Happy Non-Denominational Giftmas and/or Day Off Work!
Lots of sad and serious things in the news today, but I don't really know how to talk about all of that this point. All I can say about the Detroit incident is that I'm going to focus on the positive and be glad that the bomb didn't go off, it's a Christmas miracle, etc.
I was really tense all day, but Christmas went reasonably well. I got my mother a scone pan, some mixes, and Super Special Cinnamon from Thailand, I Don't Know, and juliamac's dad's book, Game Changers, since she's a huge Alabama fan; she seemed really pleased with both of them. She had been going through the King Arthur Flour catalogue, idly pointing out things she liked, and I was all, eh, scones, whatever, that's kind of meh, cinnamon, don't know why you need it from Thailand, psh, don't know who here would eat scones OMG DON'T BUY IT FOR YOURSELF, DON'T BUY IT FOR YOURSELF. Reverse psychology seems to have worked, and she was surprised when she got to that box--the big one in the picture below.
You can't possibly guess what color
my wrapping paper was.
My sister was flipping through the Ellowyne catalogue, and as far as I could gather, she liked this one the best, so I got it for her. We did end up getting my stepfather a Kindle, which I think kind of baffled him at first (it was a surprise, not something he had asked for), but he started getting more enthused when more family came over and everyone began to ooh and aah over it. The dogs (who actually have little stockings with their pictures on top) got bones.
HAY GUYS
Me, I got the Faeries Oracle cards with the Brian Froud artwork that I had really wanted, a fragrant mess of soaps from Lush (because my mother was like, look, I don't want to give you something randomly chosen from Bath & Body Works that you don't even want; get something you like and consider it a gift card used in advance), and some indulgence in my love of (inexpensive) jewelry. Apparently turquoise is Pantone's Color of the Year for 2010, so I'm already on top of that.
Also, a Lindt milk chocolate Santa, who is no longer with us.
And I was sincerely, ridiculously excited to get a couple of art glass coasters for my desk (you may remember the Giant Rust Spot of Doom on the metal file cabinet beside my desk where I always set my iced tea):
Then for dessert, we had Texas chocolate cake (don't ask me, I don't know) and nectar hibiscus cake, aka "hummingbird cake." It's got cherries, pecans, coconut, and a cream cheese frosting, but neither hibiscus nor hummingbird in it. Again, I don't know.
And then they told me to stop playing with my iPhone while family was over. The end.
So: what was your favorite present, and/or what did you do today?
Oh, P.S. I put up A Very Shelfy Christmas, Part 1 yesterday.
