Storing Christmas

Today was a lovely, sunny day in the seventies, and we took advantage of it by taking down all the Christmas lights, inside and outside, and putting them away in the attic.  I think the real dividing line between childhood and adulthood is the point at which you stop being sorry to see all the Christmas paraphernalia put away.  My parents used to have to put all the decorations away while I was at school because I'd whine too much about saying goodbye to it all.  Now I look forward to having it all put away.  Not the actual process of putting it away, you understand -- that's always a hassle -- but having it all out of the way and realizing I don't have to mess with it again for another eleven months.

The penultimate post

Because we've been up past midnight every night this week watching old TV shows on Roku, I have two blogs left to go in one day.  I have been eagerly awaiting the finish line of this resolution and still haven't decided what, if any, blogging resolution to make for 2012.  It won't be five days a week, though; that's for certain!  My life simply isn't interesting enough for that.

Christmas debriefing, part the second

The kids had a great Christmas, as well.  They got stuffed toys (Nemo for Eric and Finn McMissile for Faith) and glowing plastic light sabers.  Faith got a plush Rapunzel doll and a Maximus with brushable, styleable mane, and Eric got extra track and a new covered bridge and windmill for his wooden train set....

They both got new clothes, which I wouldn't have been excited about at all at their age, but they really enjoy getting....

But the biggest hits came from grandparents this year.  My parents got them a pair of walkie-talkies (Lightning McQueen for Eric and Finn McMissile for Faith) that they have a grand time calling each other on, and their Grandma Pattie gave them "learning laptops" with educational games which they are really enjoying playing.

Christmas photo

Christmas debriefing, part the first

Had a very nice Christmas.  Got a Kindle and jewelry and season 6 of "Doctor Who" and a stack of books.  Better yet, I made coconut cream pie for the first time, and it turned out delicious.  Got Tommy a new Bible (pages are falling out of his old one) and a Roku that I had to upgrade our wireless router for, but we've been enjoying watching our Amazon Prime Instant Videos on the actual TV from the couch instead of hovering around a 17-inch monitor.

Merry Christmas!

Kaleidoscope Christmas Card

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The most amazing holiday lights display I've ever seen in person

This house is in a neighborhood about five minutes from our own, where Tommy delivers packages. He says they started installing lights around Halloween. We went by to see the finished product last week and were utterly blown away. This is just one of about a half a dozen songs to which the lights are choreographed. You can hear the music softly from the house itself, and they provide a radio station to tune to in your car to hear it simultaneously at your choice of volume. I feel like we ought to send this family a thank-you note for their beautiful gift to everyone. The sign in their yard said they had won their neighborhood holiday display contest. You think?!