It is definitely the season for “visions of sugarplums.” Our friends at Merriam-Webster online dictionary define a sugarplum as “a small candy in the shape of a ball or disk”- –
Yay!
I like your enthusiasm, 9, but let me be clear. For the purposes of today’s blog I am using this pleasing label for all the holiday prep stuff that keeps many of us awake at night.
Not yay?
Here are examples I documented in my journal at 4:06 AM:
*Will I remember to make enough time to bake a batch of cheese pastry covered olives?
*Will I remember to add “green olives” to the grocery list?
*Why am I still anxious about the digital Advent calendar candy box game? I’ve already earned the maximum 3 stars at all 20 levels. . .
*Where is the live fish that the woman mailed through the local post office on Tuesday going?
*Is the fish mailed Tuesday still alive?
Back up. What’s all this about the fish?
Excellent question, Lily, and I have a partial answer. While waiting in a long line at the Walla Walla post office this Tuesday, I observed a clerk assisting a customer with something that took a lot of time and special forms. I assumed she was getting a passport. Then, I noticed a box on the counter in front of her, about the size of a Kleenex ® box, wrapped in brown paper. “Live Animal” was written on the outside.
Since one of the two available clerks was completely absorbed in helping this customer, those of us waiting in line started speculating about the species of animal in the box. I figured it was a rat or a mouse. The woman behind me said to her granddaughter, “Maybe it’s a squirrel. We should send one to your brother. They probably don’t have any squirrels where he lives but we have plenty of them here.”
It felt a bit rude, discussing whatever the customer was shipping, truly none of our business. But put a bunch of humans in a long, slow line and this can happen. When the animal sender was done and headed for the door she apologized to the line for holding things up. The woman two places ahead of me, who’d been wrapping a Priority box in brown paper so she could pay the cheaper Ground Advantage rate, said, “Oh, that’s okay. But there’s something I really want to know. What kind of animal are you shipping?”
“A fish!” The fish shipper held her hands about eight inches apart and grinned. “It’s this big!”
Visions of Sugarplums- -and Fish?
This is unprecedented, in my experience.
And in my experience, too, Lily, 52 years later. If we want to become experts on this topic we can refer to USPS publication 526 Mailable Live Animals:
https://pe.usps.com/PUB52_Archive/NHTML/PUB52_Archive_20220404/pub52c5_008.htm
No thanks. What about the green olives?
I am happy to report the purchase of green olives has been scratched off my Visions of Sugarplums list:
Visions of sugarplums: Pimento stuffed green olives. . .
With this victory achieved, I suddenly realized that, as far as the rest of the world goes, I am totally unaccountable for making and sharing Cheese Pastry Covered Olives. Except to the two of you (and whoever reads this blog) no one knows I want to make these in time for the holidays. I’m going to some parties next week. The olives are a great savory treat to share, especially when cocktails are involved:
Visions of sugarplums: With a little help from my well-worn copy of “The Joy of Cooking”. . .
So I infer you will be making the Cheese Pastry Covered Olives?
Yes, I have resolved to do so. Consulting my schedule, there should be sufficient time to do this on the 22nd or 23rd.
Okay, so that leaves the candy box game?
There’s no excuse for feeling anxious about this, as levels 18, 19 and 20 were conquered yesterday evening. Maybe like any warrior I’m just a little bit depressed that the battle is over. It will also take a while to lose the earworm music that played again and again while I fought the metaphorical candy box dragon. Maybe I can play a few more rounds to see if I can improve my top scores –
No! No!
You need to stop obsessing and get into the spirit of the holidays.
Which is?
Stop obsessing and have fun for a few days.
Good point. And besides, I still have Advent Bowl, Advent Murder Mystery, and Advent online Christmas Village to play with. Plus it’s the Solstice on Sunday at 7:03 AM. We’ll go out on the deck at exactly that minute and- –
What did I just say about obsessing?
Okay, fine. But I am genuinely excited about the days getting lighter, even if it’s only by a few seconds per day.
Maybe thinking about that when I can’t sleep will be just the relaxing sugarplum I need?
