Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

Sorry!
I couldn't resist.
Actually the tune
has been running
through my head
for days.

My girls used
to sing it all the time
until a local grandmother
was hit by a car while
walking home one
Christmas week.

I did all my Christmas shopping!

Stop! Don't die of envy.

I did my one week-day
before Thanksgiving
shopping spree
through Target.

Target does not sell yarn;
I did not allow myself
to be lured into the book
section for more than
a pass through.

I browsed the toy aisles.
Searched for recognizable names:
found Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs,
and Cinderella coloring books.

The rest of the section was awash.
All those gadgets!

Then I perused DVD's
looking for movies that
would please my grand girls.
I conjured and conjured
my choices- threw up
my hands in despair-
purchased the ones
I would like:
"Little House on the Prairie"
Christmas edition, and
"Dennis the Menace Christmas."

I will mail them early
with coloring books and
stickers... Advent gifts to
tide the girls through the
shoals of pre-Christmas

angst.

The piece-de-resistance
was a comic DVD for
my son-in-law.
The teenager at the
counter checked in
his magic catalog to
determine that it was
NOT
the same one
I bought last year.

Pleased with my purchases,
I gave a nod to padded flannel
jackets- big ticket items in Florida-
something of a conundrum to me,
enjoyed the panorama of
all those decorated trees,
considered buying a CD of
Christmas music but didn't
find one that had my name on it.

Did buy bananas.

Day complete.

Of course, I'll
send cards and checks,
and books-via Amazon-
to the daughters.

And just maybe socks...
as I remember it
I took a lot of flack
for the socks
and underwear
tucked under the tree.

Came home.
Had a glass of wine.
Played my favorite
Christmas tape:
Enya singing carols
in Gaelic.

And washed and blocked
Grace's hand knit wool
socks.

Whole books are
written about finishing
your knitting. Blocking
is an art form.

I've missed the program.
Cold water, machine wash
(light cycle, short wash)
dry on a bath towel on
the dryer.

With a little forethought
you have done a tub
of laundry.

Pat those little socks
into shape (much like
kneading bread, with
practice the hands
remember the rhythm
and with luck the
needed shape appears.

And you can dry a load
laundry at the same time.
It speeds the process along.

Now
I get antsy.

Do they match?

Is the left sock a
tad longer?

Is that a crease near
the toe? Smooth it.

I go back for a look/see
three or four times during
the evening to both
worry and admire
the result.

About the third time
around I'm so suckered
into a new project that
they look fine.

An aside:

I don't do a Christmas
knitting binge.

My mother used
to say, "Everyday is
Christmas for us."

And given her tenement
childhood upbringing
and Depression cursed
youth our middle class
lifestyle was super rich.

So, I knit along and
dispense knitted caps,
hats, mittens, and sweaters
at random.

Any day could be Christmas
on my list.

With luck I won't
be run over by a reindeer.