Merry Christmas!

[purplebean]

I'm staying up late, wrapping presents and making cute little Christmas ornaments as gifts/decoration for gifts (they're some kind of Chinese origami, wrapped with yarn: www.annamariewinter.com/pdf/boat.pdf ).  I'm enjoying the knowledge that I no longer have to get up very, very early to go drive and pick up Owen from an airport two hours away.  Somehow, while waiting in the airport at the gate for his connecting flight, he missed it.  I think there was a gate change, and there must be something more to it, because a few other people managed to miss the flight along with him.  Anyway, it was a short connection, so he's still in a reasonably nearby airport -- you might think this would mean I have to drive even further (and get up even earlier) tomorrow, but since it's a large, busy airport, he's actually able to rent a car!!  (His final destination was a smaller local airport, with no car rental places open this evening or tomorrow.)  Unfortunately, he has to get to the tiny airport to pick up his luggage.... I was under the impression they didn't clear planes for takeoff with luggage not belonging to someone on the flight?  Maybe this has changed, or maybe they never bothered with common sense security measures like that.  (They concentrate on those really useful ones like making you remove your shoes at the metal detectors.)  I don't think I was able to talk Owen out of trying to drive tonight to get the suitcase and show up for his hotel reservation, but at least the weather seems pretty good.

I didn't write down the story of my own travel, but I've told it so many times now, I'm getting sick of it.  Let's just say it was epic.  Maybe I'll retell it for your amusement one day -- I suspect as time goes by, it will become slightly funnier.  For now, I'm just very grateful to be home for the holidays!!