November is just about gone! Here comes December!

     Today when I got to work, I looked at the calendar and cringed.  Yep!  Cringed! 
     It's the last of November...one day away from the end of the month.  That means the very next day is December 1st and I'm just not ready for December!
     December means Christmas shopping in busy stores, everyone pushing and shoving, struggling for the perfect gift for the person they're thinking about.  It means spending lots of money all at one time and paying them off all at one time.  Really, really hard to do in this day's economy.
     December means decorating the outside of my palace, putting up the wreaths, the bows, the balls, the snowflakes.  All that stuff!   AH!  But I don't decorate inside my palace, because of the cat who thinks she's a dog and chews on everything.  So, that's a blessing in disguise.
     December means Christmas parties.  So far, I have three this year to attend.  And when I attend one, I have to bring some food.  Well, I've simplified that...I'm bringing to each party the same thing, a veggie tray with artichoke/spinach dip, and hope that some is left over to take home for munching on in front of the TV.
     December means food, like I said, and lots of folks have BIG spreads to plan, buy, and cook for.  Mine this year will be small and that means everyone has to bring a dish.  Yea!  Cause I'm getting to where I hate to cook.  Too bad I hate to eat, huh?  That must mean December brings on the weight, too.  One more thing to grip about, I guess.
     Do I sound like Scrooge?  Well, it sounds like it.  Sorry about that.
     There are a few good things about December, now that I think harder.
     One would be all the great Christmas shows on TV.  And this year I just happen to have a new TV.  I graduated from my 13-inch (which for years I thought was a 19-inch) all the way up to a 32-inch!  Talk about feeling like I'm right there!  Ah, yes.  I'm looking forward to the Christmas shows, in what will seem to me like I'm sitting in my own personal theater.
     Two will be the time off around Christmas that we have each year.  I feel privileged to work in an organization where we have two weeks off at Christmas.  That doesn't help our patrons much, when they depend on the computers for school work or job searching.  But it does help with our slowly dwindling library funds.  I mean, we do save on electricity, heat, water, etc. some.  Hopefully, it all balances out.
     Three will be that I'll have time to read while I'm well.  Couldn't do that while I was sick, remember?  And I am reading three books all at one time right now.  But I need to start collecting the books I want to take home with me to read during the Christmas holidays.
     In fact, we just put on our recommendation shelf the first of our Christmas book selections for you to enjoy.
     We have The Fat Man audio book by Ken Harmon.  You can listen while you cook!  It's a story about Gumdrop Coal, one of Santa's original elves, who wanted revenge because he was fired from his longtime job as captain of the Coal Patrol.  When the parent of one of the Naughty kids gets killed, Gumdrop has to find out who framed him.  This is a "holly jolly" read that will cause you to hoot with laughter.
     For all of you who love "politically correct" stuff, we have Politically Correct Holiday Stories by James Finn Garner.  The author has taken the liberty of revising and improving some familiar holiday tales, such as "The Night Before Christmas," "Frosty the Snowman," and "The Nutcracker," among a few others.  Tongue-in-cheek is required, you know.
     For our romance-story lovers, we have two books on the shelf.  Texas Christmas Grooms by Pamela Griffin and Vickie McDonough tells two tales about Texas Rangers who try their hands at matchmaking.  Now, I've never heard of Texas Ranger matchmakers, but these are cute little Christmas stories that make you wonder if the two grooms will be lassoed in time for Christmas weddings. 
     The second book is by a favorite author, Joan Medlicott, the author of The Ladies of Covington.  Her book A Covington Christmas makes you wonder if the five couples, who thought they were married for a long time and find out they haven't been married at all, actually get re-married on Christmas Eve, when last-minute obstacles threaten to stop their big weddings.  They need a miracle!  Do they get it?  You'll have to read this one to find out.
     There are lots more reasons to like December.  I just remembered the gorgeous Christmas lights over the courthouse square and surrounding streets.   Also, there are lots of great Christmas movies now, like The Muppets, Hugo, and even Happy Feet Two (well, it has snow in it).  And in a couple of weeks some friends and I will go to the Thomasville, Georgia "Victorian Christmas."
    And just to prove that I'm not a Scrooge, we're putting up our December displays here in the library for you to enjoy.  That will certainly get all of us in the mood for a festive holiday season.  Come check us out.  After all, December only lasts for 31 days!   But remember, we'll be closed for half of that time.  (That sounded like a Scrooge ending, after all.)