Quick Holiday Recap

So, all those things that I said “I’ll do that after the holidays” have reared their ugly heads and are now waiting in line on my massive To Do list. Some are more important than others (balance checkbook and get more stamps), some are always on there (balance checkbook, laundry, exercise), and some are fun (buy yarn and work on travel plans). It’s 11:00 and here’s what I’ve accomplished: nothing. Nada. Not a damn thing. I’ve read the paper, I’ve eaten breakfast, I’ve read some blogs, and I’ve started typing up this post, but I haven’t done anything on my list yet.

This is my first day alone in the house again. It was nice having Al home for the holidays and I loved having my friend RJ visiting, but it’s nice to have the house to myself again so I can regroup. The beginning of a new year can be a reflective time, and now I have time to reflect.

It was a nice, lovely, quiet Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with good friends, eating a fabulous meal and watching A Christmas Story. Al and I had a bit of a tiff but it didn’t last all that long (thus the description as “tiff”). ‘Tis the season for my nerves to be on edge, and unfortunately for Al, he’s the only one around for me to get mad at.

Christmas Day started with the traditional mimosas and breakfast then opening presents. We stuck to our plan of not going overboard this year, and I think we’ll stick with that. The gifts were much more heartfelt because we had to think a little harder about what the other person would want. I got Al The Road to Dakar book/DVD, which is about Charlie Boorman’s quest to race at Dakar. Boorman and Ewan McGregor rode around the world a couple of years ago in The Long Way Round. I watched the DVD with him, which at first I thought was part of his gift, but really, I love shows like that. They make me want to accomplish something that would scare me to death. But I’m not going to race in the desert—people die in that race. Anyway, he loved it. He gave me a Winnie-the-Pooh watch, a cookbook and a subscription to Hobby Farms magazine. Now, I know that last one might seem a little odd, but it’s really the sweetest gift of all. There are always articles about sheep, alpacas, goats, rabbits, and any other animal whose fur can be turned into yarn, and I have a pipedream about having a small farm. Al doesn’t really share that dream, yet he gets me this magazine because he knows how much I enjoy reading it. And speaking of thoughtful gifts, my mom and brother got me wonderful books, mostly knitting books, that I’ve been wanting for a long time. I can also get some yarn at my favorite yarn shop and some new tunes from iTunes.

New Year’s Eve was another quiet affair. It sleeted that morning, then snowed all day. I think we had around 3 inches, and the roads were really bad. The fireworks planned for downtown were postponed, and we pretty much just sat inside and relaxed. Al seems to take great pride in the fact that he doesn’t go out on new year’s eve, so even if it wasn’t snowing, we would have stayed home. He doesn’t even want to stay up to watch the festivities on TV. I tried to go to sleep but couldn’t, so I stayed up and finished my book.

We spent New Year’s Day at an annual party of one of Al’s co-workers. We really like this family and always have a good time at their house. Andi is a crafter and makes beautiful jewelry in addition to quilting and scrapbooking. Plus, she’s a great cook, so we always eat well. And Chris is a brewer, so there’s always good beer. I took my knitting because I knew that all the women would end up in the living room, sitting around the fire, talking. Except for a sleepy spell, I was able to keep up with all the conversations. And is usual for us, we were the last ones to leave. I don’t know how we always do that—it’s a little embarrassing, really. Actually, we left the same time another couple did, and while Al was putting on his shoes, he looked outside and saw them getting into their new Toyota FJ Cruiser. He jumped up and yelled, “Hey, don’t go yet, I wanna look at your car.” It’s freezing outside, but the wife and I stand there shivering and talking while Al sits in every seat and talks about the car. No, we are not getting an FJ Cruiser. I like not having car payments and sitting in that thing was like sitting in a tank. I couldn’t see over the hood very well. And I’m not that short! Besides, it really is more car than we need. We’re not planning on driving up a rocky mountain or through any rivers any time soon. Although that does sound like a lot of fun.

And that brings me back to sitting here, typing up a post when I should be doing a whole list of other things. Oh well. I guess I’ll stop there. I’ll ramble some more tomorrow. Next post, I'll tell ya about the scotch party we went to. Woo boy. I think Al is still hurting from that one.