sassy Sistah

4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

At this point in my life, I’ve spent almost as much time living in the Carolinas (24 years) as in New Jersey (26 years). But apparently, I still talk like a Yankee.

Back in February, I put up a post called “Favorite Toys Meme“.  It got no more than the usual traffic, until July 4th.  Since then, it’s been getting about 40 hits a day; as best as I can tell, the hits are coming from the search terms “Barbie” and “Rock-Em, Sock-Em Robots”, in about equal shares.

Does anyone know why the sudden interest in these two toys?

Or forgotten, as the case may be. How many US presidents can you name in 10 minutes? They don’t have to be in order, and all you need remember is their last names. Oh, and how to spell them.

I was able to come up with thirty-three within three minutes. (The first five, and all but two that served in the 20th-21st Centuries - 10 of whom were in my lifetime - plus a few notables from the 19th Century)

Two more minutes garnered one more (19th Century) name. I let the clock run out, but was unable to come up with any of the remaining nine.

There were actually three presidents in office in 1881 alone, and I forgot all three of them! (HINT - the first was in office at the beginning of the year, but left when his successor took office in late January. The second was assassinated later the same year, which put the third into office.)  The same is true of 1841, except the death was due to natural causes, not assassination.

Of the four that were assassinated while in office, I was only able to remember two.

Be ready to start as soon as you click the link. Just type the last names into the box, and the chart will be filled in for you.

Click here to play.

H/T to El Capitan for the link!

Sassy Sister put up a picture of herself taken with her dad when she was just a wee little thing, and it inpired me to start a new meme. We all have ‘em folks - pictures taken when we were toddlers and younger. I’ve posted mine, taken around 1960 on the front porch of my grandparent’s house “down the shore” in New Jersey.

TAGGED: Hammer, MoK, and Army of Mom. Post an old picture of yourself and tag three or four people to do the same.