Better Late Than Never
Hello World,
Happy New Year! I'm thinking this would be as good a time as any to wish you and your family all the best for 2010, and better days ahead, that's for sure. In fact, I'm pretty sure that it would be impossible for 2010 not to be an improvement over 2009, in just about every way, because the alternative would be unthinkable. I guess we can all agree that 2009 wasn't going to win any popularity contests, and 2010 won't have to work very hard to be a better year all around, and like a nice refreshing drink, help wash away the bad taste of 2009 right out of our mouths and good riddance. Of course, there's the usual debate about whether the new decade begins in 2010 or 2011, just like the Y2K controversy for the new millennium, but all of that doesn't matter much to me, as long as we can finally put 2009 behind us once and for all, and be done with it at long last. As a matter of fact, like the National Hurricane Center retires names of storms that caused such horrific damage that the name can't be used again, I believe that 2009 should also be permanently retired so that it can't come back to haunt future generations, and I personally would vote for it being stricken from the annals altogether and replaced with an asterisk. Or maybe something a little more like *&%@!#*
In other holiday news, last Friday was Christmas for many people, including here at our house too, and it must be said that Santa and his elves did their usual masterful job under our tree, and no complaints were heard throughout. I got a new Sony Walkman with built-in speakers, and a little photo frame for showing pictures, plus a Roku for online video content, as well as other technology gear for my laptop, plus DVDs and music CDs that I had been hankering for. In the "What Will They Think of Next" category came another practical gift that was a new digital scale, with a remote readout so that you can put it some place where you can actually see it, rather than trying to read it on the floor between your feet. Bill got a new TV-DVD player with the picture-in-picture feature that is so handy, plus a Wii Fit, a mini camcorder, and other gifts of apparel, technology, books and personal coziness. He still has one more late gadget to look forward to, that did not arrive in time for the holiday, and may never arrive at this rate, but one can only hope that it will be worth the wait, if and when it finally does get here. My advice to Santa would be to retire the elves that were in charge of this particular item, like the hurricane names and 2009, and good riddance.
In an unexpected twist, the TV-DVD that I was expecting to be more or less a regular 15" television set, instead turned out to be a sort of mini home theater system that came in so many different little pieces that I despaired of it ever getting assembled into a workable form, but Bill was more than equal to the challenge, and soon had it playing DVDs like it was supposed to. Because we hadn't gotten up early (we've been known to start opening presents before 6AM around here, but not this time) and had a lot of things to play with, it seemed to get late sooner than we expected, and suddenly it was dinner time before we knew what hit us. We had laid in supplies for a special meal, and all in all, we enjoyed a nice and relaxing day at home on Christmas, which was a first for us since we've been married. In every other year except this one, we would get up early and tear through our presents, then throw everything in a room away from the cats, hop in the car and drive to relatives for the day instead of being at home. This time around, we ran into the same situation as Thanksgiving, where the holiday bus schedule for my sister was inconvenient, so we decided to observe Christmas a day late on Saturday with family, and it left us at loose ends and on our own for the actual holiday on Friday. On the other hand, as I pointed out to Bill, at least when we would spend Christmas on Long Island, we didn't have to pack, which was an unwelcome consequence of our plans to stay overnight in Newburgh, especially for those of us who didn't start soon enough and were still running around at the last minute, and I ought to know.
In fact, Saturday was so hectic and disorganized that even though we packed the car to the rafters, we still managed to leave many important items at home, which was probably just as well, because otherwise, we would have had to tie my sister to the roof after we picked her up at the bus station. Somehow we managed to cram her in the back seat, along with her presents, and head upstate for another rendezvous at the log cabin, this time full of holly and jolly and lots of ho-ho-ho. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and it rained the whole time we were driving, although there was no traffic to speak of, so that was one good thing about it. We had arranged to meet with other relatives at Denny's in Newburgh, and no one has to ask us twice to go there, that's for sure, so it was no surprise that we showed up an hour early. Since we had time to kill, we decided to go find our hotel, since we decided to stay some place different than our previous visits to the area, which was the Comfort Inn on the other side of the airport. We happened to bump into it by accident, when we were trying to turn around and go in the opposite direction, and even though it was much too early for check-in, the nice front desk staff let us check in anyway, and that was a big help, so we could figure out where we were and get some things out of the car. By the time we got back to Denny's, everyone else was already there, and I don't mind saying, all in their holiday finery besides. After a wonderful meal, we elected to forgo desert there, so we could indulge in some home-made treats with our relatives in nearby Montgomery instead, and we hurried over there eagerly. The weather couldn't dampen our spirits, and the company was as convivial as if it had actually been Christmas itself, and not a late version of the holiday that we were celebrating on Boxing Day instead. In spite of the Holiday Police, I maintain that there is no wrong way to celebrate Boxing Day, so I don't expect that our impromptu version will have to be retired permanently to protect future generations.
From there, it was off to the log cabin, and in spite of it being dark and rainy, we were greeted with a warm fire, charming decorations, and traditional holiday treats like red and green M&Ms, which are just as tasty, whether it's too early or too late. There was plenty of eggnog and seasonal music to get us in the holiday mood, and the Christmas tree was a sight to behold, full of carefully hand-crafted ornaments that our cats would have long since shredded years ago, or batted behind the radiators so that no one would ever find them again. My sister's cat is too well-behaved for any of those shenanigans, so the tree was as pristine then as when it was first decorated, which must be a nice - if boring - approach to Christmas that is denied to those of us with juvenile delinquent pets, and I'm sure you know who you are. This was the first we noticed the missing items that were supposed to be in the car, but had been left at home instead, which all but eliminated any show-and-tell opportunities, plus a few other things that were supposed to be part of the festivities. With nothing else to do, we opened presents instead, and unwrapped a bounty of clothes, books, snacks, slippers, gourmet chocolates, games, gadgets and gift cards, as well as home-made date-nut bread, and even treats for the aforementioned juvenile delinquent cats at home, and the birds and squirrels in the yard. I would describe it as an embarrassment of riches, but fortunately we're not easily embarrassed, so that never entered into it at all.
There was one very special and unexpected element to our celebration this year, from the daughter of our computer supplier, and she has her own web site, which I invite you to go right ahead and visit at www.kraftsbykarin.com and see for yourself. Karin is a young and very talented artist who crafts a variety of personalized objects, such as greeting cards, jewelry, vases and ornaments. I had ordered two of her necklaces for my sisters, and they were outstanding, plus I sent her a picture of me and Bill which she painted on a Christmas ornament that came out better than the original, believe me. The big surprise was when her father asked her to paint another ornament for us, featuring our cat Zanzibar from this year's Christmas card, and we were both stunned beyond words. So this turned out to be more of a Merry Karin Christmas than we anticipated, and a memorable one that we will long cherish.
Marathon present opening is hungry work, but my sister was more than ready for us, with lasagna and garlic bread that soon restored our flagging spirits. There was also no lack of desserts, and would have been even more, except that we forgot the pastries that were in the refrigerator, and of course, the cookies that were still at home. Just like Christmas, somehow the day suddenly got away from us and it was after midnight, and we were still 30 miles from our hotel, so we had to pack up in a hurry and hit the road. It was still drizzling, but not cold, so it wasn't really icy, but the fog was so thick that it looked more like a bad horror movie or music video than a winter wonderland, that's for sure. We crept along the highway at a snail's pace to the hotel, but we made it safe and sound, which was a Christmas miracle all on its own. The hotel provides a breakfast buffet in the morning, and there's also a diner right in front of it, but we didn't really have enough time to spend there to see what the place was really like, which was too bad, because it seemed nice enough for the price. My sister had spent the night at the cabin, so they dropped her off in the morning, but everyone had other plans on Sunday, so we couldn't do any sightseeing. We brought my sister to Connecticut to run some errands, which gave us an opportunity to have lunch at Denny's in Danbury, which managed to be even better than lunch on Saturday, since this Denny's had my favorite dessert, their justly famous coconut custard pie, yum! Unlike the day before, Sunday was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky, and once again there was no traffic to speak of, so we made it home with no trouble and in plenty of time to meet the bus. We even managed to get my sister packed up with all of her presents and still fit on the bus, which is one good thing about gift cards for people who have to travel for the holidays. The cats greeted our return with their usual pointed disinterest, but everything was just as we left it, so at least they didn't take out their boredom on our decorations. All in all, for an experimental Christmas where many things could have gone wrong, it actually turned out better than we expected, and although it may have been too late, it certainly was not too little, and I think even the Holiday Police can agree on that, by golly.
Elle
Happy New Year! I'm thinking this would be as good a time as any to wish you and your family all the best for 2010, and better days ahead, that's for sure. In fact, I'm pretty sure that it would be impossible for 2010 not to be an improvement over 2009, in just about every way, because the alternative would be unthinkable. I guess we can all agree that 2009 wasn't going to win any popularity contests, and 2010 won't have to work very hard to be a better year all around, and like a nice refreshing drink, help wash away the bad taste of 2009 right out of our mouths and good riddance. Of course, there's the usual debate about whether the new decade begins in 2010 or 2011, just like the Y2K controversy for the new millennium, but all of that doesn't matter much to me, as long as we can finally put 2009 behind us once and for all, and be done with it at long last. As a matter of fact, like the National Hurricane Center retires names of storms that caused such horrific damage that the name can't be used again, I believe that 2009 should also be permanently retired so that it can't come back to haunt future generations, and I personally would vote for it being stricken from the annals altogether and replaced with an asterisk. Or maybe something a little more like *&%@!#*
In other holiday news, last Friday was Christmas for many people, including here at our house too, and it must be said that Santa and his elves did their usual masterful job under our tree, and no complaints were heard throughout. I got a new Sony Walkman with built-in speakers, and a little photo frame for showing pictures, plus a Roku for online video content, as well as other technology gear for my laptop, plus DVDs and music CDs that I had been hankering for. In the "What Will They Think of Next" category came another practical gift that was a new digital scale, with a remote readout so that you can put it some place where you can actually see it, rather than trying to read it on the floor between your feet. Bill got a new TV-DVD player with the picture-in-picture feature that is so handy, plus a Wii Fit, a mini camcorder, and other gifts of apparel, technology, books and personal coziness. He still has one more late gadget to look forward to, that did not arrive in time for the holiday, and may never arrive at this rate, but one can only hope that it will be worth the wait, if and when it finally does get here. My advice to Santa would be to retire the elves that were in charge of this particular item, like the hurricane names and 2009, and good riddance.
In an unexpected twist, the TV-DVD that I was expecting to be more or less a regular 15" television set, instead turned out to be a sort of mini home theater system that came in so many different little pieces that I despaired of it ever getting assembled into a workable form, but Bill was more than equal to the challenge, and soon had it playing DVDs like it was supposed to. Because we hadn't gotten up early (we've been known to start opening presents before 6AM around here, but not this time) and had a lot of things to play with, it seemed to get late sooner than we expected, and suddenly it was dinner time before we knew what hit us. We had laid in supplies for a special meal, and all in all, we enjoyed a nice and relaxing day at home on Christmas, which was a first for us since we've been married. In every other year except this one, we would get up early and tear through our presents, then throw everything in a room away from the cats, hop in the car and drive to relatives for the day instead of being at home. This time around, we ran into the same situation as Thanksgiving, where the holiday bus schedule for my sister was inconvenient, so we decided to observe Christmas a day late on Saturday with family, and it left us at loose ends and on our own for the actual holiday on Friday. On the other hand, as I pointed out to Bill, at least when we would spend Christmas on Long Island, we didn't have to pack, which was an unwelcome consequence of our plans to stay overnight in Newburgh, especially for those of us who didn't start soon enough and were still running around at the last minute, and I ought to know.
In fact, Saturday was so hectic and disorganized that even though we packed the car to the rafters, we still managed to leave many important items at home, which was probably just as well, because otherwise, we would have had to tie my sister to the roof after we picked her up at the bus station. Somehow we managed to cram her in the back seat, along with her presents, and head upstate for another rendezvous at the log cabin, this time full of holly and jolly and lots of ho-ho-ho. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and it rained the whole time we were driving, although there was no traffic to speak of, so that was one good thing about it. We had arranged to meet with other relatives at Denny's in Newburgh, and no one has to ask us twice to go there, that's for sure, so it was no surprise that we showed up an hour early. Since we had time to kill, we decided to go find our hotel, since we decided to stay some place different than our previous visits to the area, which was the Comfort Inn on the other side of the airport. We happened to bump into it by accident, when we were trying to turn around and go in the opposite direction, and even though it was much too early for check-in, the nice front desk staff let us check in anyway, and that was a big help, so we could figure out where we were and get some things out of the car. By the time we got back to Denny's, everyone else was already there, and I don't mind saying, all in their holiday finery besides. After a wonderful meal, we elected to forgo desert there, so we could indulge in some home-made treats with our relatives in nearby Montgomery instead, and we hurried over there eagerly. The weather couldn't dampen our spirits, and the company was as convivial as if it had actually been Christmas itself, and not a late version of the holiday that we were celebrating on Boxing Day instead. In spite of the Holiday Police, I maintain that there is no wrong way to celebrate Boxing Day, so I don't expect that our impromptu version will have to be retired permanently to protect future generations.
From there, it was off to the log cabin, and in spite of it being dark and rainy, we were greeted with a warm fire, charming decorations, and traditional holiday treats like red and green M&Ms, which are just as tasty, whether it's too early or too late. There was plenty of eggnog and seasonal music to get us in the holiday mood, and the Christmas tree was a sight to behold, full of carefully hand-crafted ornaments that our cats would have long since shredded years ago, or batted behind the radiators so that no one would ever find them again. My sister's cat is too well-behaved for any of those shenanigans, so the tree was as pristine then as when it was first decorated, which must be a nice - if boring - approach to Christmas that is denied to those of us with juvenile delinquent pets, and I'm sure you know who you are. This was the first we noticed the missing items that were supposed to be in the car, but had been left at home instead, which all but eliminated any show-and-tell opportunities, plus a few other things that were supposed to be part of the festivities. With nothing else to do, we opened presents instead, and unwrapped a bounty of clothes, books, snacks, slippers, gourmet chocolates, games, gadgets and gift cards, as well as home-made date-nut bread, and even treats for the aforementioned juvenile delinquent cats at home, and the birds and squirrels in the yard. I would describe it as an embarrassment of riches, but fortunately we're not easily embarrassed, so that never entered into it at all.
There was one very special and unexpected element to our celebration this year, from the daughter of our computer supplier, and she has her own web site, which I invite you to go right ahead and visit at www.kraftsbykarin.com and see for yourself. Karin is a young and very talented artist who crafts a variety of personalized objects, such as greeting cards, jewelry, vases and ornaments. I had ordered two of her necklaces for my sisters, and they were outstanding, plus I sent her a picture of me and Bill which she painted on a Christmas ornament that came out better than the original, believe me. The big surprise was when her father asked her to paint another ornament for us, featuring our cat Zanzibar from this year's Christmas card, and we were both stunned beyond words. So this turned out to be more of a Merry Karin Christmas than we anticipated, and a memorable one that we will long cherish.
Marathon present opening is hungry work, but my sister was more than ready for us, with lasagna and garlic bread that soon restored our flagging spirits. There was also no lack of desserts, and would have been even more, except that we forgot the pastries that were in the refrigerator, and of course, the cookies that were still at home. Just like Christmas, somehow the day suddenly got away from us and it was after midnight, and we were still 30 miles from our hotel, so we had to pack up in a hurry and hit the road. It was still drizzling, but not cold, so it wasn't really icy, but the fog was so thick that it looked more like a bad horror movie or music video than a winter wonderland, that's for sure. We crept along the highway at a snail's pace to the hotel, but we made it safe and sound, which was a Christmas miracle all on its own. The hotel provides a breakfast buffet in the morning, and there's also a diner right in front of it, but we didn't really have enough time to spend there to see what the place was really like, which was too bad, because it seemed nice enough for the price. My sister had spent the night at the cabin, so they dropped her off in the morning, but everyone had other plans on Sunday, so we couldn't do any sightseeing. We brought my sister to Connecticut to run some errands, which gave us an opportunity to have lunch at Denny's in Danbury, which managed to be even better than lunch on Saturday, since this Denny's had my favorite dessert, their justly famous coconut custard pie, yum! Unlike the day before, Sunday was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky, and once again there was no traffic to speak of, so we made it home with no trouble and in plenty of time to meet the bus. We even managed to get my sister packed up with all of her presents and still fit on the bus, which is one good thing about gift cards for people who have to travel for the holidays. The cats greeted our return with their usual pointed disinterest, but everything was just as we left it, so at least they didn't take out their boredom on our decorations. All in all, for an experimental Christmas where many things could have gone wrong, it actually turned out better than we expected, and although it may have been too late, it certainly was not too little, and I think even the Holiday Police can agree on that, by golly.
Elle
posted by El Tango Fandango @ 1:31 PM
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