Are we in 'holiday mode?'

The midterm elections are over. What a relief. The ads are off of our televisions and radios. Speaking of those elections, the political signs are cleaned up as the thick wet leaves continue to fall upon us while leaving their imprints upon the brightly colored cement. Our nights are starting earlier bringing upon those feelings of “meh.” Autumn’s cool has already descended on the Peach State thus causing our furnaces to work through the nights and very soon, into the days. I doubt that I can recall a cooler November 1 eve in all the years that I have been dwelling in North Georgia.

Even with all of those developments as I write these words at this moment, the December holiday shopping season has been underway since the last piece of candy was handed out on Halloween Eve. Who knows, it could have started in the second week of October. Speaking of Halloween Eve, most folks say that this was the lightest Halloween that they have ever experienced.

Are you ready to purchase those Christmas gifts at the moment? I have a Facebook friend who already took care of the presents and is probably making the Christmas Eve meal at this moment, only to freeze the scrumptious meal for later consumption – which is six weeks from this moment. Are the trees, candy, wreaths not far behind? It’s great that there’s a percentage of folks out there who get it all done early. I commend them on their efforts. Getting tasks done early in any situation relieves stress, but completing the holiday feast preparations well before the first guest arrives is an excellent idea. I produced Thanksgiving feasts in the past where I started almost two days before the actual meal. Oh, what a great stress reliever to have it all ready for an early Thanksgiving dinner! One can actually enjoy the festivities… until clean-up. Wow, I will never forget the clean-ups after a huge meal.

While I learned quite a few tricks of the trade being the cook of the house, there’s always room to learn much more. I’m far from being Mario Batali so I’m always in search of cooking tips. While thinking of tips, I love cleaning tips as well. For those ideas, I scour all types of sites for suggestions including green cleaning tip web pages to the makers of Lysol who have good ideas.

I am not sure about most of the country or world, but I suspect that our fair metro area just started “holiday mode.” We could blame it all on the combination of Daylight Saving Time’s end and earlier chilly weather or the fact that our economic situations are allowing for us to go into this mode. What exactly is “holiday mode?” That’s a tough one to “pinpoint, “but this mode is all about operating in a lighter framework. With many upcoming vacations, get-togethers and holiday parties, suddenly daily life is not taken quite as seriously as other parts of the year. So, are we in “holiday mode” or not? Or perhaps the whole thing is just my imagination running away these days.