O Tannenbaum

Yes, ladies and gents, the holiday season is upon us. I was first clued in to this fact before Halloween, actually, when I went to a local Sam's club and discovered them playing Christmas music. "Egad!" I said to the door lady, she who makes sure you're allowed in Sam's, "IT ISN'T EVEN HALLOWEEN YET!" "Yes", she said, "I know. I'm sorry."

But signs of the holiday have been creeping up on me since then. Christmas commercials on the telly. Holiday decorations appearing on homes. Articles in the local rag newspaper about "holiday how-tos". And then today I crossed the border into Pennsylvania and went to IKEA in Pittsburgh, which is all decked out in the finest holiday beauty.

My mother and I went together, and I picked up some presents for the holiday. Had a good time, but I'm starting to feel that panic about not enough time to get everything done, and Thanksgiving is two weeks away, so that's really silly. I've got time. To bake, make the bath salts and hand lotion that I make for my girl-friends every year, purchase presents for everyone on my list, wrap all the presents, ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! Someone lock me up before Christmas, please.