The Whole Christmas Experience

I'm still trying to process our Christmas season. The weeks leading up to it were as busy as ever; busier, in fact, though I can't see how that can be. We've had to have had other years even more active than this - back when the kids were in school, for instance...concerts and parties and holiday plays took up much of December. We always remember the year the sewer backed up on Christmas Eve...or the year a circuit was blown, an outlet started smoking, and we had to call the fire department. Or when Erin ended up in the ER. So, clearly, this year was quite dull in comparison.

But it was full, nonetheless. And mostly good-full, not frenetic, crazy-full. Christmas Eve was just what I'd hoped it would be. We have our little family traditions and we got to do them all. We went to church at St. Stephen's in Monona, and it was a lovely service. Lots of music, some of it in Norwegian, and an a capella, candlelit Silent Night which brought me to tears. Then off to Taste of China to get our traditional Chinese Christmas Eve meal. Home again, eating off our holly-bordered Christmas plates, and then time for gifts. Lots of lovely little surprises, and fun things, like the remote control racecars and light-and-sound activated critter. (We are never too old for toys.)

We even did the pickle gifts in our own way - we have two pickle ornaments, so two of the three kids get bonus gifts. This year it was a set of 2 ramekins for each. We all agree that Andrew continues to dominate in pickle-ornament-spotting. Jen and Erin were staring at the tree, looking closely, and Drew gave the tree a glance and said "there it is".

Christmas morning started with candy cane bagels and Christmas stockings, and then getting on the road to IL to do two more Christmases. That was a mostly-fun but also somewhat stress-inducing experience for me. Families. They are easier to love from a distance, sometimes.

Harrowing drive home on the Winslow blacktop, which was ice covered for the whole 8 miles of it. After that, smooth sailing. We got home about 9:30 and were happy to be here.

I hope your Christmas was healthy, happy and filled with good moments that will be happy memories for years to come.

If you want to see ours first hand (or would that be second hand?), here are the pictures on Facebook.

Making up

It's a good thing I'm not in school anymore. How did I ever manage it around the holidays? I think the answer is that a lot of things didn't get done. Ah well. So here's a hodge-podge of miscellaneous items to make up for quick & easy posts that I've resorted to over the past few weeks.

First and most importantly, Happy Birthday to Erin! She's 24 today. She was born at St. Mary's Hospital at 6:55 am after a blessedly short labor. We had moved to Madison over Labor Day weekend and didn't know a lot of people in town, except a few neighbors and an old friend of mine from grade school days. When my water broke at 2:30 am, we called Sue R, (my old friend) who'd offered to come and stay with Andrew. By the time she got there around 4:30, contractions had started, and the drive to the hospital was cold and bumpy and unpleasant. The hospital staff woke some intern to take care of things, and his sleepy demeanor did not inspire confidence in me. But when the big moment came, Dr. Demopolous showed up and did a great job of helping bring Erin into the world. And then we shared a room with a woman who'd had her 4th or 5th (I can't remember which) baby. The whole family came to visit which was understandable but a little noisy and not great for resting and recuperating.

Anyway - it sounds like Erin is being properly honored tonight, and she'll get more birthday fun when she's home at Christmas. Those darn Christmas birthdays...you'd think we'd have put more thought into that!

And on the creative front, I've gotten a little time in my increasingly-cluttered studio room. I made the blue card for a one-on-one swap (swap with one person) and the red one for the card of the month group, which ends with this month. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get the room back into shape (and painted! we still haven't managed that) in the coming month. Not even going to try in December.

I hope you are feeling peaceful, calm and still inside in this anticipatory season. If not, listen to Enya again.

Still Too Busy to Post

But here is a little musical interlude for your listening pleasure. Turn it up, grab a warm beverage, gaze at your Christmas tree, and enjoy!

Too Busy to Post

But I thought you might enjoy this view (Courtesy of UW Madison Soil Sciences), which would be my view, if I had a window, and was above ground.

Not Dead Yet

From that birthday calculator link I posted last week..."Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 7.14090019569472 years old."

No wonder I feel like going for a ride and getting a treat...