Gather 'Round, Children

As I was leaving the always crowded Publix parking lot a few days before Christmas, I decided to let a car out in front of me. Just before I motioned for the woman in the big black SUV to pull out, with gritted teeth, I mumbled something to myself about "Christmas spirit," which I'd been struggling with. It took her a minute to realize I was waving her into my lane of traffic, and when she finally saw my hand, she pulled in, not giving me so much as a second glance much less the appropriate "thank you" wave. With this I held tight to my composure and tried to remember the spirit in which I had acted. This, even though everything inside of me wanted to get out of my car and pull her out of hers by her hair in order to beat the hell out of her with my tiny balled fists in front of everyone else in the parking lot. No, that just wouldn't be Christmasy.

Christmas can be pretty stressful - spending a ton of money on everyone you have to buy for, getting everything mailed out on time, grocery shopping for whatever meal you're planning to make, and actually cooking the meal etc, and amidst all of that finding the time to actually spend with your loved ones. At least these are the things I struggled with this year. I felt bad for getting caught up in it all, yet, it was hard to come out of it. I should have probably taken more time to just think quietly about what's really important, and while I guess I never really did, the message did finally come through in a card I got from (Ma) Nancy Lowrey. The first part was actually the card itself: "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. -From A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens" Then there was the part of the family letter that said "Please remember those less fortunate and our service members and families wherever they may be." It shouldn't be hard to think of those less fortunate, but sometimes it just doesn't click until someone reminds you.

In the end, Joe and I had a very nice Christmas. It was very chill and relaxed. We did what we wanted, didn't have to drive all over creation, or even change out of our pajamas. But above all, I think we were both very grateful to be here with each other (and Dex). It was nice. We did get some very nice gifts, and I cooked a good meal - gotta be foody and tell you it was a curry dish with wild shrimp and bay scallops. I roased a red pepper, pealed it, sliced it thinly added it along with some brocoli and bamboo shoots. I'd never roasted a pepper before, but it did make a difference in flavor. Very good (and it was fairly quick, so I didn't spend half the day away from Joe). To top off the night, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights and then had wine, cheese, and sausage as we watched the Family Stone. The first Christmas was a good time.

And now we're trying to get the house ready for company. Joe hurt his back earlier in the week, which severely compromised our efforts. I ended up scraping almost all of the wallpaper off the guest bathroom by myself, and since the damn stuff was a two-part deal, I peeled the whole thing twice. The second time was immensely more fun as I used a damn clothing steamer, since it was the only way to get the "base" paper off. Worked well - just tedious. I finally finished today, and since Joe's back is better, he's currently in there priming - door closed and no fan. Ah yes, and he did this professionally. I'd better go check on him. That, and Shooter's on, on an HD channel, so I can see Marky Mark really f'ing clearly. Oh yes.