Christmas Wrap Up
I feel like I've had a million ideas for posts in the past week and no initiative to actually sit down and write any of them. So this is a catch-all, or perhaps I should say catch-up.
Almost all my Christmas long weekend was really nice. Saturday, while there was still snow on the trees making the world look like a fairy wonderland, I went for a long snowshoe tramp through the trails of a local farm. (Have you noticed how hard it is to find unclichéd words about the beauty of snow on top of things? Comparisons to sugar-topped baked goods are so obvious that the words already go the other way - "frosting", "icing"...) My muscles were sore after but it was well worth it. I took a whole roll of film - will post them if any came out well.
That night I went to a Christmas party hosted by iresprite's housemates, who fed us lavishly with hot cider and home-made cookies and led us in caroling around the neighborhood. It was wonderful! I haven't been caroling since high school and I really love it. Especially good is the baffled/pleased look you get when people actually come to the door.
Sunday was a difficult day. Our tree fell down right as I was about to leave for work, smashing several of my favorite ornaments and making me ten minutes late as I had to hold the tree up while my dad tied it to the wall. When I finally got in to work my boss had to leave, having just received a call that his mother was dying. (They've been expecting it for a while now and she wasn't really lucid, but still, very sad.) The two of us work alone on Sundays and I can't do much without him there but he hates to close the store for any reason so I stayed and waited on who I could and told everyone else to come back in the morning, please. I feel bad for his family because even though they were prepared for her death, coming two days before Christmas certainly made the holiday awkward.
Monday I printed and bound my niece's book (I don't have a pic but I used the same paper for the covers as on my friend Priscilla's wedding album) and finished up the rest of my wrapping. Then was the Christmas Eve Mass, at which I lectored. First time I ever lectored on Christmas - a little nerve-wracking with such a big crowd, but fun. The carols, the lights, the kids in their fancy clothes - it was all charming. Then went home for a raclette party, or as my four-year-old nephew named it, a "Christmas Picnic".
The Day itself started with pumpkin pancakes and some opening of presents (between my folks and me), then a big yummy dinner (stuffing!!) and more opening (with brother's family), then the Muppet Family Christmas and more opening (sister's family arrived) and dessert. My Florentine cookies turned out well... I've been eating them ever since :)
I was afraid the day after Christmas would be a let-down (back to business as usual, etc) but instead we had a fairly lazy day of trying things on, playing games and being silly - even going in to work in the afternoon didn't really break my mood. I discovered I do not like Yatzee, though. It's far too much like life: constantly making tricky decisions but having to leave their success to chance.
Now, sadly, things ARE business as usual - and that means applications. Must knock a few more off the list this weekend. I may even have to spend New Year's Eve working on them, which is both good and bad. I hate New Year's Eve (I know one shouldn't hate a holiday, but there you are) because one always feels like one ought to be doing fantastic, exciting, memorable things, and in my experience one never does. So there's an advantage to being able to say I can't go out, leaving the question of whether I have anywhere to go entirely aside. On the other hand, a night spent writing Statements of Purpose is not fun, be it a detestable holiday or otherwise.
Almost all my Christmas long weekend was really nice. Saturday, while there was still snow on the trees making the world look like a fairy wonderland, I went for a long snowshoe tramp through the trails of a local farm. (Have you noticed how hard it is to find unclichéd words about the beauty of snow on top of things? Comparisons to sugar-topped baked goods are so obvious that the words already go the other way - "frosting", "icing"...) My muscles were sore after but it was well worth it. I took a whole roll of film - will post them if any came out well.
That night I went to a Christmas party hosted by iresprite's housemates, who fed us lavishly with hot cider and home-made cookies and led us in caroling around the neighborhood. It was wonderful! I haven't been caroling since high school and I really love it. Especially good is the baffled/pleased look you get when people actually come to the door.
Sunday was a difficult day. Our tree fell down right as I was about to leave for work, smashing several of my favorite ornaments and making me ten minutes late as I had to hold the tree up while my dad tied it to the wall. When I finally got in to work my boss had to leave, having just received a call that his mother was dying. (They've been expecting it for a while now and she wasn't really lucid, but still, very sad.) The two of us work alone on Sundays and I can't do much without him there but he hates to close the store for any reason so I stayed and waited on who I could and told everyone else to come back in the morning, please. I feel bad for his family because even though they were prepared for her death, coming two days before Christmas certainly made the holiday awkward.
Monday I printed and bound my niece's book (I don't have a pic but I used the same paper for the covers as on my friend Priscilla's wedding album) and finished up the rest of my wrapping. Then was the Christmas Eve Mass, at which I lectored. First time I ever lectored on Christmas - a little nerve-wracking with such a big crowd, but fun. The carols, the lights, the kids in their fancy clothes - it was all charming. Then went home for a raclette party, or as my four-year-old nephew named it, a "Christmas Picnic".
The Day itself started with pumpkin pancakes and some opening of presents (between my folks and me), then a big yummy dinner (stuffing!!) and more opening (with brother's family), then the Muppet Family Christmas and more opening (sister's family arrived) and dessert. My Florentine cookies turned out well... I've been eating them ever since :)
I was afraid the day after Christmas would be a let-down (back to business as usual, etc) but instead we had a fairly lazy day of trying things on, playing games and being silly - even going in to work in the afternoon didn't really break my mood. I discovered I do not like Yatzee, though. It's far too much like life: constantly making tricky decisions but having to leave their success to chance.
Now, sadly, things ARE business as usual - and that means applications. Must knock a few more off the list this weekend. I may even have to spend New Year's Eve working on them, which is both good and bad. I hate New Year's Eve (I know one shouldn't hate a holiday, but there you are) because one always feels like one ought to be doing fantastic, exciting, memorable things, and in my experience one never does. So there's an advantage to being able to say I can't go out, leaving the question of whether I have anywhere to go entirely aside. On the other hand, a night spent writing Statements of Purpose is not fun, be it a detestable holiday or otherwise.