the numbers game

     two hundred and thirty

     one hundred (for men)

     one hundred (for women)

     thirty (for kids)

That is how many socks the youth stuffed Sunday night for Casey's socks.

There were at least a dozen youth and leaders there to stuff.

We got them all stuffed, tied and carried over to Wesley Hall where they will stay until Christmas Eve morning when they are given away.

It is quite a sight to see three tables heavy-laden with all the "stuffings".

We granted the wishes of a few men who, last year, asked for t-shirts. Not only did I remember their wish, but will be giving the men choices as to what size t-shirt they would like.

Sometimes there are a few people who don't appreciate the hard work that goes into this.

It doesn't matter to me. My hope (and prayer) is that at least one person, on Christmas Eve morning, will appreciate this gift.

It is also amazing to me that we did actually finish the socks. There was a moment around 6:15pm that I wasn't sure we would be done by 7pm.

It didn't hurt that I told the youth: for every ten socks you stuff, you get a piece of candy.

Have I mentioned I am not above bribery?

I would have loved to have posted pictures.

But we needed all hands on-deck to stuff. And only at the end of the night, when the socks had been carried away and we were cleaning up, did I remember my camera.

Drat.

In my mind I took lots of pictures.

I did take pictures of the kitchen with its final coat of paint. And the snowflakes now hanging on the sliding glass door. Let it snow!!! (Don't forget to cut, paint or otherwise craft a snowflake to send/give to me to hang, help me fill the door!)

the day before Christmas

Yes, it is also known as Christmas Eve . Bill pointed that out this morning at 7:05 when we were standing in Wesley Hall waiting to serve breakfast. We were making small talk (only so many cooks in the kitchen, so we were being good Christians and chatting it up) and I said something that included those words. It was too early for my brain to think.

I am a morning person (they do not enjoy my enthusiasm at workcamp if you'll recall), but I hadn't been awake long enough this morning.

It's Christmas Eve.

'Twas the night before Christmas (see? I wonder where I got it from) and all through the house, the cats were snoring loud enough to wake a mouse.

Seriously. As I type this, the snoring that is emitting from our two precious cats is humorous. Have you ever heard a cat snore? If not, you are welcome to come over and witness it first hand.

I really should get up and go assemble the breakfast casserole, er one-dish breakfast.

Merry Christmas Eve and Merry day-before-Christmas, whichever you prefer!

Christmas Eve Miscellaneous

It's Christmas Eve and this is what it's like in the Uebbing household aka a house with no kids:

At 5:50am Bill woke up before his alarm which woke me up. We got dressed and had some breakfast before leaving to go serve breakfast to those less fortunate than us. You can read more about here, at Bill's blog. He did a great job explaining it. We worked the 7-9am shift. We both stood near the entrances and welcomed everyone as they came in. Bill greeted them first at one set of doors while I stood at the doors into Wesley Hall (why yes, we are United Methodists) and made sure they knew which doors to exit and that they would get their stuffed socks over there too. Almost every single person thanked us, and I managed to get at least a "Good Morning" out of everyone. Most of our guests also wished me a Merry Christmas or a blessing of some sort. I returned the Merry Christmas wishes, having decided last year that saying "Happy Holidays" inside of the church seemed somewhat sacrilege and if they were going to come inside the church for breakfast they should hear "Merry Christmas".

We were relieved by the next shift of volunteers promptly at 9am at which point Bill and I then headed over to West Coast Coffee. We enjoyed bagels, coffee and the company of the proprietor, Doug who is a high school buddy of Bill's.

I just finished cleaning the bathroom and Bill has removed the caulk from around the tub. We are letting it dry out before re-caulking. We have presents to finish wrapping, I have a few things to make in the kitchen and then we'll head back to church for the 9pm service. In the meantime we'll enjoy some tv and relax.

Atticus has not chewed through his present yet! I think he still thinks it's upstairs in the closet. He is after all a cat.

And that is what it's like on Christmas Eve in a house with no kids. Just in case you were wondering.