Well, Maybe Not Too Old To Want An Electric Train!

ME-E-E-R-RY CHRISTMAS!

Tomorrow is the big day. If you aren't prepared now, it's too late to start.

Even at my advanced age of nearly 77 yearS old, Christmas still holds a time of wonder for me. I am one of the few who accepts all the excitement and wonder of Christmas, but still remembers it is the birthday of our Savior and Lord.

I will never forget that fact, no matter how excited and apprehensive I become over the good things which are available to eat at this time of the year.

I will be receiving my dialysis treatment today [on a holiday schedule] and will spend Christmas day at home.

I have spent the last few dialysis sessions, passing the time away by watching the "Cooking Channel" on TV. We have our own private TV at each dialysis station to while away the four hours of sitting.

Emeril, Mario and some lady from Louisiana whose forte is good Southern cooking, have primed my taste buds to their sharpest. I have seen cookies made, fruit cakes, spice cakes, nut cakes, pork roast, standing rib roasts, turkeys and all the Christmas goodies, made. Even Italian cooking featuring all sorts of pasta, was on the menu. They make it look so easy!

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THEN, I GET HOME to break my fast with a bowl of soup, warmed up in the microwave.

What a let-down!

Since there only two to cook for at our house, I suppose I should be thankful for the microwave and its capability of warming up left-overs.

Frenchie is experiencing problems with her teeth and has no incentive to cook as long as her mouth is too sore to chew. She is getting prepped for mouth surgery to rectify her tooth problem. While she is getting prepared for surgery, eating has come to a halt at our house.

Even the dogs are suffering from Frenchie's sore mouth. They are usually right under my chair when I eat, waiting for a handout. They even understand Frenchie's call to me to come to the table, for, if I fail to hear her call, they are at my feet, wagging their stubs of a tail, as if to say: "Didn't you hear her? It's time to eat!"

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I KNOW THE DOGS are glad it's Christmas. They know that if we go out to eat at some Christmas party, we're going to bring them back a sample. They meet us at the door when we return, panting and jumping up and down, waiting expectantly, to see what we have brought them.

Spoiled dogs!

Little Bit will eat anything! From grapes to broccoli. She enjoys a piece of meat, best of all. Smudgie is nine years old and fat as a butterball. She is more discriminating about what she eats . . . but not much. She enjoys almost every Christmas goody and especially, slices of apple.

They think they have hit the mother lode this Christmas season.

Little Bit has taken all the ornaments off the Christmas tree, or at least, the ones along the bottom which are no trouble to reach.

Frenchie hung little stuffed toys around the bottom of the tree and they started disappearing, one by one. Finally, she found a stash of tree ornaments on Little Bit's pallet. The mischievous puppy had removed the ornaments and put them in her stash of things collected, in order to play with.

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I'M STARTING MY Christmas feasting early. As I am writing this column [last Friday], Willie and his boys are grilling steaks to feed his staff a Christmas dinner. The women on the staff have brought their favorite dish and about the time I finish this tome, I'm going to join them in a delicious grilled steak with "sides" by the girls.

It's almost a tradition, now, that Willie will grill steaks for the staff each Christmas and around noon, everybody will chow down.

I got to the office early, this day, so I would be through with this blurb by noon and could give one of those steaks my undivided attention!

Santa comes in different ways to people at Christmas time. To me, he comes in this guise. I am too old, now, to want a bicycle, a tricycle, a baseball glove, or an electric train!

Well, maybe not too old to want an electric train!

I have all my Christmas shopping done, as I am writing this. That's early for me, but getting any done at all is an accomplishment for me. I suspect, today, the annual visit from my brother-in-law and his wife has begun and by 6:00 I should have my dialysis finished and I'll be ready to greet Santa Claus, giving him my undivided attention!