I went to the Christmas Eve service alone this year. Well, not really alone. There were about 1100 others there as well with young children making their noises at all the quietest times in the service, of course. That's part of the beauty of it. Came home and began cooking. Christmas Day was busy, busy, busy.
How did it go? Fantabulous!
Because my house is small, and there would be eight of us here for Christmas supper and gifts, I decorated the 7 1/2 ft. tree on the front porch outside the picture window. That serves the dual purpose of a Christmas tree and outside holiday decoration. How clever is that?
By day:
By night:
If you really want to see the pictures click on each one to enlarge it.
But we had inside decorations as well. Here's where we placed gifts, but these are only mine for the family. Note the round red & white package next to the plant stand; there's a story.
Chillax, Jaz, and Oyster arrived about 6:30 p.m., and the Dagromms just over an hour later, and the laughter began. But first we had the indigestion special: rice (thank you, Jaz), chicken enchiladas and guacamole which I made, tamales compliments of Sam's, salsa, and salad, and tortilla chips. Jaz also made apple empanadas for dessert. Yumola!
We didn't have the usual gift opening frenzy. All the gifts were passed out by Tazzonater and Oyster, then we went around the circle with one person opening one present at a time. It so happened that Oyster was first, and she had apparently been intrigued by the large round red & white package I mentioned earlier. The round box held this blond wig on a head form in a zippered wig case. She and Tazzonater were sitting next to each other. (O is seven yrs. old, and Tazz is eight.) Well, she ripped the paper off, yanked the zipper around---not quite all the way, and shoved the top back, and it snapped back shut. But it was open just enough for the two of them to glimpse a "head", and they both jumped back about a foot with very loud intake of breath, and one of them said, "What is that?" Of course, the rest of us were falling off our chairs laughing because it was so funny. If I'd been trying to scare them it wouldn't have worked. Later Chill told Oyster that was just what she needed to look like her mother. (That may be the best $2.50 I ever spent at an estate sale.)
Perhaps the second biggest surprise was what Mr. & Mrs. Dagromm received from Dagromm Jr. and Tazz--pictures they had made last summer when they visited here.
Dagromm was so moved he commented, "You even look as if you like each other!"
Then we got down to the serious business of playing Apples to Apples, a game which eventually included everybody, and we laughed so hard we probably worked off at least a tenth of the calories we'd consumed (about 300, I'd guess). We feasted again the next night, but a different menu which was equally delicious and played and laughed some more. Wish you could have been here. Chill, Jaz, and Oyster live here so they went home each night; the Dagromms left Saturday.
Today I took down the decorations.
It's oh so quiet now.
It must be because, as you see, PhannyCat is back in the living room.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y'ALL!!!!
2 comments:
My case of Depends is greatly appreciated.
I wish I could have been there too. Maybe this year...
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