Monday, December 26, 2011 AM

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, but Steve doesn't like it, and yesterday was a huge yawn.  I think he hates Jesus or something.
He doesn't want to help with the decorations, the clean-up, the extra wiring for the outdoor nativity set, or much of anything else, and I have all the work to do.  Then he gripes about all the time I'm wasting.  But it is important to me.  I love the music, the foods, the visits with friends, the lights, and the secular version of celebration of when Jesus was born.  I know it's not reality that He was born in December, but it's the celebration of His birth, so I go with it, in a big way.
Everyone loves the outdoor nativity, and it's rather extensive.  I've found two more wize men (ARE there any more wize men?) and they didn't get here in time for this year's display.
The yard at Creekside is a great place to display the set.  Ann Casson, the publisher of the Grainger Today, stopped by to compliment me on my display.  That meant a lot to me.
Steve and I both worked up at Creekside yesterday.  He crawled around under the house, getting prepared to jack up the floor of the downstairs sunroom.  It is not supported very well, and bounces slightly when we walk on it.  He's getting ready to level and support it much better, using some of the lumber that I purchased last spring from Jim Warwick, the man who sold me a lot of building materials, paint, and plumbing fixtures.
These particular beams spent the earlier part of their life supporting a carosel, and they're about 6X4, which is a LOT better than what has been holding up the floor.  There should be a noticeable difference in the soundness of the floor after all this work.
I cleaned and painted an upstairs closet, and then worked on the closet doors that I'm going to give to Barbara so that she can put her snow village on display all year, as I do now.  I hit on the idea of using those closet doors one day while at Habitat for Humanity.  They look just like solid boards, but are much lighter, wider, and will give a better surface for Barbara's houses.
Now, Barbara, there's your mention.
I built a shelf a foot down from the ceiling all around my dining room, kitchen, and hallway to put mine on when we built our house.  I have so many snow houses now that I will have to expand quite a bit.  I'm going into the library next.  I will be using the slightly larger houses there, and the shelf will be further from the ceiling.
The sun is up on Clinch Mountain, and Steve is up now, so I'll post more later.
It's off to the work at Creekside.