What we have to look forward to... the Post Office

I purchased this punch bowl from waringhomestead, a shop on etsy on December 16. The very nice owner of the shop shipped it on the 18th. Delivery Confirmation shows it was accepted by the Post Office on that date. I figured there was a chance it would be here for Christmas...great for eggnog I thought. It was coming from OH to MD. Expected Delivery date was the 24th. The next scan was on the 24th at the Capitol Heights sorting facility. I had hoped it would be here for Christmas but really didn't expected to be. Well it is still sitting at the sorting facility today. It will be interesting to see when it will arrive.

I had this problem with oh so many of the packages I shipped to customers before Christmas. At one point I had a number of packages sitting for 6 days in the Baltimore facility. These were all Priority Mail and they took at least 8 days to be delivered. Another package, shipped on December 1 sat in the Baltimore facility until 18th and was delivered, finally on the 20th. It was going to MI. The customer of this order was very understanding, thank goodness. I had one person who purchased several signs from me file a non-delivery case with one of the venues where I sell my signs. She didn't seem to understand that the package was shipped, even with the tracking info supplied. Once I put it in the Post Office system, the time it takes is out of my hands. It sat in the Baltimore sort facilitiy from December 12th until it reappeared at the TX Post Office on the 18th and was delivered on the 19th.

Another local crafter told me that the sorting facility in Frederick, MD had closed. This info supplied by her local Post Office when she asked why shipping was taking so long. It will truly be interesting to see what happens as more Post Offices are closed.

As for the red glass punch bowl...I guess I can use it for 4th of July...Independence Punch maybe? Just hope it will be delivered by then!

And I Think to Myself...What a Wonderful World

The weeks leading up to Christmas this year were crazier than the normal crazy of years past. Our living room, which has been torn apart for months for a redo due to a leaky roof, was put on hold until the roof was replaced, a huge job as two layers of roofing needed to be removed before the new roof could be put on. With the help of our daughter Meagan and son by love Erik, my brother John, Lou's brother Charly, nephew Nicolaus, and family friend Paul, Lou was able to replace the roof on Thanksgiving weekend. We have certainly been blessed with a wonderful family and how thankful I am to them for their help. Son by love Chad, otherwise known as the Darlin' D's Daddy, helped Lou replace the crown moulding and other woodwork in living room the weekend before Christmas.

I had planned to put the tree in the living room as it is a larger room than the family room and wow am I glad I decided not to wait and set the tree up in the family room instead because on Tuesday Lou was just sanding the spackled ceiling. While it's wonderful to have a hubbie who can do everything, it ends up being the old tale of the shoemakers children going barefoot. On Wednesday, Lou had a problem with his back, so the painting of the room was down to one roller and brusher...me! But, I believe in the fear that I might run away from home, the dear man rallied on Thursday and we were able to get everything painted but the mouldings around the doors and windows. The morning of Christmas Eve, with the help of Meagan and Erik, we had the furniture back in place, curtains on the window.

Then, at 7:45 the evening of the 24th, I am tucking the bottle of window cleaner under the kitchen sink and find the floor of the cabinet covered with water. The trap under the sink had a hole in it and when touched it just fell apart into tiny pieces. Of course no store that would carry replacement parts is open on Christmas Eve...so an empty spackle bucket was tucked under the cabinet, which made it possible to use the water for Christmas morning, however dishes had to be washed in the bathroom sink.

Even with all the delay and drama, our Christmas was wonderful.
Holly, Chad, Dylan and their dog Dre slept here on Christmas Eve.
Dylan hung his stocking on the family room fireplace.

In the morning, my family was here for a breakfast of kielbasa, egg casserole, crumb cake, French toast casserole and fresh fruit.
However, before we ate we all watched "the child" open gifts.

Lucy enjoyed her gift...
a pink flamingo and it took all of 30 seconds to get the squeaker out of it

Dylan helped Dre opened his present.

And in the evening, at Lou's sister's home, I was able to get this photo of Holly, niece Jamie and niece Leslie. All 3 will be having babies in 2012. Those of you who have been followers of this blog for a while, may remember that Holly and Leslie were expecting at the same time in 2009. Holly had Dylan 2 weeks after Leslie had Cali. The second babies are also due 2 weeks apart and both are girls. It will be several weeks before we know if Jamie is having a boy or a girl.
The next generation of cousins...

And I Think to Myself...What a Wonderful World.

Christmas in Hampden...Hon

Photo by Maryland Artist Edwin Remsberg

Great photo of the Christmas lights and decorations in Baltimore's neighborhood of Hampden.
The 600 block of 34th Street is the most decorated block in town every Christmas.

Here is a link for a video of Baltimore's Miracle on 34th St.

Also this year, at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore there is a laser light show on the Power Plant Building. It's quite magical.
Link for Light Show

Trimming the Tree

After a crazy couple of weeks with an abundance of orders to make and ship, I actually was able to get our Christmas tree decorated with the help of my favorite boy.

He was so serious about getting those ornaments to stay on the branches.

Just loved having such a wonderful helper. I am finally finding some Christmas Spirit.
I've been a humbug for weeks.