'Twas the disconnect before Christmas

I'm feeling really disconnected the past few days. I'm sure it's the anticipation of Christmas, Tom being home for almost 2 weeks and feeling like my routine has been disrupted. I had to run some errands today and picked up 10 pounds of potatoes and a gallon of milk since I was there. I need to go back to town tomorrow because I don't know what Christmas Eve day will be like and I want to get the altar set up in case I can't make it there because of icy roads.

I need to block my beaded scarf so I can wear it Christmas Eve but I don't see me moving any time soon. I bought a black fleece shirt to wear because I don't have any black winter shirts and I have accessories that would only go with black...like the beaded scarf. I got Zach a black fleece shirt, too, because he hasn't gotten any winter clothes since last year, and then only one shirt. He needs new clothes from time to time, too.

And then I got the pets their Christmas gifts. A dachshund-looking toy and a couple of cans of gourmet food for Professor. One of those round plastic toys with a channel that has a ball in it the cat can "chase" around the circle for Hannibal. And some cans of gourmet food.

But I absolutely have to stop spending money. It will take us 3 months to catch up from this splurge.

I don't know how much work I'll be able to get done with Tom home. Our house is really tiny so working around each other is nearly impossible. Usually he stays upstairs in his room where he can smoke and mess around with the computer but probably not that many days in a row. I'd like for him to put the new/old water heater in. We got it from freecycle last summer. Ours is rusty and leaking and while this one isn't new, it's not rusty and the woman swore it didn't leak. Whatever tasks he does over the holidays it can't cost us any more money.

I'd like to get the pantry organized but it's impossible to have two people in the kitchen at the same time so that might have to wait until he's gone back to work after the first of the year.

I could catch up on reading and knitting and watching dvds I got from the library. Maybe I should take a vacation before the flurry of cleaning and organizing goes on. And I need to order some seed catalogs, too. I could dig into my Encyclopedia of Country Living and the seed catalog and get ready for the February planting of seedlings. Where I'm going to put them is another matter though. The cat does love to eat the seedlings and I have only two windows that I can use for them.

Our water bill is going to monthly, which I do prefer, but they're adding some new fees to it so I'm wondering what other new fees are going to show up. Still working with a 15% pay cut and the cost of living has skyrocketed. We just can't get a chance to breathe.

Well, off to finish up the kitchen and then off to bed for Paranormal State (which is disappointing this season so far) and then more Midsomer Murders. One sock to go and then back to my cardigan. And I found a shawl pattern to crochet that I must start. I have enough yarn to start it stashed away and I do like to have a crochet project going on.

TTFN