Christmas Blues

[Auntie Mistletoe]

:D Christmas Blues - Blue Funk

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/AuntieMistletoe/BrownieSnack.gif Help yourself to a brownie while you read.


I recall a few years when I experienced what I called Blue Funk, clinicians are now calling it Seasonal Depressive Disorder. My Blue Funk hit me when the sky seemed to be overcast for days at a time, offering very little sunshine or blue sky. During my Blue Funk, I would hibernate, eat potato chips, pretzels - chunks of cheese and grapes - and gain ten pounds in the process. (I think I was a bear in a former life.)

The household tasks would wait - and wait. Things I never used to think about would become important thoughts to ponder so I wouldn’t have time to get to those chores. Why would I bother to shower on the weekend if I wasn’t going anywhere? Didn’t have to go to work on the weekend. I could just sit around in my pj’s all weekend, who’d know and who’s care? Besides, I’d be ready for a few naps.

If I paid too much attention to the news and the paper, I’d spend too much time worrying about the world and how broken it was and how we needed the “Overlords” to come and solve everything for us. My Blue Funk would end within weeks almost without warning - as quickly as it came. I’d just dust myself off, shower, toss some uplifting music on the cassette player (in those days) and suddenly the French fry at the bottom of the oven mattered. Not being able to see out the dusty bedroom windows mattered. The person behind the counter at the grocery store mattered. Life mattered. I mattered. Christmas mattered.

I have not had that feeling for many years, yet I know people who do and some who have it worse than I ever had it. I just wanted to share a little about my experience to help those who might sometimes feel down before or after the holidaays.


:D Feel free to share your Christmas ups and downs.

[Ervserver]

I sometimes get the blues in late winter, often a few sessions in a tanning bed help. A plate of brownies doesn't hurt either. :?

[Auntie Mistletoe]

:D I have a cheery story for you . . .

Twin boys were passing by my office with their mother. One was wearing a Santa hat and carrying a dangly Santa (spiral body - likely a doorknob toy). They pass my office every day. He's been wearing that hat and carrying that Santa for a few months now. On Friday, he passed by like always and I called him and he turned and poked his head into the office. I was wearing a Santa hat just like him. I even said, "Ho Ho Ho - Merry Christmas!" He said, "where did you get that hat?" I said, in my desk drawer it's always there just in case I'm missing Christmas and then to welcome it again." He laughed and said I was silly.

:smile: His mother told me that he woke them up a few nights before at 1:00 a.m. and pleaded with them just to let him touch the box in the closet or open the lid and touch him. She said, she wasn't about to get out of bed and let him take Santa out of the Christmas box in the middle of the night. I'm going to be watching for this boy to come along in another ten years and join us here.

:) And now of course he's gonna stop by to make sure I still have it every day.

:-D That helps keep things Merry.

[number4son]

I never even realize I have the winter blues until we get a sunny day and I am all excited.

[Auntie Mistletoe]

:-D I know what you mean. Neighbours have taken up a petition to have me committed for kissing the lawn as soon as the snow disappears.

:) Well maybe they have a point - that does seem a little extreme - I'll try to control myself next Spring.

[number4son]

Because the top of my head is exposed to the sun, I run outside frequently to charge up the solar panel.

[Ervserver]

how green of you

[RadioJonD]

Christmas Blues Tunes:

FAR AWAY CHRISTMAS BLUES - LITTLE ESTER & JOHNNY OTIS

CHRISTMAS TIME BLUES - ROY MILTON

I WANT MY BABY FOR CHRISTMAS - JIMMY LIGGINS

CHRISTMAS BLUES - GATEMOUTH MOORE

CHRISTMAS BLUES - LARRY DARNELL

EMPTY STOCKING BLUES - FLOYD DIXON

WILL HELL BE YOUR SANTA CLAUS - REV J.M.GATES

CHRISTMAS DINNER IN JAIL REV - J.M.GATES

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR'S BLUES - TAMPA RED

CHRISTMAS & NO SANTA CLAUS - BUMBLE BEE SLIM

CHRISTMAS MORNING BLUES - KANSAS CITY KITTY

CHRISTMAS EVE BLUES - BUKKA WHITE

CHRISTMAS TIME BLUES - CASEY BILL WELDON

CHRISTMAS TIME BLUES - BLACK ACE (B.K. TURNER)

CHRISTMAS IN JAIL - LEROY CARR

CHRISTMAS MORNING BLUES - SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON I

CHRISTMAS EVE BLUES - BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON

SONNY BOY'S CHRISTMAS BLUES - SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON II

SANTA'S MESSIN' WITH THE KID - EDDIE C.CAMPBELL

SANTA CLAUS CAME HOME DRUNK - CLYDE LASLEY

BLUES FOR CHRISTMAS - JOHN LEE HOOKER

LONESOME CHRISTMAS BLUES - LOWELL FULSON

CHRISTMAS BLUES - RALPH WILLIS

CHRISTMAS WON'T BE CHRISTMAS - CALVIN BOSTIC

BLUE CHRISTMAS - BILLY ECKSTINE

CHRISTMAS WITH NO ONE TO LOVE - CHARLES BROWN

[Auntie Mistletoe]

:) Thanks, Rockin' man! Nice to know there's a few other folks who know what we're talking about.

Today I have the "where's all the pollen comin' from blues". Achoooo!

8) #4 - Back in the 70's, I babysat for a couple who had the first solar home in Ontario and if I remember correctly the first of four in Canada. They also had the first piped in music system I'd ever been exposed to. It turned on by itself (set to a timer). Late one night, music came on in five different rooms. I couldn't move for a few minutes - thought there was an intruder in the house. When I went to investigate I was weilding the only weapon I could find nearby - a roll of Christmas wrapping paper - thank goodness it wasn't an intruder - don't think the wrapping paper would have saved me - course I could have done a bit of damage if I'd grabbed the Scotch tape.

:oops: I felt pretty silly when I discovered the source of the music.

[lightitup]

Sounds as silly as my hubby grabbing his watch in the middle of the night when he thought someone was breaking in. Thank god it was our son he might have beat them to death with a watch. :lol:

[Auntie Mistletoe]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/AuntieMistletoe/BooEntrance.gif A little scare now and then is supposed to be good for us.

[lightitup]

I don't know about that at my age. Heart attacks run amuck around here. :(

[Ervserver]

Sounds as silly as my hubby grabbing his watch in the middle of the night when he thought someone was breaking in. Thank god it was our son he might have beat them to death with a watch. :lol:

Timex....gives a licking but goes on ticking

[lightitup]

So I am told Erv. I think he has a rolex wanna be. I had the christmas blues until I found Christmas lights at the outlet stores today. :)

[Auntie Mistletoe]

:smile: That's funny, I had a Timex moment on Sunday - when I dropped the Scotch Tape rolls and they didn't crack, chip, break - nope - so I said . . .

Scotch Tape takes a lickin' an keeps on stickin'!http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/AuntieMistletoe/NahNahNahNahNahNah.gif

[Ervserver]

scotch tape is a part of Christmas as anything, I recall as a kid they didn't yet have the invisible stuff

[number4son]

You had to run your thumbnail over it to make it disappear.

[Ervserver]

was harder to peel, you had to do careful cut and retape jobs :-)

[Auntie Mistletoe]

:-o I used to use half a roll of tape for each present - that was enough to give any receiver a little Christmas Blues.

[Auntie Mistletoe]

:-D Check out this link for a Christmas in July gift ~ click on an ornament on the tree and listen to Christmas songs from Jerry’s xmas jukebox.
http://wilstar.net/xmas/xmasjuke.htm

:smile: That will make it feel closer to Christmas, if not . . . check this out . . .

Check out this link to see my old Mother Goose & Santa Pillow toys I had as a little girl.
http://www.chattycathydolls.com/winterspecials.html

Here’s a gift for Keepsake and other Thomas Kinkade lovers
http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-49039.jsp

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/AuntieMistletoe/ElfFlute.gif Happy still celebrating Christmas in July day!

[number4son]

You have to buy the whole Kinkade train set in order to get the track. Total price: $210.00.

[Ervserver]

2 months pay for me :(

[wee_elf]

i use loads of tape on mine 2!

[Ervserver]

You have to buy the whole Kinkade train set in order to get the track. Total price: $210.00.



whats one without the other

[Auntie Mistletoe]

:-D True train or Kinkade lovers, likely wouldn't mind, but that is a bit of price tag.

:smile: Scotch tape was invented in 1930 by banjo playing 3M engineer Richard Drew. Scotch tape was the world's first transparent cellophane adhesive tape. Richard Drew also invented the first masking tape in 1925, a two-inch-wide tan paper tape with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing.

Richard Drew - Background
In 1923, Richard Drew joined the 3M company located in St. Paul, Minnesota. At the time, 3M only made sandpaper. Drew was product testing 3M's Wetordry brand sandpaper at a local auto bodyshop, when he noticed that auto painters were having a hard time making clean dividing lines on two-color paint jobs. Richard Drew was inspired to invent the world's first masking tape in 1925, as a solution to the auto painters' dilemma.

:cool: The story goes that workers were complaining that the other tape wasn't working to take the masking tape back to his Scotch bosses. He did. He designed the new brand and the Scotch Brand name stuck.


Imagine carefully folding the gift wrap, smoothing it out so it's just right and then adding two or three layers of tape to hold it down so the receiver couldn't sneak a peak.

There was a special line of Christmas wrapping paper that came out, possibly in 2003, that had the plaid design on it, but I never saw it on sale here.

8) Scotch Tape is to Auntie
What Eggnog is to Erv and #4
A huge part of Christmas!

[Ervserver]

You had to run your thumbnail over it to make it disappear.

I use glue sticks to seal envelopes, I bet these would work on wrapping presents

[YodaPHX]

I always lick to much and then the glue never sticks.

[Auntie Mistletoe]

:) Here's a jolly good idea, make the envelope paste taste like candy canes or gingerbread. I use a small sponge, dip it in water so I don't have to taste the yucky sticky stuff.

[Ervserver]

Auntie's envelopes would taste good with eggnog

:c29:

[lightitup]

I used to lick the envelopes but then a few years back I read somewhere that some one died from licking a envelope that had poison put on the glue. I then started using scotch tape. The glue stick sounds like a cheaper idea.:c39:

[lightitup]

I don't have the Christmas blues yet probably cause of being here or it might be I am still taking the lights down:c5:

[SarahE]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/AuntieMistletoe/BooEntrance.gif A little scare now and then is supposed to be good for us.

You know, I've heard that a good scare is the cure to a bad case of hiccups, but they never seem to work for me. :(

[Auntie Mistletoe]

:c71: It never worked for me, but I saw myself coming so it was kind of difficult to scare the hiccups out of me.

I snuck up on my mother once to help here with her hiccups and I scared her so bad she was laughing and crying at the same time. Then she was a little angry so the hiccups went away.

:61: Thankfully, no blues have set in, but I felt bad a few weeks ago when I saw a naked pine tree waiting at the side of the road for pick up, it was a clear sign that Christmas 2007 was over.

Thankfully, we can still chat about Christmas and make plans for the approaching one.

[jollyheather]

Anybody have the blues?
I sure do! And all my cards are still on my door and i have even my tree still up but it is not the real thing! :roll:

[lightitup]

No blues has set in and I don't usually get the blues cause I have the snow to look forward too. When spring hits I am so busy with spring cleaning I don't have time to feel the blues. Then the summer hits and I am getting ready for the christmas season by working on all the decorations then it is fall and I am putting it all out and working on the final lead up to the next Christmas. So it is really Christmas 365 days a year around here.:61:

[jollyheather]

Well not me! I have a winter depression every year and this year is no exception! On top of that the checks at hospital do not make me feel any better! Just came back from my ct-scan and the drip they put in did hurt! My arm is blue like i feel now! :roll:

[iowasantaclaus]

Jollyheather would a visit from Santa make you feel better. Get out your Christmas cards and reread them, this will help with the blues. 347675

[jollyheather]

Thank you Santa! 9456823

[lightitup]

Keep staying around here Jollyheather and we will help chase those blues away too!!!
THINK SPRING AND EASTER
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/lightitup/HPIM1321_004.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/lightitup/HPIM1314_011.jpg

YOU KNOW IT WILL BE HERE BEFORE WE KNOW IT

[Auntie Mistletoe]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/AuntieMistletoe/ani-elf-104x172happy.gif Hang in there, JollyHeather! http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/AuntieMistletoe/ani_santas025NorthPole.gif

I don't have the after Christmas blues, but a week before Christmas, while I was working out (alone not with my early bird spin buddies) a song on my MP3 player made me feel sad. I always have a Christmas moment, usually around the tree thinking about people I can no longer celebrate Christmas with because they passed on. Suddenly those faces popped into my head while I was working out. I couldn't believe it. I'm always happy. There I was on the Elpitical working on my heart while at the same time friends and relatives of the past were tugging on it. I advanced to another song, still not right. I managed to bounce back when I decided to "let them in". I was able to use the emotion to work out harder and stronger as if all of them were in the gym cheering me on.

I also thought about the journey that brought me to a place where I first discovered that there were other people thinking about Christmas more than in the month of December or January. The journey had a few twisting trails and snowy paths that eventually brought me here. It's something I reflect on around my tree on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but I wasnt expecting it to greet me during a work out.

Sometimes the feeling of Christmas, the decorations, the hustle and bustle help us release ourselves from other worries and when it's over and things slow down and the quiet returns, it feels a little more lonely.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/AuntieMistletoe/SnowyMailbox.gif I always give my Christmas cards one more read at the end of January and I bring them out again for Christmas in July.

I don't know what dose of Christmas magic will give you a lift, but I hope you cheer up soon.
Festive Regards,
Auntie M.

[Twinkle]

Jolly Heather...I use to get the after Christmas blues also. I was living in Maryland then and experienced so many grey and cold days after Christmas which didn't make matters any better. I learned to overcome those blues with looking forward to the next holiday which was New Years Eve...when that came to an end it was on to Valentines Day. I would get lost in this time with helping the kids create Valentines cards to give to their classmates and presently making a new Heart Wreath for our front door. Then it's on to St. Patricks Day with corn beef and cabbage I love making and celebrating with a new front door wreath. Holidays just keep on going and keep my spirits up looking forward to Christmas in July...It's easy to get stuck into one holiday but when we reach out and look forward to the future, there's lots to be excited about. Having said all this, I congratulate you in keep those Christmas decorations up....Just think. IowaSanta keeps his up year-round. You are a true Christmas Spirit and so I say to you, enjoy your Christmas Spirit and don't be depressed over it.
:61:

[lightitup]

Twinkle you are so good at your thoughts being put on a post. I so agree with looking forward to the next holiday. It does help. Now is the time to making that Valentines wreath and adding some pink to those decorations. Then with St. Patricks day you can bring out the green in everything and lay the pink aside for a month then add it to the green for Easter. LOL

[Twinkle]

Thank you Light. It seems Jollyheather has much more stuff going on to keep her in depression. Do you feel free Jollyheather to let us know what is going on in your life with health issues? We are a close knit group here and will keep you in my prayers for whatever you have facing you. I'm not sure, but picked up on your last post. God bless.

[jollyheather]

Thank you all! It brought tears to my eyes but they are sad AND happy tears so that is oke! I had my ct-scan monday and i found out after that i have an allergic reaction to the contrast stuff from the drip/ My arm was full of red spots and i was itchy all night long! I must not forget to tell my doctor!
The good news is my cat is home again so that will give me some energy. She will have to go on a diet because she is twice the size she was before! oops...
4321

[Auntie Mistletoe]

Well, is it working? Is surrounding you with Christmas wackos helping you stay a little merrier, JollyHeather?

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/AuntieMistletoe/XmasGalmic.jpg "Raindrops on rose and whiskers on kittens ..."

[jollyheather]

It sure does! uejw
The blues do fade away but every now and then they hit me again! And they do it at the most unsuspected moments! :g19:

[yuletide junkie]

Rudolph Days make the entire season have far less highs/lows. It also makes it much easier to move forward when Epiphany arrives in january.