It was Grand

The beauty of being in the habit of posting journal entries the night before the actual date of the entry is that when you are just too exhausted to move, you can get some sleep, knowing you will wake up in a few hours, and you still have most of the day to get the entry written and posted and the date will still be right.

We returned from Tom's house last night, totally sated with food, with fun, with libation and I couldn't even think of doing anything but diving under a blanket and going to sleep.  Even that was too much physical effort, but I did it and was asleep so quickly that the others in the house were still up talking and didn't realize I had turned out the lights in the family room.  And here I am now, 2 a.m., fresh as a day-old daisy, ready to talk about Christmas and still have several hours of sleep left.  Such a deal.

What a full day!  Walt, Alice Nan and I left for the airport early in the morning.  It's a 2 hour drive. Jeri's plane was on time and we stopped for lunch on the way back to the free way.  It was such a gorgeous day.  I can't remember when I've seen the valley so clear, without a hint of cloud, or smog, whatsoever.

 We got home without problem and we promptly took naps.  Jeri's flight had left Boston around 6 a.m. and she couldn't sleep on the plane, so she was zonked.  Naps seemed logical all around, because we are old people.

Around 4:30, we got to Tom's house, where a karaoke session was going on, with the new machine the girls got for Christmas. Jeri joined in on the fun.

Things will be even better when they get Lacie's own microphone set up, gift from Walt and me.

Walt and Joe were the plaid Christmas brothers.

Out in the kitchen, Chef Tom was busy stuffing a huge loin of pork, and Laurel's table looked gorgeous with my mother's gold-rimmed plates.

To keep the kids' excitement to a manageable level, we decided to open gifts while the pork cooked.  Walt and I gave Bri what every little curly-headed, blue eyed, princess-loving 5 year old girl would want:  a 49er uniform.

That was the last we saw of her frilly Christmas dress!  As for Lacie, once she opened the matching game from Uncle Joe and Auntie Nan, she was happy for the night.

As for me, I was thrilled with my new phone case!

Dinner was finally ready and everything was wonderful.

Even Sir Elton stopped by for a bit.

When dinner was over, we did a FaceTime with Uncle Norm and Auntie O, who were unable to join us this year, and Alice Nan got a lesson in modern communication technology.

Before the evening ended, and after the girls' baths, Bri and I looked at the final door on the Jaquie Lawson Advent calendar I get for her each year.

 
And so the evening came to an end.  And now, 2:30 a.m., the rest of the family is snuggled deep in their beds, and I am about to join them once again.

Photo of the Day