The holidays are here and the year is almost over. At the Kermit House the spirit is high this year, despite – or maybe even strengthened by – the pandemic and other woes of 2020. We have had Christmas music piping on more than one occasion, and celebrated every day with an advents calendar of different teas. I recommend that, if you’re not afraid of different flavors and levels of spice.
I should add, that historically Kelly and I only rarely go all in on the holidays.
Like many others, we are celebrating by ourselves this year. No family or friends, just the two of us and the cats. And the cats love the tree we’ve got, because it’s shiny and has things that can be stalked on it. Thankfully, no one has tried to climb the tree just yet.
Kelly is always hit with an urge to bake during this time of year. There is a certain comfort to the smell of freshly baked bread or cookies, that you just don’t find anywhere else. But when you bake a lot, you end up with more than you can eat. Kelly decided that the best way around that was to plan for it – and give a bunch of baked goods away. All of which just lifted the holiday spirit even higher around here. Giving makes you feel good, turns out.
Like a couple of busy elves, we’ve been making treats for friends and neighbors, and dropping them off at door steps, with masks on and distant waving. We’re used to this by now – having had food trucks come by a couple of times now, and interacting with all the neighbors stopping by and the awesome chefs cooking up their goods in our driveway.
Is it weird to have friends come to your house, and then not let them in? A little bit, yes. But it’s fun to stand on the balcony with a bunch of homemade cookies and lower a basket down to said friends and have a Romeo & Juliet-style conversation, like we did last time Snout & Co. stopped by. It’s been a year for doing things differently and we have continued that into the holiday season (though we skipped Halloween).
For me, 2020 has made me appreciate the friends we have more than ever, and I know Kelly feels the same. From those who sent us cards (sorry, we are really bad at sending those), or came by for cookies, to friends who helped us move – and everyone in between, we wish you the happiest of holidays and may next year be amazing for all!
