Christmas Wrap Up (Part One)

I thought I would have had this all posted along with "twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was," on Christmas evening after we had all settled down from our dinner and were feeling fat and sassy ( well fat anyway). But it was not to be as you shall find out.

Friday - December 23rd, 2005

I spent the morning shopping and it was a MAD house - with the rumors of a nor'easter coming it was all I could do to get myself out of Shaw's before being run down by insane shoppers. I told some lady who rammed my cart to "calm down, lady" but she was in such a frenzy that she wouldn't even look at me! Insanity.

The afternoon was spent starting to decorate the tree and cleaning and organizing for our friends Frank and Karen and their son Frank ( aka Spanky) to come over. I managed to get everything done just in the nick of time! I don't know how I do that but I do. We had a "meal" of chips and dips and cheese and summer sausage and shrimps cocktail and Karen brought scallops in bacon . I made Poinsettias ( from TGI Friday's recipe). They were yummy! And as usual as soon as the guests arrived I was fine and calm although a mere half hour before hand they wouldn't have recognized me for the sparks flying out of the ends of my hair and the way my eyes were rolling around in my head.

A lovely evening was had by all I think.

Saturday - December 24th, 2005 Christmas Eve

Heavens - what did we do in the morning? no idea. **edit** We did do something in the morning as my sister so nicely reminds me - we went to the feed store Christmas party. Every year on Christmas Eve (as long as it isn't a Sunday) they have mountains of meatballs both Swedish and Italian, and Chili. They also had punch and coffee. In the old days (not really that long ago) they also had a hard punch for the adults, but those days are gone unfortunately. Ken and I walked up and the place was packed. All the old farmers come out of the hills for this. It is very festive and good-neighbory. I was going to take some pictures but then thought it would weird them out a bit too much.

In the afternoon I finished decorating the tree oh! and wrapping presents. Ken was off doing his own thing and getting ready for his kids to come over that night. I of course did not get everything wrapped before I headed over here for dinner and in retrospect I am thinking what the hell did I do ALL DAY LONG? Oh well - I finally made it to his place around 6:30 and we were expecting his kids at 7. They were a bit late - but not too much and it gave me time to run back home to give the old lady some chicken parmesan. Once Ben and Whitney arrived we watched a little Frosty the Snowman and Whitney amused us with stories of wrapping presents with Ben. It is nice to see a sister and brother get along so well. The we dug right into eating. As usual the chef had prepared an excellent feast and we were all a bit starved because of the hour. Ben and I amused Whitney with out mock antagonism.

Then it was present time. I think the kids were both excited and pleased with everything they got. I was happy that Ben really seemed to like the hat I knit him. I am still a bit shy ( is that what I mean?) or perhaps tentative is a better word, with him and Whitney. I want them to like me and at the same time I don't want them to feel like they have to wear anything I knit them just because. But I really feel in this case he liked it. Plus he never has to tell anyone that I made it for him - I don't know how it is today - but I know I really started to hate wearing homemade stuff when I hit high school, but that is probably because the stuff was made to save money.

So it was really a nice evening and après gifts and a bit more banter off they went into the night to see their friends.

After they left Ken and I took a Christmas light walking tour of Chester. I took pictures of every building I deemed light-worthy (and even some I didn't). It was so quiet and lovely. We laughed and talked. I took a picture of the two of us in the gazebo on the green - with a little smooching just to make my sister gag a bit. His friend/band-mate Mike stopped and chatted for a minute as we walked through the green. I took a picture of a cat looking out the third floor of the house with the leather shop in it which prompted the guy who lives up there to peer suspiciously out the window. That ruined my ability to try and take another better picture of the cat. And it also made us move along a bit more quickly as the guy looked like he wanted to ask us what we were doing. We ended up at the Jiffy mart for coffee- those poor people were still working. Then we walked leisurely back to Ken's house and then packed up and moved to my house for the night.

As I still had stuff to wrap - I got that done - piled everything under the tree and collapsed exhausted into bed to await Santa.