Lunch with the GGs

Christmas is about people. Sometimes when I'm chasing myself--I haven't decorated; I have no tree; I've not sent out cards; I haven't even looked at a cookie pan!--I tend to forget about that.

But...I'm never too busy for lunch with the GGs! I consider myself lucky to be part of a mahvelous group my sis calls the GGs (short for gym girls--Ginger always comes up with cool nicknames!) Disclaimer here--I haven't belonged to that gym in six years, but they let me tag along anyway.

This year for our Christmas lunch we went to the Hill Country Galleria, a neat little collection of shops in Bee Caves, about half an hour from Marble Falls which is sorta kinda a central location for all of us.

These ladies are really neat, and I adore them. We're an odd collection: Mary and Donna are retired nurses; Josie was in the travel industry in New Zealand; my sis Ginger still works--when her hub sold his business five years ago part of the agreement was that Ginger would continue to do their books for a while; I'm not sure what Joy did; I don't think I ever asked, but her hub was a lawyer turned entertainment agent, and Joy's the cool sophisticated lady that goes along with that; my SIL Sunny was a SAHM, and me, I worked outside sales for a local telco.

Mary made us all promise that when we get old--no matter what y'all think, we're not there, yet!--and all alone, we'll live on the same street so we can take care of each other. Since oldness is kinda looking at us sideways, Ginger surprised us with badges my 'nother sis Daisy made for each of us with our names on it. ('Cept Ginger's simply says Me.)

Cool, aren't they? Daisy's pretty darned talented. (And patient; she ran into a problem and had seven to make so it took quite a while.) Of course we all wore them while at lunch, just in case any of us had a sudden attack of dementia. (Mary says they'll work perfectly when we're in the old folks' home and can't remember who we are!)

We exchange small gifts among us, mine this year being the poinsettia ornament for which I previously gave directions. Actually these ladies were the reason I came up with the idea.

These are the ones I made for them, the originals. When it came time to get ready for the lunch, I needed boxes--and boxes are the bane of my existence. I actually own a boxmaker, a pretty cool tool, but still I struggle coming up with ones I like that are sturdy enough. (Often, as I'm struggling, I chant under my breath Nester's mantra, "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!" Still, even knowing that, I find myself apologizing for the boxes whenever anyone compliments them. Someone kick me in the rear, please!)

After trying to decoupage boxes made from emty Cheerios containers and realizing it would take far too long, I finally decided on boxes made from old Christmas cards. They only had to be sturdy enough for a trip to Bee Caves.

I think they turned out pretty nice. (The reason the one on the bottom left doesn't have a bow is cuz my SIL has the flu and couldn't go with. She'll get hers when she feels better.)

Now for pics of my haul!

The Santa is from my SIL--she sent her gifts with Ginge since she'll most likely not be seeing the GGs before Christmas. The silver tree dish is from Mary, who nicely included soap that looks like candy instead of the real thing, in deference to my sugar allergy (also known as Type 1 diabetes!).

The candle was also from Sunny, as were the socks in the next pic. Looks good in my guest bath, huh?

This is the final lot--well, not quite: I forgot to include the lovely quilt potholders Donna made--she's a wonderful quilter--since I've already tucked those away. And the fudge Joy made, which Tom is enjoying. The photos are ones Joy took and had made into postcards. Wonderful shots, professional looking. They'd look great framed. The little wooden sign says Chocolate Makes my Clothes Shrink. Very apropos! (I think the sign will look cute on the tree--when I finally get it up. Hopefully that'll happen tomorrow afternoon, only I'm just going with a small one this year. I'm getting started too late to do the big one!)

Gotta go now. Lots to do--I was in the middle of a load of laundry when the water dried up. The water company says there's a blow-out down the line. Dang! Oh, well.

Later, y'all.