Sleep in Heavenly Peace

I am so tired I am nearly comatose. Things kind of crashed around 7 p.m., as I sat back in post prandial inertia and then realized that I couldn't / wouldn't move. I've felt like I've been moving through molasses ever since then.

I knew all these months that I've been getting relatively normal sleep that it was a mistake. Go back two days to my previous normal 4+ hours of sleep in the recliner waiting for a timer to wake me up so I can get some cooking done and I'm a zombie.

However, setting aside the fact that it is a real effort even to type here (but being obsessive anyway), the day was really great.

We had a quiet morning and then packed up the car and the puppies, with Chunk in her holiday finery...

(only the red & white collar; the greenery
behind her is a pattern on the pillow)

...and headed off. First we stopped at the Veterans Memorial Theatre to put Nutcracker ornaments on Paul's and David's memorial trees.

It's easier to see the ornament flying in Dave's tree, since it's deciduous and so has no leaves. Paul's tree is a fir tree and so the ornament is hidden in among the greenery and almost impossible to spot in a photo this small.

We went from the Vets over to the cemetery to leave a little tree on the boys' grave. I have to admit that as we passed the Boy Scout Christmas tree lot, it was extremely gratifying to see heaps and heaps of Christmas trees dumped into the street. I sincerely hope that meant that people bought their trees elsewhere.

I'd love to report that it was love at first sight for Chunk with Jeri and Phil (who have been toying with the idea of adopting her and taking her back to Boston), but it was not.

Oh they loved her, of course -- who would not? But not enough to go through the hassle of adopting her and transporting her across the country.

However, Ned's brother-in-law really liked her and sent a pic to his wife and kids, visiting his relatives in Wisconsin (he had no time off and couldn't accompany them).

He is going to, maybe, talk with Ashley about the possibility of adopting her after his wife and kids get home.

My mother, by the way, spent most of the day with at least one, if not both puppies in her lap. I still think she should adopt Half Pint.

It was a nice year gift-wise. These are mine:

Enough to have fun new stuff (and nice stuff to read), not enough so that you feel guilty about an excess of "stuff." Tom sent up a web cam so that I can follow the baby's progress after she's born. He bought one for his computer too, so will be able to help me if I have problems setting mine up.

Oh! And remember that gift I've been looking for for days? It was for Marta, a book on fingering for the bass guitar (which she is learning to play). When I couldn't find it, I bought her a DVD from her Amazon wish list. After she opened it, I explained what happened and told her I was still hunting for it and if I found it, she'd have two gifts.

The next person to open a gift was Ned and what was in his box? Marta's book!!!!!!! So she did get two gifts, and I can rest easy because the lost book has now been found.

Marta put together a fabulous dinner. My brined turkey was very good, but I wouldn't say it was any better than it would have been un-brined, so I probably won't do that again, though it was fun to try. Marta had also asked me to bring one pumpkin pie, and I made two because (a) the can was for 2 pies, (b) the crust recipe was for 2 pies, and (c) I wanted to have pumpkin pie for day-after-Christmas breakfast. Then we were all so stuffed nobody ate pie so I brought home the pie--and there is a second one sitting here.

But right now I am hitting the wall. Video (I took very little) will have to wait for tomorrow, or the next day. We are having "Family Movie Day," our annual Jeri Tradition, tomorrow. We will see Sweeny Todd at the early show because I'm reviewing Riverdance at night.

And with the last ounce of energy I can muster, I'm going to post this and then go to sleep, with luck for 8 hrs.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Ned & Marta's House
(reflected in the hood of our car)