The Sabbath Experiment -- week 11

The lovely little Lady Laura with Santa in '09

Well, we're off to another busy week, right? After all, doesn't busyness define this time of year?

Of course, the busy bug bit me, too. I am not even close to being ready for Christmas, which is now a mere five (gasp!) days away. Oh my goodness. I don't think I even realized that until I typed it. Wow.

I switched things a bit this week and chose not to work on Saturday...but, c'mon, it was the Saturday before Christmas, so I didn't exactly sit around the house and knit (not that I ever sit around and knit, but you get the picture). No, I chose to shop instead.

If you follow the blog, you know that I was sick on Friday. I had the worst sore throat and was convinced it was strep. So I headed off to the doctor in the morning. He suspected strep as well, until the test came back negative. I came home without a trusty Z-Pack to make me feel better and I headed straight to the kitchen cabinet and pulled out two ingredients. I bet you can guess what one of them was -- apple cider vinegar! And honey.

I poured a bit of each into a teacup and throughout the day took a tablespoon of the tangy concoction. By the end of the day, I felt fine. No sore throat. No need to cancel my plans to watch the lovely little Lady Laura overnight so her mommy could get some Christmas stuff of her own done. The incomparable ACV did it again! I guess I could have written Vinegar Friday after all!

So my two-year-old grandbaby had a sleepover at Grandma and Pap Pap's house and was here Saturday morning to go outside in her blanket sleeper and coat to see Santa ride by on a firetruck (a yearly tradition in my neighborhood). She was a bit frightened as Pap Pap held her, but she did appreciate the candy that was tossed her way (even though the only thing she could have was the lollipop).

After we got dressed, we headed to one of our favorite little restaurants for breakfast with Santa. Laura was all about breakfast, but eating with Santa...not so much. The big guy frightens the little one. That's fine. He frightens me sometimes, too! You never know who's lurking underneath that furry red suit!

My daughter met us at the restaurant so she could pick up Laura and free us up to spend the day shopping, which we did. And you know what? It was a really pleasant day. You would think that the Saturday before Christmas would be a madhouse, but we found that not to be the case. From the customers to the clerks, we were shocked at how friendly everyone was! And, for the most part, we found what we were looking for, including signs hanging above the registers at Target that read "Merry Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays!" We were looking for the word "Christmas" in the store and were quite pleased.

Instead of coming home stressed and tired, we came home feeling pretty good about our day. We popped some frozen lasagna in the oven (it was my Sabbath, remember?!) so I didn't have to cook and we settled down in front of the fire to watch some movies.

I must say that the Hallmark premiere on Saturday night was lame and disappointing (Battle of the Bulbs), but the Lifetime movie we watched after that was amazing. If you ever get the opportunity to see Still Small Voices starring Catherine Bell (who deserved an Emmy nod for this one), take the time to watch it. Excellent.

So that was the day. Not bad...although not completely restful. But let's face it -- this is the time of year, more than any, that makes resting, while essential, a bit more difficult.

May you find the time to experience the delights of the Christmas season this week. Sit down, rest a bit and prepare to celebrate the birth of the King!

Keeping it as restful as possible,

Hana