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Jan. 4th, 2007 07:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogHow does that song go? 'Christmas time is here....' Oh; I missed it? Drat.
Christmas Eve was spent with my mother's extended family this year. Usually it's Christmas Day that we go out to visit, but this year one of the sets of aunt/uncle/children had to be with other family, so things were slightly rearranged. The time spent there was good; I don't see a great deal of that group and I would like to have more time with them, especially my grandparents. We (and by we I mean my immediate family) may be, if not black sheep, then at least slightly darkened ones. They all like us well enough, it's just that they seem to be more and more societally normal. My mother sees it more clearly than I do since, obviously, she grew up with them.
My grandparents gave me the first two seasons of the Adventures of Pete and Pete which, regardless of the fact that I was expecting it, made me very happy indeed. I miss that show. For our part, we found some nifty things for my grandparents. I assure you that they were nifty, despite the fact that I cannot right now, at daybreak, as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
serinthia hauls our asses to work this fine Wisconsin winter morning, remember what the hell they were. It was very weird to see them at this new house and consider that we will never again be driving out to their big place in Ringwood. At the same time, that was never as much home as their farm they had before that, despite the fact that I can't remember much more than time-hazed images of a great big barn, a windmill tower, a strange old house, and horses.
On Christmas day,wooisme and I bravely fighting the aching cold of.... Ok; honestly, it was nearly fifty degrees out. The weather has been really odd lately, and what with that plus the gigantonormondo-sized block of ice that's broken off of the Antarctic shelf lately, I'm more than a bit nervous. But anyway, my mate and I joined the rest of our immediate family for my dad's Christmas breakfast. To those who have not experienced this wonder, I must offer my condolences. Available were bagels, oranges, grapefruit, sausage, four different kinds of interesting cheese, biscuits, scrambled eggs, and more things that I can't remember. Even better than that was the happiness of just being around my family. I love my parents and my brothers so very much. I wish I saw more of them too.
The gift exchange was, I have to admit, much more fun on Christmas morning than it had been the previous day. Rather than opening everything at once, we took turns so we could all see the reactions of each person to the items they were opening. All the movies I bought for Andrea seem to have been a big hit, and she got me a few great little things; turbie-twist towels to wrap my hair after showering and more stuff that I'll have to detail once I get back home.
For my brother Jim, we found a copy of Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide. For his girlfriend, Lara, we bought a shirt from Think Geek dot com with signage from a Japanese train warning of people who try to push up against women by using the crush of bodies as an excuse. It has a picture of a stick figure man grabbing a stick figure woman's skirt with the caption, in kanji, 'Beware of perverts'.
For my youngest brother,akreaveter, there was a little dragon treasure box, a dragon wall plaque, and an IOU for Spore, if it ever comes out. I'm picking up two copies of that; I want one too!
For my mom, we got her a copy of a Gurps expansion called Alternate Earths II that she already had. Oops. For my dad, there was a boxed set of a bunch of Ray Harryhausen's claymation movies; they sci-fi set, with things like First Men in the Moon and The Mysterious Island. With luck, I'll get to watch some of them with him.
For the rest of the day, up through the early evening, my mate and I just stayed there and enjoyed the company of loved ones. We watched a couple more episodes of Pete and Pete (we'd watched a couple the previous night after getting home from my aunt and uncle's house), sharing them with my parents. Then we watched a couple more with my brothers while my parents went out for a little while to take care of something that I don't recall. Toward the end of the day, we went back to our house, and it was silly how much I missed all of them. I'm so glad they live nearby.
The day after Christmas, we had our annual Chinese buffet dinner. Usually that takes place on Christmas Eve, but, as I noted, we had extended family things to do then, so we rearranged. Along with my parents and brothers, Lara's family was there; her parents and her two brothers. Her dad has greeted me as 'chief' for upwards of four years now, ever since seeing me in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and this year, to my pleasure, was no exception. I'm actually kind of touched by it.
Serin and I are nearly to work now, so I guess I'll sign off. I was going to write about New Year's too, but I guess that will come in another entry. In the meantime, I hope all of my readers have their own good memories of another Christmas past to savor and share.
Be well.
Christmas Eve was spent with my mother's extended family this year. Usually it's Christmas Day that we go out to visit, but this year one of the sets of aunt/uncle/children had to be with other family, so things were slightly rearranged. The time spent there was good; I don't see a great deal of that group and I would like to have more time with them, especially my grandparents. We (and by we I mean my immediate family) may be, if not black sheep, then at least slightly darkened ones. They all like us well enough, it's just that they seem to be more and more societally normal. My mother sees it more clearly than I do since, obviously, she grew up with them.
My grandparents gave me the first two seasons of the Adventures of Pete and Pete which, regardless of the fact that I was expecting it, made me very happy indeed. I miss that show. For our part, we found some nifty things for my grandparents. I assure you that they were nifty, despite the fact that I cannot right now, at daybreak, as
serinthia hauls our asses to work this fine Wisconsin winter morning, remember what the hell they were. It was very weird to see them at this new house and consider that we will never again be driving out to their big place in Ringwood. At the same time, that was never as much home as their farm they had before that, despite the fact that I can't remember much more than time-hazed images of a great big barn, a windmill tower, a strange old house, and horses. On Christmas day,
wooisme and I bravely fighting the aching cold of.... Ok; honestly, it was nearly fifty degrees out. The weather has been really odd lately, and what with that plus the gigantonormondo-sized block of ice that's broken off of the Antarctic shelf lately, I'm more than a bit nervous. But anyway, my mate and I joined the rest of our immediate family for my dad's Christmas breakfast. To those who have not experienced this wonder, I must offer my condolences. Available were bagels, oranges, grapefruit, sausage, four different kinds of interesting cheese, biscuits, scrambled eggs, and more things that I can't remember. Even better than that was the happiness of just being around my family. I love my parents and my brothers so very much. I wish I saw more of them too.The gift exchange was, I have to admit, much more fun on Christmas morning than it had been the previous day. Rather than opening everything at once, we took turns so we could all see the reactions of each person to the items they were opening. All the movies I bought for Andrea seem to have been a big hit, and she got me a few great little things; turbie-twist towels to wrap my hair after showering and more stuff that I'll have to detail once I get back home.
For my brother Jim, we found a copy of Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide. For his girlfriend, Lara, we bought a shirt from Think Geek dot com with signage from a Japanese train warning of people who try to push up against women by using the crush of bodies as an excuse. It has a picture of a stick figure man grabbing a stick figure woman's skirt with the caption, in kanji, 'Beware of perverts'.
For my youngest brother,
akreaveter, there was a little dragon treasure box, a dragon wall plaque, and an IOU for Spore, if it ever comes out. I'm picking up two copies of that; I want one too!For my mom, we got her a copy of a Gurps expansion called Alternate Earths II that she already had. Oops. For my dad, there was a boxed set of a bunch of Ray Harryhausen's claymation movies; they sci-fi set, with things like First Men in the Moon and The Mysterious Island. With luck, I'll get to watch some of them with him.
For the rest of the day, up through the early evening, my mate and I just stayed there and enjoyed the company of loved ones. We watched a couple more episodes of Pete and Pete (we'd watched a couple the previous night after getting home from my aunt and uncle's house), sharing them with my parents. Then we watched a couple more with my brothers while my parents went out for a little while to take care of something that I don't recall. Toward the end of the day, we went back to our house, and it was silly how much I missed all of them. I'm so glad they live nearby.
The day after Christmas, we had our annual Chinese buffet dinner. Usually that takes place on Christmas Eve, but, as I noted, we had extended family things to do then, so we rearranged. Along with my parents and brothers, Lara's family was there; her parents and her two brothers. Her dad has greeted me as 'chief' for upwards of four years now, ever since seeing me in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and this year, to my pleasure, was no exception. I'm actually kind of touched by it.
Serin and I are nearly to work now, so I guess I'll sign off. I was going to write about New Year's too, but I guess that will come in another entry. In the meantime, I hope all of my readers have their own good memories of another Christmas past to savor and share.
Be well.
