Christmas

I had a really lovely Christmas. The whole thing was just so pleasant, I feel very lucky. Christmas Eve started with the delightful Bikram yoga class, and was very laid-back and nice. We ultimately went to the children's , mass at Saint Joseph's, which I didn't really like. I love children, but we had to get there an hour early in order to get seats, and there was a thirty minute Christmas recital thing before the service started. Children are adorable, but scratchy violins and tiny girls singing in their tiny lisping voices are cruel and unusual. The priest also decided that, rather than sticking to the script and talking about the nativity story, he should tell a depressing story about the tree that grew up to be the cross on which Jesus was crucified. It's unclear why he thought this was better than a nice story about a baby in a manger, but he's the one with the microphone, so we were at his mercy. Christmas Eve at my grandmother's house was very nice. Someone had decided that we wouldn't watch the traditional movies, but we overrode them. We couldn't find "A Muppet Christmas Carol" though, which was very sad. It seemed likely that my cousin Andrew had hidden it, and we were a little excessively hostile towards him, but we take our muppets very seriously around here. All was forgiven during presents though, and the ensuing wrapping paper war was wonderful. It was especially fun because my Aunt Grace started it, which doesn't make sense unless you know her and know how quiet and sweet she is. She was our Franz Ferdinand though, and it was an epic battle, involving alliances, stockpiling weapons, and using our gift boxes as shields. Good times were had by all. We watched a little of "White Christmas", back by popular demand, but only until they get to Vermont. I swear, I haven't seen the end of that movie in at least five years.
Christmas morning was a delight. Emily helped me wake up by serenading me with "We Three Kings", while Lancaster did her best to lull me back to sleep by purring. I got some very charming presents, including "Pulp Fiction" and a lovely Smith hoodie. We host on Christmas Day, and so there wasn't a lot of downtime after gifts were over. I had to got to Wilson Farms twice before the guests arrived, but I ran into an old friend from high school, which was pleasant and not too awkward. I got to reminiscing then, but kept myself in check by thinking about all the ways in which he is not a suitable mate for me. So many ways.
The young adults in my family are becoming entirely too glamorous, but it was nice to see my cousins. We were a little awkward at first, having exhausted all of our topics for conversation at Christmas Eve, but things eventually began to feel natural again as the night wore on. It helped that my mother decided to buy Christmas crackers this year, just like in "Harry Potter". They didn't contain any admiral hats or live white mice, but i got a bottle opener in mine, as well as a joke about crossing a skeleton and a detective. They had paper hats too, and we all wore them and looked very British and quaint.
Dinner was excellent. Everything got to the table hot, which is a feat for us, and the turkey was moist and delicious. There was much too much food, we'll be eating turkey until I got to Smith, but at least it's quality. Dessert was good too, as I made a recipe I found in the Times Food Section. It was a bourbon chocolate cake, and it turned out well, despite our modifications that we had to make out of necessity. It was very alcoholic, if nothing else, but most people seemed to like it. I would like to someday host Christmas, but I think I'll need to mature somewhat before I'm ready; as it is I need to much ego stroking. I told everyone to try the cake, and then asked "Is it poison?". I also told a bunch of people about how I made the salad dressing, even though I used too much vinegar and it hurt my mouth because it was so sour. I want recognition, darn it. I love Christmas though, and I already have a tiny tree that is overloaded with ornaments, so I think I'm the clear candidate to take over when the time comes. Not that I can think of anyone that hates Christmas, but still. Dibs.
I brought Flora down to show her off. Most of the relatives hadn't seen her before, and she was a big hit after she eventually uncurled. She's a joy. My grandfather asked me what she's for, and I told him she makes me seem quirky and unusual, and that's what she's for. She is also good to hold though, better than a stress ball because she's fragile and depends on me, so I don't want to squeeze. Also, squeezing a hedgehog would be extremely painful. But she makes me feel protective and calm. I liked showing her off, it made her seem novel again, instead of the standard pleasant.
Emily did most of the cleanup this year, and so I just planked around, noming cold turkey and chatting with people. It was nice. Emily introduced us to this great new Christmas album, and we listened to a very sweet song about the farm animals that were in Jesus's manger. It was a good, peaceful conclusion to a merry Christmas.
I feel like things should be over for a bit now. I would be down for a few weeks of suspended animation before going straight to Smith. If my life were a sitcom I would probably get to skip ahead from the holiday special to at least New Years, but it isn't, so I'm going to have to keep on plugging away. I hope things are nice, but I suspect they will be, at least for the most part. My wishes at 11:11 have gotten to be very vague, my life is pretty much just where I want it. I don't want to tempt fate, but I'm happy.