a quiet Christmas and a nice gift
Pam and I did very well for one another in the gift department this year. I got her a hooded sweatshirt, big enough to wear a bulky sweater underneath -- she gets very cold, especially where she works -- but what made it special is that II had it imprinted with pictures of lizards. She loves it.
She got me a replica of a Victorian writing box, complete with inkstands and fountain pens, notecards and a blotter. It's a beautiful piece, and will help me organize my desk and my bills. And I'm so taken with it I am resolved to actually use it, to write checks with the fountain pen and to actually send hand-written notes to people. Of course, my handwriting sucks, but I refuse to let such a lovely gift go to waste!
Christmas dinner today was a very quiet affair. Pam cooked dinner at our house, then brought it over to her Mom's, where we were joined by her brother Timmy. Mom and Timmy really liked having a nice quiet dinner. (Pam and her other brother's wife, by the way, haven't spoken since last year's infamous Thanksgiving dis-inviting incident. I hope that doesn't last much longer, for the sake of my mother-in-law if nothing else.)
Tomorrow, we head to my Mom's in Jersey. My sister Angela will still be there, and we'll get to see the cousins who live nearby as well. That will be fun, as always, especially with the little ones. (Of course, the newest little ones in the family are all the way on the other side of the country.) This year, Angela and Bart and I chipped in together to buy Mom a digital picture frame. I got the idea from talking to my carpool mate, and it really solved the problem of what to get for Mom. She seemed very pleased with it when I spoke to her on the phone.
She got me a replica of a Victorian writing box, complete with inkstands and fountain pens, notecards and a blotter. It's a beautiful piece, and will help me organize my desk and my bills. And I'm so taken with it I am resolved to actually use it, to write checks with the fountain pen and to actually send hand-written notes to people. Of course, my handwriting sucks, but I refuse to let such a lovely gift go to waste!
Christmas dinner today was a very quiet affair. Pam cooked dinner at our house, then brought it over to her Mom's, where we were joined by her brother Timmy. Mom and Timmy really liked having a nice quiet dinner. (Pam and her other brother's wife, by the way, haven't spoken since last year's infamous Thanksgiving dis-inviting incident. I hope that doesn't last much longer, for the sake of my mother-in-law if nothing else.)
Tomorrow, we head to my Mom's in Jersey. My sister Angela will still be there, and we'll get to see the cousins who live nearby as well. That will be fun, as always, especially with the little ones. (Of course, the newest little ones in the family are all the way on the other side of the country.) This year, Angela and Bart and I chipped in together to buy Mom a digital picture frame. I got the idea from talking to my carpool mate, and it really solved the problem of what to get for Mom. She seemed very pleased with it when I spoke to her on the phone.