Micah Burkette   Micah Burkettes place on the web to blog

Not feeling very healthy today. I sure hope I don’t have the flu. I really don’t feel well at all. So today I’m staying home, sleeping on the couch, eating chicken noodle soup and keeping a big box of Puffs tissues close by. Sure glad I found a Star Wars marathon on cable today. That will make the time fly by, and if I fall asleep during the movie its no big deal.

We decorated the outside of the house very simply this year with candles in the windows and a wreath on the door.  Love that the newer candles go out by themselves when the sun comes up.  I remember older ones that you had to run around and unplug every morning and plug back up every evening.  I like the way candles look in the windows, a warm greeting to friends and family.

We got the tree up and it looks pretty, the same as every year because it’s artificial.  Perhaps one year we will switch up and buy a live tree.  We don’t have a lot of decorations but still I think the house looks nice.  I will be tired of it and ready to pack everything up right after Christmas.

Ah,  once again, my yearly quest to buy the perfect Christmas gifts for my loved ones begins.  Being a creature of comfort, I tend to buy comfortable,  warm gifts including pajamas, slippers, and fleece blankets.   I romantically  like to imagine winter being all about snuggling on the couch, with a favorite movie and a cup of hot chocolate, while watching the snow flakes gently fall outside.  I try hard to forget the harsh reality of scraping  ice off my car and the shoveling of the white stuff.

I didn’t mean to get on the subject of winter, this was about Christmas gifts and shopping.  I think rather than heading to the mall today, I will catalog shop from my couch, with my cocoa and find those perfect plush bedroom slippers for the folks on my list.

The leaves are still falling in my neighborhood, even though they starting turning color back in early October. I think it might have to do with so little wind this year.

My neighbor, Josh, has twice as many trees in his yard as I do. His whole back yard is shaded with trees, as I only have about 6 or 7 that I have to mow around. The problem with having so many tees is having to rake up all the leaves in the fall.

Today, both Joshand I were out there raking leaves to get them bagged before the trash truck comes around in the morning. If I miss the trash truck, I either have to stash the bagged leaves for another week or drive them all the way across town tot he recycling center that accepts leaves and yard waste.

Another wonderful Thanksgiving has almost come and gone and I’m looking forward to a four day weekend.  The wife and I made a simple but delicious meal,  and have had a  relaxing day mostly laying in front of the boob tube.  They say turkey makes you sleepy, but I think it is also just the idea of a mid week day off.

The weather has been picture perfect today in Virginia with a beautiful blue sky.

Later on we are packing up a pumpkin pie and taking it to visit some friends for the evening.   That will be the perfect ending to this day, with much fun and laughter with our closest friends.