Wednesdom -

Advance twice, set to partners ... change lobsters, and retire in the same order.

~ LewisCarroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Wednesdom - Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh

... behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

... they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

~  The Gospel According to Saint Matthew

Note of explanation ...

I, Fabiola, am again working with Mary. The previous posts are Mary (with the assistance of Fabiola) documenting the hours of her day to fill out one of her last posts.

Thank you for bearing with Fabiola.

And day end

. . . And the minute . . .

. . . For the hour . . .

. . . Asleep . . .

. . . the world waits . . .

before christmas while

. . . In winter just . . .

. . . Of a gray day . . .

. . . of every hour of a day

hour one - sunrise

Every minute of every hour

just before dawn

Wednesdom

Nose, nose, nose, nose!

and who gave thee this jolly red nose?

Nutmegs and ginger, cinamon and cloves,

and they gave me this jolly red nose.

~ Thomas Ravenscroft

Fabiola Signed Mary up ...

For a chance to meet Mike (from Dirty Jobs). (whispering) He is her hero. It is Fabiola's Christmas present to Mary. Fabiola wonders how Mike looks in tinsel?

Fabiola knows that it is a silly thing to do. Darlings, you know that Fabiola is all about silly.

Decorate your Christmas Tree in Layers ...

Now, there are theories on Christmas Tree decorating, then there is Fabiola’s theory. I, Fabiola, approach decorating a Christmas tree like I approach getting dressed.

First is the arrangement of the branches. Think of it as putting on your foundation garments. There are those who insist upon selecting a natural tree. It is a known fact that in getting dressed or choosing Christmas trees, allowing nature to decide what goes where will only lead to unfortunate aesthetics. (Darlings, those of you over 40 know exactly what Fabiola means?)

Remove your lovely artificial tree from the storage box and assemble it on the stand. Spend some time arranging branches. Push the sagging ones up; flatten out any branches that are too poofy. Remember to check the 360 degree view, someone always feels compelled to look around back. To accomplish tree beauty feel free to use duct tape, pallet strapping, or latex to attain the perfect form.

Next are the lights. Think of this as selecting your garments for the day. Fabiola can't help but mention that Christmas has always fallen after Labor Day so -- all white lights? Well … you decide. (Perhaps white lights should be reserved for those that want to display a lumpy natural tree?) Color! Color and visually even coverage is the key. Would you put as much material for a hat as you would use for a skirt or pair of pants? No, of course you wouldn’t. You would have too much on your head or not enough to cover your behind. Take a step back, look, rethink. Add additional layers of light until your tree is evenly illuminated.

Only after your lighting is perfect, add ornaments as if you were selecting jewelry. Perhaps it would be better if you added ornaments as if Fabiola was selecting jewelry. There is no such thing as too much when it comes to sparkly. If you are the sort of gal that favors wearing boas, add garland before the ornaments, tinsel after.

Finally add scent. Plug in an evergreen house freshener and you will have the perfect Christmas tree.

Fruitcake!

Photo from the Colin Street Bakery site (looks yummy yummy, doesn't it?  Trust Fabiola, they are.)

Love it, hate it, no getting around it, ya aint got Fruitcake, ya aint got Christmas.  Fabiola says anyway. (I, Fabiola, love - love - love -love -love Fruitcake.)  Please don't break Fabiola's heart by telling her your tragic Fruitcake stories, unless, of course, it happens to be funny or it reveals the age of someone - (fruitcake regifting that has been going on for as long as a family member has been alive are always interesting.)
Did you know that the best part of Fruitcakes is that they are best preserved by soaking in Brandy?  Ah!  You might say, that is it!  Well of course Darlings, soak a Christmas consumable in enough spirits and it doubles as a yule log.  Fabiola is all about practicality.

Regardless, the best Fruitcake ever can be bought from The Collin Street Bakery  Fruitcakes make wonderful gifts, Ahem.

Wednesdom from Mae West

 Beulah, peel me a grape.

~ Mae West

Darlings! Don't let the holidays get to you ...

Everything does not have to be perfect, honest.

One of the most memorable Christmasses of my childhood was the one where Patches the cat knocked over the Christmas tree. Oh, the tree went back up (but it leaned at an odd angle and the ornaments were kind of scattered). I don't remember what that year's presents were, I don't remember what was on the table for that Christmas dinner, I do remember a cat in a tree, then not, and I laugh.

It doesn't have to be perfect to be memorable.

That is all for the moment Darlings.

Fabiola's Five on Steel Toed Boots.

Mary was (mostly) right to lock Fabiola in the filing cabinet, if the cold doesn't dampen a gal's spirits, the mud surely will. There is just something about wearing five pounds of shoes with an added ten pounds of mud that gumms up the whole tripping lightly through life way that Fabiola chooses to live. Regardless, Fabiola always finds a bright side.

Fabiola's Five - positive things about wearing work boots.

5. Wearing steel toed work boots makes those silly ankle weights unnecessary.

4. Heavy footwear makes it less likely for a gal to fall over. She can lean way over in almost any direction and her work shoes will keep her firmly on the ground.

3. Ankle support.

2. If the finish starts to wear, you just hit them with another coat of sno seal and they are back in action.

1. Steel toed boots are not available in a four inch stiletto heel, so the front half of your feet wont hurt at the end of a day wearing them.

Yesterday

Yesterday was a perfect late fall day. This photo is of a Sycamore in the early morning sun With the southern ohio hills in the background.

The critical choice of footwear color

Now, it might not have occured to some of you, but matching your footwear to the hue of the local soil can be critical. Imagine - wait. Sigh. Mary just informed me that Steel toes come in an aray of colors that are all shades of brown. So, you're good from go.

footwear and candy

when you wear steel toed boots ( i started with the word if then realized that all truly stylish women wear them from time to time). if the weather is cold, tuck one of those mineral warmer packets under your toes. and keep plenty of starbucks dark chocolate covered expresso beans handy. it is a known fact that a goodly shot of coffee in any form makes everything look better.

In the begining ...

Of my day darlings, my day. I, fabiola, insisted that mary take fabiola with her to work. so far, it is dark and cold with the promise of mud. fabiola will make it a delightful stylish experience anyway.

Winter Trees