Pre-Christmas Celebrations

Mr. Husband bought me a very nice tea

for my birthday at Martha's church,

from St. Elizabeth's Skete in upstate NY.

It has raspberry leaves, lemongrass and mint.

Also a Christmas CD that is calm, soothing 

songs of Christmas from the Orthodox tradition;

it almost seems like folk singing but purer.

Mr. Husband's Mom shared with us a tin of cookies

that we are keeping for Christmas time.

It was also Mr. Husband's name's day

and so I set up a small tea on the couch for us

on New Year's Eve,

the day after his Name's Day.

I wrapped up two of the books I got for him.*

This was also the extent of our New Year's celebrations.

We ate one piece of chocolate each,

leaving two bars wrapped 

(I wanted Mr. Husband to have his choice of lenten chocolates

and so got out three choices).

We did our prayers for evening time and were sleeping

 by the time the new year rang in.

*

We both relished in being 'boring' and attending to the fact

that we were still tired from our trip.

*

I am so glad for all of this.

(*the one bag that Mr. Husband's book was in is actually a deep bright pink as it was from

the wedding we went to in mid-August and we were a friend of the Bride;

I foresee us using this bag for a long time to come to quickly put a present in for the other,

regardless of colour and gender :))