Christmas summary
Karen Simmons
tomorrow at home under the guise of "work to do". I do in truth have
some work to do to get caught up - mostly business paperwork and
organization - but I really wanted some time to myself. I figured while
I was here I could post a summary of our Christmas.
Friday: I spent the morning tidying up and packing a bag for Kevin and
I to stay the weekend at his brother's and SIL's place (where his
parents are staying while they're here). Kevin had to work until 2:30
and then was going to go get a hair cut after work if he could, so I
wanted to get as much done as possible so he didn't have to be out very
late Christmas eve. First stop was Target where I finally got the
dreaded DVD player (whew!), a sweatshirt to replace the one I stained
hand painting, and a couple of cute outfits that were 30% off (couldn't
resist). Then back to the apartment because I forgot our stocking
stuffers and the chocolate oranges. Then on to the games shop that Kev
buys his miniatures at (which was closed - oops! - so much for a figure
case for Christmas). From there to Lowe's to get the grill that my
father send a check for (the guys who helped me get the thing onto a
cart and out to the car were fantastic, but I thought they were going to
have heart attacks when I told them I wanted it in the back seat of my
Saturn! It fit, though, as I knew it would. Just barely.) Then on
towards Marietta and another stop at a Target there to get barbecue
implements (a really nice set w/ matching rosewood handles that were on
sale). Then to the grocery store to get pie tins and butter and an
extra box of pie crusts just in case. Finally got to Kev's brother's
place and unpacked the car and settled into the other spare bedroom.
Friday night: Kevin's mom had made the famous flank steak (except with
2 huge pieces of brisket instead of flank). We invited over two friends
- one guy who broke up with his fiancee this past year and was spending
Christmas alone for the first time, and the next door neighbor whom we
consider another brother. Unfortunately both of these guys are named
Dave, as is Kevin's brother. It made for an interesting evening - 5 men
in the house and 3 of them named "Dave". *grin* At any rate, we ate
well and then all took turns sneaking up to the study (temporarily
converted into the "gift wrap room") and wrapping presents. There was
much whispering and laughing and many hushed conversations taking place
in the stairwell. Kev's mom was on wrapping "help" duty and each of the
guys called her up to consult on oddly shaped presents a couple of
times. I did all my wrapping first and then while everyone else was
wrapping, I made pies (3 kahlua pecan, 2 pumpkin, 1 mincemeat, 1 cherry
cranberry) and chatted with whoever wandered in to the breakfast bar.
When the wrapping was complete, we watched a Wallace & Grommit video
(Wrong Trousers) and then the George C. Scott version of A Christmas
Carol. Kev's mom, SIL, and I prepped things for Christmas morning and
then we all went to bed about midnight.
Saturday morning: I got up at 9:30 and Kev's mom was up putting the
turkey into the oven. The rest of the household was up by 10:00 and we
brewed a fresh pot of coffee and sliced some pumpkin and banana bread
to take into the living room. This year it was our turn (mine and
Kev's) to "play elf" as we call it, so we had to wear the elf hats and
hand out presents. We started with stockings and everyone opened their
little gifts while Kevin and I got organized to distribute the "under
the tree" gifts. We had gotten everyone CD's for stocking stuffers
(except for my SIL who got her toe socks and immediately put them on).
Kevin got me a pair of sterling silver earrings from the Coldwater Creek
catalog that I had really wanted. I got him a brush for basting
barbecue and a nice, heavy duty corkscrew. Then we distributed the rest
of the presents and took turns opening them. Kev's parents loved the
clock we found - I had already set the times for the various cities and
put batteries in them and his mom heard the ticking as she was opening
up the wrapping paper. She joked that we might have gotten them a
bomb. I got Kev the DVD player, of course, and then his brother and SIL
brought out their present to him - The Matrix on DVD - which they had
hidden so as not to give away the surprise. Kev got me a watch (it's
got a curved body to fit to your wrist, really nice), a pair of flannel
pajamas, and an indoor Japanese rock fountain (water garden, it says on
the box). His parents who drew our names this year got us a really cool
fiesta ware toaster (very art deco looking) and a cordless phone w/
built in caller ID and memory dial. We also got some little goodies
from Kev's aunts who always send Christmas ornaments and chocolate
(yum!).
By this time it was about 12:30 or so and we were all getting hungry.
We called the other Daves (*grin*) and let them know we were up and
about and set out snacks and nibbles for lunch. The guys did some
cleaning up while the women set about putting Christmas dinner on (not
an intentionally sexist division, that's just the way our respective
talents lie in the family). About mid afternoon Dave#1 showed up and
had brought a Christmas present for all the guys - a Formula One
racetrack! It was too funny. They immediately cleared the floor in the
sun room, laid down a piece of plywood and began setting up a course.
It
came with four cars and all four of them (the 3 Daves and Kevin) were
racing their little hearts out within the hour. The rest of us puttered
around - Kev's dad lit a fire in the fireplace, my SIL and I worked a
puzzle, Kev's mom read a bit, and at 5:30 we sat down to dinner. It was
a pretty traditional Christmas dinner: turkey, dressing, mashed
potatoes, gravy, salad, cranberry waldorf, rolls, sweet potato
casserole. We all helped clean up and got done in record time, then the
guys went to race cars some more and the rest of us settled down in the
living room to relax. About 7:30 or so we all had pie and watched
"Shakespeare in Love" which Kev's mom had gotten as a gift. Then we
just sat around and chatted for a few hours. Kev's dad went to bed at
about 10:00 and his SIL lasted a further 1/2 hour. The rest of us saw
Christmas day out, and all went to bed a little after midnight.
All in all, it was a very nice Christmas. We didn't spend too much on
gifts (which we often do), we enjoyed the company, we had good food and
drink. There were a couple of times that I had to step out of the room
for a minute and get some composure when I thought about my Mom, but
mostly I was ok. Kevin and I sat up a little on Thursday night,
enjoying the Christmas tree and talking about her and I got most of it
out of my system then. I did wear her pearls on Christmas day and it
sort of made me feel as though she were there with me. Didn't hear from
my dad, but then again, I didn't expect to.
I hope everyone who celebrated it had as nice a Christmas as we did -
and I hope those of you who don't celebrate Christmas enjoyed a quiet,
relaxing weekend. Now we're just trying to figure out what to do with
our New Year's Eve!
Karen
--
----------------------------
Karen Simmons, Photographer
Atlanta, Georgia
----------------------------
Hillary Israeli
Karen Simmons <klsi...@mindspring.com> wrote:
*I hope everyone who celebrated it had as nice a Christmas as we did -
*and I hope those of you who don't celebrate Christmas enjoyed a quiet,
*relaxing weekend. Now we're just trying to figure out what to do with
*our New Year's Eve!
Sounds like you had a blast, Karen. That's good, you deserved it!
I wish my xmas weekend had been relaxing but I was of course put to work
in the emergency room along with the rest of the jew crew :) (that's a
little in-joke among my fellow jewish students and teachers here at Penn).
Unfortunately, at xmastime lots of people either decide to kill their old
sick pets because they spent so much on xmas that they can't afford to
take care of their pets, or they give their pets xmas presents which cause
illness (rich foods, bones, or foods which then cause pets to fight over
them and get injured), or their pets eat the electric cords of the lights
or eat an ornament, or they get a new puppy/kitten and the kid throws it
down the stairs, or they forget to put water out and it gets dehydrated,
and blah blah blah. Sorry, this turned into a vent. I will shut up about
that now. It was just very very busy b/c of course most vets are closed
for the holiday so we got all the overflow.
I am greatly looking forward to our New Year's celebration. DH and I will
be spending it at the home of my MOH and her husband (also known as my
mom's brother and his wife :)). In attendance in addition to us will be:
Cousins Jessie and Andrew, ages 14 and 17 (We'll be in andrew's room, he
gets a couch somewhere :))
Aunt Joan and Uncle Jeff (the aforementioned MOH and hubby)
my Mom and Dad
my Uncle Sid, Joan's dad (whose wife died a few months before my wedding
over the summer, this is his first New Year's without her in 50 years.)
Assorted cousins of Joan's who I don't really know
My sort-of cousin Linda (whose mother Ruth is the identical twin of my
mother's mother, Erika) and her husband, maybe
and on New Year's Day, my brother and his fiance will be showing up for
brunch.
I am REALLY looking forward to New Year's Day. I think it will be fun.
--
hillary israeli http://www.hillary.net in...@hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
upenn school of vet med class of 2000
JulieD3964
>I hope everyone who celebrated it had as nice a Christmas as we did -
>and I hope those of you who don't celebrate Christmas enjoyed a quiet,
>relaxing weekend. Now we're just trying to figure out what to do with
>our New Year's Eve!
Your Christmas sounds as if you had a really wonderful time!
Being Jewish, we don't celebrate but we went up to New York City Christmas Eve
to visit with some of Matt's relatives: his aunt, uncle, cousin and cousin's
fiance. Since it was their trip that we were tagging along onto, we said that
whatever they wanted to do would be fine. We ended up doing a lot of things
that we ordinarily wouldn't do but it was nice to get out. :) We had lunch at a
Jewish deli followed by a couple of hours at a used book store. Matt and I
basically hung around on the street corner while everyone else browsed. Then we
took the subway up to Fifth Avenue and walked down to Rockefeller Center for
some $61/lb chocolate. We then said goodbye to the relatives and went back to
our hotel to crash for a couple of hours. We met up with a friend and went out
for a wonderful Italian dinner.
Christmas morning, we slept in and took the train back to New Jersey. We had
planned to get a hotel room near my parents since they don't really have a
place for us to stay anymore as my brother and his family are living with them
until their house is built. Unfortunately, the first place we went, the first
room looked like it had been attacked with an axe and the second one had some
serious plumbing problems with a constant torrent in the shower. I made the
mistake of reading the phone which said free local calls so I called across the
street to another hotel and the front desk charged me $2.50 for the phone call
after we told them the room was unacceptable. The next place looked very
dangerous and was filthy with double beds which wasn't going to work since Matt
is 6'5 and the final place we looked charged us for a king bed and then when we
went to the room there were doubles so we left there too and ended up crashing
on the floor at Mom & Dad's. I was hoping not to have to spend $100 a night for
a decent place to stay in South Jersey but even in the $75 a night range, it
wasn't working out. We'll try elsewhere next time but these were Radissons and
Ramadas, not Gene's Motel!
For New Years Eve, we're heading for the hills! :) We've been invited to a
sleepover party way out past Front Royal in Virginia - if you're familiar with
the area, it's past where 66 meets with 81. It's a bunch of really great people
from the skating rink and the theme is "New Year's Around the World" and we're
all been assigned dishes to bring. We're bringing a green salad and a chicken
dish as well as some "adult beverages." We're also been encouraged to bring
time capsule memorabilia (?) and musical instruments. I think I'll be leaving
my clarinet at home since I haven't seriously played in years. It's a shame
because I used to be awfully good!
Julie
Julie...@aol.com
fdrc
totally overwhelmed with gifts! I think everyone is still adjusting to
having Christmas with more than one other family member; it took us
about three hours to open everything. I think next year we'll have to
limit the number of presents each of us can buy for the others -- not
that we didn't enjoy the things we got, but that it was actually *too
much*. We all felt a bit undeserving.
Christmas Eve was really nice, as it was snowing in the morning when I
was running around picking up a couple last-minute things. Charles and
I both had the day off, which is unusual, so we spent most of the day
together, cleaning up the house a bit and just enjoying each other's
company.
On Christmas Day, my mum arrived around 2pm, and we spent the afternoon
and evening at my MIL's house. MIL cooked two delicious duck a
l'orange, and we had traditional English and French desserts (Christmas
pudding and buche de Noel), as well as some really splendid Christmas
crackers to play with after dinner. All in all, it was a very nice if
somewhat exhausting day (seriously, it was a lot of work opening all
those presents, and cleaning up after, which is another reason why we
don't want to overdo it again!). Charles's grandfather was with us
also, and he seemed in much better health and spirits than when we saw
him this summer. And he even genuinely liked the gifts I bought him
(the answer to "what do you buy a 93-year-old man who has enough money
to buy himself anything" is apparently "leather slippers and mystery
books").
Hillary, your mini-rant made me so sad. I know animals often get
forgotten over the holidays, but *put to sleep* because their owners
overspent on Christmas presents? How sick. I'm visiting the SPCA
every day this week to play with the animals since the shelter is
operating with a skeleton crew until the new year. I can't adopt right
now (my husband probably wouldn't be as tolerant as Jan's!), but at
least I can give them some company.
Fiona
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Geri.Clark
Thursday nite: Dinner with friends from college. One friend is visiting
from Atlanta. Strange situation as friend has just gotten divorced
after a whopping ten months of marriage. He has brought his new
girlfriend with him, who happens to be the ex-wife of another friend
(they also got divorced around the same time). Ack. I think I should
write soap operas, my friends give me enough ideas. Anyway...we go out
with some NYer friends and the Atlantans and have a decent time. But
the dinner wine hits everyone hard and we all stumble home.
Friday: Dash around trying to clean the house and prep the food. I
decided to have brunch 'cause we much prefer it to dinner anyway and it
just seemed more interesting. So glad I have no shopping to do.
Somewhere around 5pm realize we're hungry and order Indian take-out.
Stay up late cleaning and prepping and pass out on couch.
Saturday: I get up at 6am to make sure everything is ready for my
family's visit. I did so well the night before that I have little to
do. Go me =) I make coffee and read the NYTimes and chill out. My mom,
dad, SIL, and my parents dogs arrive at 10:15. My brother is a NYC cop
and has been on 12-hour overnight shifts with no days off for the last
two weeks. He got home Christmas morning and begged to stay home and
sleep. Poor guy, he missed Christmas...We had coffee, I put the rolls
and the fritatta in the oven and we opened presents. Our loot consisted
of: From Parents: a 1950s pottery pitcher and cake stand; four Little
Golden Books from 1968 (to replace the ones I had as a child); a B&D
scumbuster; a jigsaw; and a remote-controlled car (my mom found out
that DH wasn't allowed to have one as a kid so she had to get him one.
I'm ready to throw it out the window).
From Bro and SIL: a copy of "Women" by Annie Leibovitz and Susan Sontag
(a collection of a bunch of Leibovitz photos of women...very cool); and
a mahogany "memory box" that we can put special stuff. A good idea, as
out special stuff is scattered about.
Then we ate (veggie fritatta, baked eggs (for dad, who hates all things
vegetable), sausage (veggie, turkey, and regular), baked pears and
cranberries, homemade croissants, mom's homemade braided bread, banana
bread, and many cookies) and hun out till afternoon when the family
left to beat the horrid Long Island traffic.
Saturday nite: The Jewish Christmas Feast =) We invited
non-Christmas-celebrating friends over to have what DH calls "Jewish
Christmas food": take-out Chinese. We rent a movie, have a few beers,
and I pass out on the couch.
Sunday: brunch with friend-from-college-who's-visiting-from-Seattle.
Haven't seen him since his wedding three years ago.
Sunday nite: cocktails with the neighbors. They've been trying to have
us over for a month now and we keep not being around. So we finally
made it. Wow. The one guy does custom Christmas decorations (for places
like Rockefeller Center and the top of Radio City Music Hall). So their
apt is over-the-top with Christmas: greenery everywhere, tons of lights
and candles, and an 8-foot-tall tree lit with 3000 lights, and covered
in 400+ Radko ornaments. (He used to work for Radko). Wow again.
Now I'm home for a week before starting my new job. I have so much
freelance work to do, and my brain is simply not working. DH's brother
arrives today for New Years weekend. So I should stop typing and get tp
work =)
Karen Simmons
>
> Glad your Christmas went well, Karen! Ours was nice also, but we were
> totally overwhelmed with gifts! I think everyone is still adjusting to
> having Christmas with more than one other family member; it took us
> about three hours to open everything. I think next year we'll have to
> limit the number of presents each of us can buy for the others -- not
> that we didn't enjoy the things we got, but that it was actually *too
> much*. We all felt a bit undeserving.
Yes, we've had Christmases like that too - to the point where it's
embarrassing to open all the gifts because they just keep coming and
coming and coming. But this year we did really well - we each got our
spouses 2 or 3 things, and we each got 2 or 3 things from the person who
drew our names. And then stockings.
Last year was our first married Christmas and Kev's mom and my mom went
in together and finished out our Pfaltzgraff pattern for us (it was
canceled). *That* was embarrassing. Everyone else had about a dozen
packages and we had something like 35. Like you said, it took us hours
to open everything. Even tho we appreciated what they did and it was
fun, I'm hoping it doesn't happen again.
Mike and Heather Oviatt
fdrc wrote:
>
> Glad your Christmas went well, Karen! Ours was nice also, but we were
> totally overwhelmed with gifts! I think everyone is still adjusting to
> having Christmas with more than one other family member; it took us
> about three hours to open everything. I think next year we'll have to
> limit the number of presents each of us can buy for the others -- not
> that we didn't enjoy the things we got, but that it was actually *too
> much*. We all felt a bit undeserving.
Unfortunately, we've got you beat. We came in at just under 6 hours on
Christmas Eve of opening presents. There were 24 people there, 8 of
them kids between the ages of 7 and 14. Everyone outside of Mike's
immediate family (his mom, dad, brother, SIL) open everything from
everybody on Christmas Eve, and they bring it all over to Grandma's to
do it. Mike's immediate family only brings the gifts over there that
are going to people outside of the immediate family, those gifts are
opened Christmas morning with just the 6 of us there.
It's just insane, and every year his cousins say they are going to cut
back, but they don't, and his aunt and Grandma are a big part of the
problem. By the end of the night (about 11:30 pm) even all of the kids
were sick of it, and they all had an hour drive back to Santa Cruz, 2 of
them being dropped of at their mother's on the way.
I told Mike that if we have a young child in the next few years and
Christmas is still being done this way that I won't subject our child to
this craziness. It's one thing for us to sit there (Mike plays Santa
anyway, so he's kept busy), but it's another thing entirely to make a 2
year old hang out with a big crowd in a crowded living room for that
period of time and not get as much stuff as the other kids because we
would do our own thing the next day (which I don't want to change).
Don't get me wrong, we had a great Christmas, but Christmas Eve is just
insane. Mike and I opened our gifts to each other at home on Christmas
morning then went over to his parent's and we opened gifts between that
group and had brunch. Mike bought me a ton of new clothes, all very
nice, and I was feeling a bit guilty that I really hadn't gotten him
that much stuff. But then he confessed that he used up the gift voucher
we had for Penneys from when we returned a bunch of wedding gifts to buy
most of my Christmas presents, so I didn't feel so bad. We had agreed
that we were going to use the gift voucher for clothes since we had had
to pay for our bedding set with cash, instead of the voucher (some weird
thing about having it delivered...).
Heather O.
Howboutmer
>The next place looked very
>dangerous and was filthy with double beds which wasn't going to work since
>Matt
>is 6'5
LOL. We spent the weekend at DHs folks in Dallas and had to share a double bed
for three nights: me, the fat, pregnant, cranky lady; DH, who is 6'8 and could
barely fit his torso on the bed; AND the family Dachsund who has back problems
and needs to be lifted up and down from bed (he slept with us, because
otherwise he'd bark and howl and whine all night. We know this from first-hand
experience :-(
Didn't get much sleep that weekend.
- Mary
RNR
Christmas here was wonderful!
Friday: Woke up and actually got up and was productive instead of
easing into the day. Rich took care of Alexander while I baked cherry-nut
breads, chocolate coconut cookies and butter cookies. Then I made dinner
for the two us: prime rib, red potatoes with boursin and shredded
brussels sprouts. We drank martinelli's in our good crystal. We ate
picnic style under the Christmas tree and watched It's a Wonderful Life.
We were planning on decorating the tree that night, but we never got to
it, and our tree still only has lights on it. We have 8 days to get this
done. It was a lovely night. We had put Alexander to bed at his normal
time, but after dinner and dressing for church, we put a sleepy baby into
his car seat and went to church. He fell asleep in the car, but was too
enthralled with the lights and music at church to stay asleep,
fortunately, he stayed quiet. He did sing along with the carols. The
church was packed! We were planning on sitting in the back anyway,
because of Alexander, but we wouldn't have had much choice if we wanted
different. It was a beautiful service, and we were once again amazed by
the beauty and miracle of it all.
Saturday: Again woke up early and went to work. I didn't get the
pita bread made the day before, so I had to make it before we left for
Rich's cousin's house. When the dough was resting, Rich and I exchanged
our gifts. First we opened out stockings, since we hadnt done so on St.
Nicholas Day. We both had chocolate oranges, mine dark, his milk, and
real oranges, Rich got some Lindor chocolate balls and a new shaving kit
with the Mach 3 razor (really good razor for anyone interested). I got a
huge bag of Tim's Cascade Hot Jalapeno Chips and a knife sharpener. For
presents, Rich got me some much needed knives; we received a nice Chicago
Cutlery knife from our priest as a wedding gift, and Rich found three more
at a good price, he also got me a good set of kitchen shears. I got Rich
toys, a book of paper gliders and a weather kit.
I made some hummus while Rich fed Alexander. When we had changed
Alexander and gotten him ready to go, we brought him to the tree to open
his presents. We had them in bags instead of all wrapped up. I had to
open the bags and point to get him to look in. Then he was excited
because there was something in there. Of course, after he pulled it out,
he'd put it back in. He got a really nice light and buzzer box that Rich
made with different colored lights and easy buttons to push to make it
buzz or light up. I got him a musical Elmo and a crinkly elephant toy.
Some friends of ours had sent us an electronic Pluto dog, which is much
better than a real dog, and its leash was a control to make it walk, bark,
wag its tail or shake his head. Alexander thought this was a real dog and
was so thrilled. He would try to get its attention when it was turned
off. Very cute.
Then we packed it all up into the car and drove to Longview to the
hordes. Rich's cousin and his wife (3 boys and expecting twins) hosted,
his aunt and uncle (the parents to this cousin), their other children and
spouses/so's and their children, Rich's folks and brother. It was a
riot. It went much better than we expected, but we haven't announced our
baby yet. After spending the day there eating and playing we drove home.
Alexander had fun playing with the other kids and having all that
attention, and we didn't have to watch him all the time. We got a nice
check from Rich's folks, Life of Brian for Rich and slippers for me from
his brother, a set of towels and an ornament from his parents and a
Hickory Farms sampler box from the cousins.
Sunday: We got up as usual and went to church. Then Rich had to fly
in the afternoon and I cleaned the wreckage. Maybe I'll get the tree
decorated today. We have another appt with the midwife tomorrow, so I'll
let you all know how it goes.
Regards,
Ranee
Microsoft is preparing for the next millennium with a new
version of Windows called Windows 2000. The target for
release is first quarter, 1901
Liz
My Christmas actually started on Thursday, the 23rd. I always get my hair
cut then, so I can remember when I've had it done, and then Jimmy and I meet
for a special date, so not to let the nice hair go to waste. So we met for a
few drinks and then went for dinner at a favorite restaurant. On the way he
proposed! So a couple of more drinks and lots of congratulations from other
festive restaurant-goers, we had dinner. Couldn't drive home, so we stayed
in a hotel for the night.
Friday: got home around noon, took a nap (with all the excitement, I
couldn't sleep the night before!). Woke up in time to put out some snacks
for some friends who were coming over. Entertained them for a couple of
hours, then changed and got ready for Christmas Eve. My mom came up and we
had lots of appetizer-y foods, since we prefer grazing. Opened presents for
a long time (books, christmas ornaments, some throw pillows for our couch,
some gardening equipment, a CD writer for Jimmy, clothes for Jimmy etc.) and
visited. Mom left around 9pm and Jim and I went to bed, exhausted from all
the excitement and emotion of the evening before.
Saturday: got up early, packed up the car with all the gifts, got dressed
and went to Jim's family. Opened presents there (a beautiful mantle clock, a
house for my dept. 56 collection, a set of steak knives, a belt sander for
Jimmy), everyone exclaimed over the engagement, and then we just hung out
and visited with Jim's brother, up from Houston. Some friends dropped by
which was nice. Then we had dinner (roasted filet mignon, with a special
gravy of some sort, potatoes, veggies) and went to some friends' for
dessert.
Sunday: slept in, puttered around for a while and then went to Jim's
cousin's for brunch and football.
Headed home happy and exhausted on Sunday evening!
Liz
Karen Simmons
> got me a good set of kitchen shears
Ranee (and anyone else who's interested),
Kev's mom has been getting us Chicago Cutlery and she and I have found a
great place on the web: check out http://www.kitchenetc.com. They have
Chicago Cutlery at up to 50% off the store prices (eg. the bread knife
that's $40 at Dillards is $24.99 at kitchenetc.com). I've ordered from
them twice and have had good experiences both times.
Karen Simmons
> these rules. It is not worth $400 a night to have only 4 people in
> your room!! We told them we were cancelling because we got that
> letter that said we couldn't have any fun. The guy said "oh, the
> letter."
Just a note about hotel occupancy (I worked in hotels for 6 years): the
room limits are not set by the hotel but by local and state fire
authorities. Just as restaurants and clubs have maximum capacities, so
do hotels - per room as well as for the entire building. The codes are
not meant to keep you from having fun, but to protect you in case of
fire or other natural disaster (emergency exits, fire hoses, and other
safety features are built into the hotel based on the maximum occupancy
- much like boats carry life rafts and floatation devices based on a
full passenger load). Exceed that maximum safe occupancy and you risk
not being able to evacuate the hotel in a timely and safe manner in case
of an emergency.
A hotel that doesn't enforce these codes can not only be fined an
incredible amount of money per person exceeding the limit (upwards of
$25,000 per person in the state of Texas), but can actually lose their
hospitality, business, and/or food & beverage licenses for violating
fire codes.
Just a little hotel trivia for you.
CatMom0823
> Some friends of ours had sent us an electronic Pluto dog, which is
> much better than a real dog, and its leash was a control to make it
> walk, bark, wag its tail or shake his head. Alexander thought this
> was a real dog and was so thrilled. He would try to get its
> attention when it was turned off. Very cute.
Umm... I confess - I have this Pluto! :-) He is SO cute, and I had to
get him because I collect Pluto things (mostly figurines and stuffed
ones).
So glad you had a nice Christmas. How are you feeling?
- Dianne
RNR
<destiny...@sundial.net.invalid> wrote:
>Ranee said:
>> Some friends of ours had sent us an electronic Pluto dog, which is
>> much better than a real dog, and its leash was a control to make it
>> walk, bark, wag its tail or shake his head. Alexander thought this
>> was a real dog and was so thrilled. He would try to get its
>> attention when it was turned off. Very cute.
>
>Umm... I confess - I have this Pluto! :-) He is SO cute, and I had to
>get him because I collect Pluto things (mostly figurines and stuffed
>ones).
>
>So glad you had a nice Christmas. How are you feeling?
Thank you. I'm doing alright, and seeming to eat better than I was
before. This is the greatest doggie for Alexander. It overshadowed all
the things we got for him, though. Oh well.
How was your Christmas? I hope it was also nice.
Deb Hardison
thinking that you had to see your dad and his significant other - I was
wondering how that situation went, but I guess you didn't see them!
We had a wonderful Christmas. Christmas eve was just the two of us (yay!).
I really wanted it this way, as we've been on "overload" the past few
months - I travel about 3 days a week for work, and just wanted to *be
home*! I made a traditional Christmas dinner that night - ham, mashed
potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, rolls, etc. and we had a great time
just sitting at the table and talking. After dinner Wayne read Luke 2
(where Christ's birth is recorded), and then we opened our gifts. We both
*loved* what we got from each other, so that was fun. Christmas morning we
slept in, and then opened our stocking gifts, which was great fun. I
especially laughed when I found 2 CD's in my stocking that *Wayne* really
wanted... :-) We had a small brunch, and then headed over to Wayne's sister
and BIL's house. That was a blast, as we got to watch our 16 yr old nephew
walk into the garage and find his gift - a 1975 convertible Jeep. We all
hung out at their house until about 4, and then went to another family's
home for dinner (my parents and Wayne's mom live far away - MN & CA, so we
didn't see either over Christmas). All in all, a wonderful, relaxing
holiday.
Deb
Karen Simmons wrote in message <38687E91...@mindspring.com>...
>We're not officially back from Christmas, but I am spending tonight and
>tomorrow at home under the guise of "work to do". I do in truth have
>some work to do to get caught up - mostly business paperwork and
>organization - but I really wanted some time to myself. I figured while
>I was here I could post a summary of our Christmas.
>----------------------------
CatMom0823
> Thank you. I'm doing alright, and seeming to eat better than I
> was before. This is the greatest doggie for Alexander. It
> overshadowed all the things we got for him, though. Oh well.
> How was your Christmas? I hope it was also nice.
Well... whatever makes the little guy happy, right? :-) I'm glad
you're eating better - I can't imagine what it is like to be hungry and
yet not able to stomach so many things. I guess some day I will find
out!
Our Christmas was nice. :-) We recently bought a new printer and got
our two home computers set up on a network (so we are OFFICIALLY big
dweebs now!), so that was most of our present to each other.
From Jake I also got the Seiko Kinetic watch I wanted. (But I can't
wear it yet because it is huge and needs to be sized by a jeweler.)
And he surprised me with a sterling silver Pluto charm from Disney.
Just what I need: more Plutos!
For small gifts, I picked up a few Star Wars Episode I toys for him.
For his big surprise, I gave him gift certificates to the golf course
where his Dad belongs. I've been saying since we got married that I
didn't want him golfing because I didn't want to be a golf widow. But
I know that it is something he really wants to do and would like to be
able to share with his Dad. He was TOTALLY surprised! Mom and Dad
(Jake's) knew about this, so Dad put together a set of clubs from his
collection and gave him a new glove. So, it was nice knowing him while
it lasted LOL.
We live about 5 minutes from Jake's parents. And 1000 miles away from
mine (in Worcester, Mass.). I brought my family's presents there with
me when I went to my 10 year high school reunion last month.
Christmas Eve we went to Jake's parents house to have Brunswick stew
and cornbread with Mom and Dad, us, and Jake's sister Carrie. It has
been chilly here (for FL), so the stew was perfect.
Christmas morning we opened our small gifts and went to Jake's parents'
for breakfast. Jake's Mom made blueberry pancakes and bacon using the
pancake mix, bacon, and VT maple syrup that came in my parents' New
England gift pack they sent for Christmas. It was yummy! - We opened
presents there. I REALLY surprised Jake - it was great!
I came home and napped. Jake went to the golf course with Dad to hit
some balls. We went to Jake's mother's parents' (who also live 5
minutes away) for turkey and all the trimmings at about 3:30. - Jake's
grandmother wanted pork roast for dinner, so that is what Jake's Mom
made. Everybody was whining about there being no turkey. So Jake's
grandma decided to make a turkey. Usually Jake's mother makes prime
rib for Christmas. We were very happy to get turkey! - I brought a
Jello no bake cheesecake for dessert. Cooking is not my forte. :-)
We were dozing off watch football at Grandma and Grandpa's house, so we
headed home. We also had to feed our very hungry pets. Jake's sister
came over later, after Jake's parents went to bed.
All in all, a very nice and pretty low key Christmas. - The holidays
were a thousand times better for me this year thanks to Jake's sister.
She was terribly mean to me from the time we first met - I think
because Jake and I met & married so quickly while she was still waiting
on her boyfriend of 7 years. She stayed at our house last Thanksgiving
and criticized everything left and right, leaving me in tears. I vowed
never to have her stay with us again. Whenever I saw her, it was more
of the same. - Well, her now ex boyfriend broke up with her about a
year ago and she has become a TOTALLY different person. It is great!
I have always wanted a sister (I have 1 younger brother), and now I
have one! She even calls me sis. :-)
Happy Almost New Year!
Kelli Hughes
18th. We were doing our Christmas cards the night of the 17th. The
17th was my last day of work (teaching). We got everything ready to go
and packed that night as well. We drove to his parents house (2 hours
away) that night. The next morning, we woke up and left fro Houston.
Our flight to Honduras (Roatan) was at 2:00 p.m., but TACA airlines are
not the most reliable. Everything went very smoothly. We were plenty
early and had time to relax in the airport and eat lunch. We spent a
week in Honduras scuba diving. It was fabulous! It was our first real
diving trip, so we really enojyed it. We dove for 4 days. The last day
we spent on the island (you can't dive within 24 hours of flying and our
flight was at 7 am on Christmas Eve). The resort and everything were
wonderful!! We had a romantic week before Chtistmas. We flew through
Belize on the way home. We actually left 25 minutes early, so we were
back in Houston by 1:00 and back to his parents by 3:00. Then, it was
time to get in the Christmas mood (after spending a week on the beach on
80 degree weather) which was hard when it was in the upper 60s low 70s
when we returned. We had chili and opened gifts with his family.
Christmas morning, we drove home and spent Christmas Day with my mom and
brother. The day after that, we saw my dad and his new wife and had
Christmas with them. Now, we are shopping and cleaning and relaxing.
My 25th brithday is New Year's Eve, so we will definitely celebrate that
night. We are having friends over and will probably go down to 6th
street (our version of Bourbon Street) early. Austin is having one of
the largest parties in the nation (behind New York, New Orleans, and a
few others) which is pretty cool for a medium town in Texas. We had a
hotel downtown, but we cancelled it because they have all these rules.
It is not worth $400 a night to have only 4 people in your room!! We
told them we were cancelling because we got that letter that said we
That was our holiday. Sounds hectic, but it is nice to never be in a
hurry to do anything and see all the people you love most.
Kelli
Gainesmk
groups at work but hadn't seen anything and was wondering???????
Summary - I thankfully had the 23rd - 27th off from work, so that short
vacation was very nice. 23rd, we went to get our tree and found no open lots -
actually, it was as if Christmas was already over; there weren't any lots to be
found at all! We finally found one, which had closed that day, and they had
all of these new, green, still wrapped in twine, trees just laying on the
ground, so we took one home =) Mark kept saying 'we should leave a $20 or
something" and I was saying "where?". There was no sign of a desk or booth or
paying table at all.
24th - I started cooking in the morning, while Mark went down to get our new
bedroom set (a nice, medium stained pine sleigh bed, new mattress, armoire,
lingerie chest and 3 drawer nightstands). Mark's parents came over, and his
dad helped put the set together, while his mom bugged me about boy names some
more =) BIL, SIL & nephew pulled up in a new mini-van, which she really
needed. We ate a nice dinner (ham, scalloped potatoes, french beans, salad &
rolls), then started the gift procession. Mark's family actually bought us
some baby things, which surprised us. We finished the gifts, and I got out the
wrapped picture frames (with the sex of the baby) and told them we had one last
thing for them to open together. BIL beat us to the punch, said they had one
last thing, too, and took out a sign for my SIL, which basically said that
she's pregnant again. So, after that, the sex of this baby was kind of
anti-climatic, especially since SIL (8 weeks pg) thinks she's having a girl,
too. Oh, well - at least we don't have to hear about boy names anymore =P
25th - Mark & I got up, opened some gifts and had a nice, leisurely breakfast.
Mark did great this year - I got a breastfeeding book, a Parents software
program, some 80's compilation tapes, some bath stuff, a back heat/massage pad,
and assorted neat things. He got XFiles audio tapes, dad books, some clothes,
new computer game, etc... We both got gifts from and for Jenna and the cats =)
(who got one of those battery operated weasel balls, and were mesmerized). We
also started a new tradition - I bought an angel stocking, and every year, we
will be putting in "good deeds" in Broderick's name. This year, I gave to the
March of Dimes and the local animal shelter. That went over really well with
Mark, since we'd both grown up doing something for others around Christmas time
and wanted to continue that somehow. My mom and her DH came over, and we
opened more presents - lots of fun things on both sides. Then off to my aunt's
for more present opening and food. Some of my relatives didn't know that we
were expecting again, so imagine their surprise to see a 7 month pregnant me!
It was nice to see everyone, since it's the only time we all attempt to get
together.
26th - got the house back into order, and moved all of the furniture around
upstairs. We now have a queen set in our guest room, a queen set in our
master, a daybed w/trundle in our retreat, the computer stuff in the retreat
closet (which had the doors removed and shelves added), huge bookshelves in the
retreat, and the nursery completed (except for painting). The best part - it
ALL MATCHES! The nester in me has escaped and wouldn't be quiet until it was
all done, so I'm feeling peaceful upstairs now =) We also went to church,
since we couldn't get in for Midnight Mass. Best Mass I've ever been to in
this church, since it was not crowded and the choir actually sang songs that
were listed in the book!
27th - went to Idyllwild (small town in the mountains) to check Mark's parent's
property, drink hot liquids and listen to Mark's XFiles book =) Awesome day.
This week, I worked Tuesday and today, then don't go back until Monday. We are
leaving tomorrow night for Catalina Island. We figure there are worse places
to be stranded should LA go to pot on Y2K =:o We are planning to spend it
alone, as the rest of his family are in the desert for the weekend. I'm been
having a difficult time this week, but hoping that quiet time on the island
will help me get back in the spirit of things and sustain me through the next
couple of months.
Glad to hear that everyone seemed to have a pretty good holiday (Hillary - I am
so sorry to hear about the stupid pet owners who have to deal with!!!!!!!!!!)
and you all seem to have gotten through it safely. As always, I think about
this group every day and will be praying that there are no Y2K problems that
effect anyone negatively.
kellie
Jean Peters
the flu since last Friday, and have been feeling pretty miserable for most
of the week. Luckily, we had already decided to have Christmas Day in our
own home, because there was no way either of us could have travelled over
the weekend. We did cook Christmas dinner (turkey and ham) because we had
everything in, and it would have gone to waste otherwise, but we really
only picked at it and I'm fairly certain neither of us could actually taste
anything.
We missed Christmas Eve at my mother's house, which is the big gift opening
time for anyone who's not going to be there on the day. We did make it
down for the party in Mum's on the 27th, and I got to see some of my
cousins that I haven't seen in over a year. However, we didn't make it to
Mark's family party, in his uncle's house, on the 26th :-(.
Jean
Hillary Israeli
Gainesmk <gain...@aol.comnoQjunk> wrote:
*First, I wanted to know if anyone has heard from Rose? I've been skimming the
*groups at work but hadn't seen anything and was wondering???????
I was wondering too. I actually emailed her but she hasn't written back;
I'm figuring she may be on holiday.
It sounds like you had a great xmas. We leave today to head to northern NJ
to ring in the new year (and belatedly exchange chanuka gifts) with most
of my family.
JulieD3964
>Kev's mom has been getting us Chicago Cutlery and she and I have found a
>great place on the web: check out http://www.kitchenetc.com.
They just opened up a brick & mortar store near us and I hope their web
operation is a lot better than their in person store! Maybe they were just
having a bad night because they've just opened, but I went in to get two small
things: an inexpensive immersion blender to make some soup (thought it would be
less messy that way) and a cheap garlic keeper. The selection was pretty good
as far as kitchen gadets are concerned but they didn't have any selection with
the two items I was considering. That's okay though - I only spent about $30.
The sales staff was downright SURLY and found great humor in shuttling
customers between registers. There were two clerks, each standing behind a
register and each kept sending customers to the other and then back again and
they'd laugh about it. I left the merchandise at the counter on the second
"shuttle" and won't be returning.
Julie
Julie...@aol.com
CatMom0823
> *First, I wanted to know if anyone has heard from Rose? I've been
> skimming the
> *groups at work but hadn't seen anything and was wondering???????
Hillary posted:
> I was wondering too. I actually emailed her but she hasn't written
> back;
> I'm figuring she may be on holiday.
I do remember seeing Rose post in misc.kids.pregnancy a day or two
after Christmas. :-) (We're not even close to TTC, but I really enjoy
reading the posts there!) Dianne
Rose Bingham
> First, I wanted to know if anyone has heard from Rose? I've been skimming the
> groups at work but hadn't seen anything and was wondering???????
Hi Kelli and everyone. I've been trying to read the ng now and then the last
couple of weeks but... well, we've been pretty busy and I'm rather tired all the
time now so napping takes priority frequently.
I haven't really had any signs that I might be meeting this child anytime soon - so
much for a tax deduction for '99. <g> Actually, my boss is having a big NYE
party at her house and she has me under orders not to go into labour before then.
She told me if I do I can just bring my midwife to the party <g>. Last night we
went out for dinner with Phil's family for his birthday and I was having what I
think were contractions about 20-25 mins apart but then they went away so I guess
it was just practice.
We had a pretty good Christmas although it was a very hectic week. The people we
had to deal with the get our stuff from MIA were complete idiots (you'd think they
never did this before...) and had Phil running all over for 2 days with a rented
truck before we finally got our things. They unloaded them at the townhouse the
evening of the 23rd so we spent Christmas Eve unpacking, setting up a tree (Phil
had to break down 2 crates in the living room to make a spot for the tree)
decorating etc. OK - I did the decorating and he did the rest of the stuff. We
spent Christmas day with Phil's family and as some one else mentioned it was a bit
embarrassing because they all went way overboard with gifts for us because they
knew there were plenty of things we could use having just moved. We also visited
with a cousin of Phil's that, it turns out, lives in the same development as us (he
barely knows this girl but she is about our age) and also stopped in to see some
good longtime friends of ours that we hadn't seen since the summer we got married.
We are still getting settled and haven't decided for sure what Phil is going to be
doing. He's going to wait till after the baby is born to start working so we'll be
(hopefully) settled. And, of course, he needs to be available to wait on his wife
hand and foot for that immediate post-partum period <g>. He has been offered his
old position as American Express so that is under consideration along with a few
other things. There would be definite drawbacks to that - the main ones being he
was never that in love with that job in the first place and it doesn't really
provide a path for getting us out of S. FL and to somewhere we want to be in the
next few years (whereas some of the other possibilities would). However, it would
be very good w.r.t. childcare as he had an alternating 3/4 day workweek, one of
which was always Saturday. Presumably I could work 1 / 2 days/week from home and
the baby would only need to be with someone else 1 day a week. Since we both feel
that minimizing the outside childcare - at least for the first year or two - is a
priority, the most likely solution at this point is for him to go back to AE
short-term and simultaneoulsy get some current IT training which would facilitate
him getting into a new field down the road (and getting us out of S.FL.) Of
course, there's plenty of logistics there that remain to be planned out.
Regardless of what we decide, I am **really** enjoying living with my husband like
a normal person without having any unused portions of plane tickets lying about
with looming departure dates on them!! It feels so strange (in a good way)
everytime I realize that neither of us is going anywhere anytime soon. I never
really realized how much the next "upcoming departure" must have always been in the
back of my mind.
Anyway, I'll probably be too busy for awhile yet to post here much. I'm trying to
get as much work done as possible before taking my mat leave and, of course,
there's some "settling in" that I want to do myself. Fortunately, I married
someone who knows when to take over and do everything and when to back off and let
the control freak in me have her way. But I'll definitely let you all know when I
have any 'big news' to share. My curiosity is just killing me now - I am dying to
know when this child will be born and can't wait to see the little guy!
Rose
RNR
<jeanp...@ireland.com> wrote:
>Well, Christmas passed in kind of a blur for me. Both Mark and I have had
>the flu since last Friday, and have been feeling pretty miserable for most
>of the week.
You know, I think this is the first Christmas since we've been married
that we _weren't_ sick.
Howboutmer
week. Hope your trip to the island is relaxing and just what you need.
That's really funny your SIL "thinks" she's having a girl -- at only 8 weeks!
So, you're cats were mesmerized by the weasel thing? Mine was terrified when we
got one of those. She'll stick to plastic bottle caps and pony tail holders,
thank you very much. (although we got her some spongy balls which she loooooved
to play with. But now, all 5 are missing. I'm really praying that she didn't
eat them.)
- Mary
Kellie:
Barbara Elizabeth Warner
week to celebrate.)
Christmas started in earnest for us on December 23rd, when we packed up
the rental car (a true "rent-a-"wreck") and went to Toronto. After a
pit stop for dinner and a 4 1/2 hour drive, we made it to Scarborough
before midnight and were greeted by two sleepy parents! Mom stayed up
for a while with us, as Dad fell back asleep. We had a nice visit, tried
some of Wende's fruitcake and Mieko's cookies & fudge (all arrived safe
and sound, and all were delicious)
On the 24th, we slept in, went to the mall for my haircut (and a last
minute present for my parents who just got an iMac), and packed for our
Christmas Eve celebrations. Around 5pm, the four of us (Mom, Dad, DH
and I) piled into the car and drove to the Toronto Beaches, where we
spent the evening with 9 others -- my aunt and uncle (our hosts), their
two kids (my cousins) and their respective SOs, my cousins' grandmother,
and my sister and BIL. We had a cold walk along Queen street to a
church mom claimed had a service (we've had bad luck in recent years
with getting the group to a church at the right time and place!), and
she was right -- the church was beautiful, the carols were divine, and
the children's musical nativity play was sweet. Mom even surprised one
of her former students after the show -- he didn't dream of seeing Mrs.
Warner at *his* church. He kept asking us to go to his house, but she
said she couldn't because Santa wouldn't know where to find her. This
seemed to satisfy the 8-year old cutie momentarily, but then he would
ask 2 minutes later! :-)
We walked back together, and warmed up with some tea back at my aunt's.
We all then milled around, ate all sorts of appetizer type things like
Christmas cake, Christmas cookies, vegetables and dip, warm Brie on
fresh bread maker bread, etc. After a rousing round of Christmas songs
and carols (which thoroughly embarrassed the SOs and DHs!), we had more
hearty fare -- our 'newly traditional' chicken balls with pineapple (in
a sweet and sour sauce), spare ribs in a thick BBQ sauce and fluffy
rice, followed by more desserty-type thing s (more cookies and cake).
We had a last minute scramble for stockings as most of the kids /
SOs/DHs had forgotten to bring theirs -- and laid them all out by the
tree. One by one, each person came down and filled the stockings with a
little gift for each person (I distributed mine and DH's, on his sleepy
request). My parents left for home around midnight, as did one cousin
and her SO, but everyone else (9 of us) stayed over in the art deco,
open concept 2 person townhouse! My BIL beat me at a late night game of
Scrabble (using really weird two letter "words" like AA and IX permitted
by the computer version - even though we were using a board!)
Christmas morning was a late start -- we had tea, muffins, etc., while
waiting for the two couples to return, and finally opened our
stockings. I got an assortment of chocolates, fridge magnets, little
hooks, flavoured popcorn (salt & vinegar, which I ate for breakfast), an
emery board key chain, and promotional items from the bank where my aunt
& uncle work...a hat, mouse pad and travel mug. My cousin who had
driven in from her apartment was *starving* so we took a break for
breakfast (chelsea buns, mini Kellogg's cereals, tea/coffee/juice and
champagne, and fruit salad as well as plain oranges). Then, the
present-fest began, and we had so many presents that we ran out of room
around the tree -- the night before when we and our gifts arrived, we
ended up putting them on top of the sideboard and other big pieces of
furniture! Julian, my DH, played "Santa" for a while, handing out gifts
to the family, then I did it a while, then my BIL, my Dad and my cousin
.... We all sit and watch one person open their gift, see what it is,
discuss it, and move on to the next gift. It takes a while, but it's
really nice and cozy and makes for more 'togetherness', IMO, than just
all diving in and ripping open the gifts (which is what DH's family
does...so I've experienced both for a few years now).
Again, my parents went a little overboard...but the two biggest gifts
were in the form of homemade gift certificates, so I didn't have to
"open" them in front of everyone. (Dad is treating me to a weekend in
Boston, in June when the Jays are playing at Fenway!; he's taking Julian
skiing for a day/weekend somewhere near Ottawa). Mom is buying us a
lamp for the house -- a much appreciated and needed gift. We're hoping
to hit the January sales this week and stretch one gift into two (as we
can't decide where we need the lamp more -- the bedroom or the living
room). They both bought us some soup bowls (in our everyday china
pattern) and a soup recipe book for under the tree -- and some clothes
(GAP jeans and a sweater set for me, a black knit mock neck top for
Julian. my BIL got a very similar shirt and they dressed like twins for
dinner! Very funny.)
DH gave me what I wanted and suspected (due to his leaving the packaging
around the house and the box unwrapped on the top of our things when
packing the car!) -- a thick afghan blanket, coloured in beiges, greens,
and browns, and the pattern is two bears having tea. We love bears and
really needed something nice to snuggle with on the couch (which is a
house rule -- "snuggling at 11pm, no matter what!", so it's a perfect
gift. I accidentally went overboard on his gifts, but he didn't mind DH
loved his Hungry Hippos game, the book on the 1998 Ice Storm I bought,
and of course, the Thorton's toffee which Vicky sent (supposedly by
surface post, to arrive in time for our dating anniversary in January or
Valentine's Day -- but it arrived in 5 days, and in time for
Christmas!)!
My sister bought us entertaining 'stuff' since she'd heard about the
Cooking Club and our frequent get togethers at our house with friends --
nice silvery coloured linen place mats, napkins, etc., a sliver plated
cheese service set (we're really mice, we like cheese so much), etc. My
cousin and his SO who drew our name gave us a nice amount of gift
certificates for indigo, a book / music store -- which we used wisely
during the Boxing Week sales to buy a nice new *very discounted*! atlas
(came in handy during the NYE celebrations!), a compilation of scripts
and writings by our favourite radio personality/journalist Peter
Gzowski, and a super CD of the Lincoln Center Orchestra led by Wynton
Marsalis (we saw them live, in person, from front row seats this summer
on our 2 month anniversary, and they're **fabulous**.)
We got some miscellaneous food items and goodies from my grandmother,
and the usual cheque.
We went skating in the afternoon, and then headed back to Scarborough
(north part of Toronto) for Christmas dinner at my parents: perfectly
tender, roasted turkey, bread stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes,
broccoli-and-onion casserole, steamed corn, with sides of cranberry
jelly, assorted pickles and buns. Of course, our meal began with a
"BANG" - the noise of our traditional Christmas crackers opening...they
were really nice ones -- the hats were brightly coloured and didn't fall
off, the jokes also included riddles and trivia, and the toys were
really neat -- little stamps and tree ornaments and purses and stuff
:-) We played, we ate, we drank, then we played games --- Hungry Hippos
(to annoy my mother!, who never let us have that game when we were
little because it's "too noisy"), and some cards/board/dice games. I
did have a total emotional breakdown for about an hour after dinner
(stupid stuff about work/Bar Ads/life-in-general) but DH helped me
through it, and I recovered in time to say goodbye to my relatives who
were leaving. My sister, BIL, DH and I finished the night with a game
of Yatzee!, of which Dh was the reining champ.
WE spent a quiet day at my parents on the 26th, sleeping in, eating,
chatting,watching movies.,e tc. That evening, we met up with friends
who called us on the spur of the moment (ironically, they too live in
Ottawa but were in Toronto for the holiday). The plan was to meet them
at the end of their meal downtown, then go to a club for a retro 80s
night. The night started out well (we got free street parking within
easy walking distance of the restaurant and club), and chatted with our
friends as they finished their drinks. Then, we ended up spending 1 1/2
hours waiting in line (-5 to -10C temperatures) to get into the club,
and another 45 minutes inside trying to get to the "top floor" where the
80s party was. Turns out, the line up was just for hype -- there was
plenty of room on the top floor :-( It's a good thing we were with good
friends, as it was a long wait and a mediocre bar once we got in. They
didn't play anything before 1987, either :-( We made up for it by
having a good post-club meal at an all night breakfast place downtown,
and our friends treated us when the bill came :-)
On the 27th, we set up my Dad's iMac and just hung out with the family.
On the 28th, we set out to visit four different sets of DH's relatives
over two days -- the flu intervened, and we only saw two sets in one day
(the relatives got ill, not us!)....arriving back in Toronto on the
evening of the 28th. We played games after lunch with DH's cousins on
one side (Mastermind, and then UNO, a card game), and then games before
and after dinner with DH's cousins on the other side (Chinese checkers,
Ants in Pants, Nintendo 64) -- and arrived back at my parents in Toronto
to join in more games with my family and their guests (my sister, BIL
and my sister's in-laws and BIL). We played a tile rummy game called
Rummy-cube, and then a big game of "Beyond Balderdash" -- a game where
players guess at the definitions of different words, names ,etc.
On the 29th, we spent a good deal of time tidying up all of our baskets,
bags and boxes of stuff, and then --- played more games! We went to an
annual meeting of my family with another family ('pretend aunt and
uncle' and their grown children), where we ate pizza, caught up on
everyone's lives since our wedding, and played Scattegories and Euchre
(a local card game).
On the 30th, Christmas officially ended! We packed up the car and then
enjoyed home made French toast (prepared by my Dad) before setting off
on our 5 hour car ride home. We intended to go straight home, but
somehow found our way inside the Hershey chocolate factory's visitor
centre in Smith's Falls, Ontario. As we walked around the second floor,
reading about chocolate and peering down onto the factory floor, I
thought about all the choco-holics here :-) We nearly bought a big box
(each) of Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey's bars, but as this would have
been $50!, we opted for a variety of smaller packages (at roughly the
same price per bar anyway, and spent only about $10 instead, for less
chocolate but more selection)....the Smith's Falls plant makes bars and
syrups for the whole country, and they had other Hershey's products in
the store, too, so we had quite a selection to choose from. We've
decided to add it to our sightseeing list for any visitors! We made it
back to our little house around 3:30pm, with enough time to unload the
car, make a big shopping list, and stock up our pantry before the rental
car had to go back. I was super-pleased to find a 10kg (~20 pound) bag
of Prince Edward Island potatoes at the store, so I felt that was my
last Christmas gift...and bought it! <rant> They usually only have
Ontario or US potatoes, but I really prefer those potatoes from the
rich, red soil of my soul's home...PEI. I was sooooo glad that they had
them when we had a car to get them home! </rant>
That was the end of our Christmas -- just in time to prepare for New
Year's and <voice of doom> The Year Two Thousand! <g> </voice of doom>
All in all, we enjoyed pleasant weather (although not a white
Christmas), good company, good food, lots of fun and games, and the
warmth of the love of our nearest and dearest. To be perfectly frank,
it made me want to move back to Toronto more than ever, and even DH is
more interested in doing that someday.... It won't be soon, not 'til
I've passed my bar exams and DH's game company's future is more
settled. But, it seems more likely than ever before, which pleases me.
I like living here, but having good friends here isn't a substitute for
the extended but emotionally-close family-and-friends we have in and
around Toronto. Still, it was nice to come home to our own little
house and have some quiet time, just the two of us.
Hoping everyone had a nice, relaxing -- I mean restful -- weekend,
whatever you were doing!
--Barbara