Christmas? What Christmas?

I'm feeling a little discombobulated this year. Why? Well, first of all, in a normal year, I would have had the house decorated for the holidays by now. But, because I came down with the flu at the beginning of prime holiday decorating time, that hasn't happened. Hubby got the tree up and the lights on by yesterday evening, but that's about it. In fact, we've moved backward since then, because Stitch seems to like the lights better when half the string is hanging off the branches on the floor. (Everybody here thinks they're a decorator! Sheesh!)

I've also noticed when visiting some blogs lately that the entries go pretty quickly from photos of Halloween to photos of Christmas stuff. That seems really weird to me! What holiday season IS this? And to be honest, I suspect my own blog does the same thing--after all, I WAS having those peppermint dreams a few weeks back.

I think we have holidays figured out wrong here in the U.S.--we do Thanksgiving too late. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls in early October. I like that! Then there are other countries that don't celebrate Thanksgiving at all, nor do they celebrate Halloween--which means there's much more time to start on Christmas.

I'm sitting here drinking a cup of hot chocolate (with marshmallows), trying to muster up the holiday spirit. I'm finally feeling better--or better enough to go back to work, at any rate--but I don't know if I have the energy or enthusiasm yet to get excited about Christmas. Part of me is wondering whether it might not be easier to just forget about decorating this year because of Stitch's proclivity to get into mischief. So, I don't know. I think my mood is directly influenced by the flu bug, but if I don't dive head first into decorating by this weekend, I don't think it will get done this year at all--after all, Christmas is only a few weeks away! Bah Humbug!

On one positive note--I DID finish a Christmas quilt and got it hung. So now we have a lit but undecorated tree and a Christmas quilt. Festive, eh?! Ah, here's a photo--

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you might remember this quilt--it's called Christmas List and it was a BOM class I took at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks. The pattern is by Donna Yackey. (You can call Bearpaws & Hollyhocks for info on the pattern--they can either get it in for you or put you in touch with someone.)

So, that's one thing done, more or less--I actually still need to find the box of Christmas greenery and decorate that bare quilt rod.

How about you? Have you found your inner Christmas? If so, any suggestions? Directives? Words of wisdom and encouragement? Want my address so you can come over here and kick me in the you-know-what to get me jump started? 'Cause I could use all the help I can get. Heck, I can't even seem to manage to drink hot chocolate right--I keep ending up with half-melted marshmallows stuck to my upper lip, just out of reach of my tongue! Pretty pathetic, right? I just hope the neighbors aren't watching. I bet I look awfully silly sitting here with my tongue sticking out!