Cracked

So, who's buckled and gone ahead and started listening to Christmas music? I've had at least one friend confess that her hand slipped and she accidentally played Barenaked for the Holidays. Her name will remained undisclosed, by the way. I feel ethically obligated to protect the sweet and innocent.

Another friend has been questing for the perfect Nutcracker. She's come up empty-handed despite having found nutcrackers in a variety of interesting get-ups from Mormon missionaries to every member of the rock band KISS. My attempts to help only found me woefully sidetracked into the strange underworld of nutcracker collectors. I found a Raphael the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle nutcracker and most of the original cast of Star Trek.

All of these are inspiring new creative takes on the Nutcracker Ballet in the back of my head. Be very thankful that I don't truly fancy myself a choreographer.

It's hard to block out the Christmas stuff. I've been trying. I've been telling myself that it's still ages until Christmas and no one has any business encouraging retailers in this misconception that they can start selling holiday crap in the middle of the summer. I was telling myself that tonight while I was drinking eggnog in the kitchen and baking pumpkin bread. I was then forced to admit that we are a good three weeks into sweater weather, the sun is setting before dinner, and the days left before the big "C" day are indeed dwindling on my calendar.

Not that I'm hanging mistletoe just yet. We still have a good week to pay homage to the noble turkey and sing along to Alice's Restaurant (it's a song about Alice) before it's truly open season on reindeer and elves. But we're close.

I actually looked at my holiday music collection today. Blowing off the digital dust, as it were. But I haven't cracked yet.

Everyone enjoy your sacrificial turkey next week.