By the Chimney with Care ...

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Leah organized all my Christmas stuff, creating a workspace where I could package and wrap with maximum efficiency.

I took over Sunday evening, after she'd left to go back to Lynchburg, and began the annual task of setting it all up. Here's what happened.

My tendency is to begin Christmas shopping (I love Christmas for all the wrong reasons) in April and by Dec. 1, I'm through ... for the first time (there are often about nine more "I'm throughs" coming).

It looks like Christmas, though, and I'm playing some of my Christmas standards to make it sound that way. I love this time of year. Just love it.