Well, our
fifth Christmas down in Texas has come and passed. And to celebrate, Texas
delivered summer for us. Yes, temps hovered around 80, blessing us with a minor
sun’s anvil. I walked my route around the ponds both days, in t-shirt and shorts,
and each time I finished I felt like I had mowed the lawn, ran a 10K, lifted
weights with a young Arnold on Venice Beach and gyrated to the “Flash Dance”
song while welding two metal boards together. It was unseasonably hot.
But it did
not dampen our Christmas. Fortunately, down here AC systems are no joking
matter, and we kept the indoor climate a frosty 68.
That was really
the only negative, though. We went to Christmas Eve’s midnight mass at our
local parish, with Little One’s boyfriend joining us for the first
time. He’s a Christian but not a Catholic, so this was a legit trial by fire
for him, and he handled it well. By the time all was done, however, we didn’t
get to bed by 2 am (or 3 am, in some cases), so Christmas Day didn’t commence
until 11 am the next morning.
It was a
leisurely day of opening gifts, snacking, drinking, and eating leftovers. The
Mrs. made a pot roast for dinner, complimented with Little One’s carrots and
feta cheese dip. Patch was recovering from sickness, so we kept her away from
cooking duties. We watched – and good-heartedly mocked – a Hallmark flick while
Little One visited her bf’s family in the evening. Then I read a bit and went
to bed just after midnight.
So I know
you’re all wondering – what did Santa bring the Hopper?
Well, as
always, Santa did good by me.
The Mrs.
bought me two John Le Carré books. Le Carré is my newest literary obsession, having
read The Spy Who Came in From the Cold last week. Haven’t “reviewed” it yet,
but I’ll get there. The books she bought me were the two that precede TSWCIFTC.
You should read Le Carré in order, as later books reference early ones, and you
want to journey through them as spoiler-free as possible. She also gifted me
some socks and skin care, which my old epidermis is in dire need of, plus a gift
card to my local used book store.
Patch
continued her passion for gifting me records – the 62nd and 63rd in my
collection: Two Schubert albums, Symphony No. 5 in Bb, Symphony No. 8 in Bm (“Unfinished”)
and the Quintet in A, better known as the “Trout.” And Little One bought me …
an ergonomic comfy chair for my desk, having seen the pathetic metal folding
chair – with a small blanket cushion – I’d been using for the past couple of
years. So no more achy back. A practical gift, one of the best types of
presents.
I, whose
love language is definitely NOT gift giving, lucked out. Everyone seemed to
like what I gave them. I bought the wife a hockey puck – with tickets to a
Dallas Stars game on the other side. She’s turned into a manic hockey fan, and
enjoys the games exponentially more than I do. They’re playing the Bruins at
the end of January, and she hates Boston. I got Patch Steven King’s Carrie
(a favorite she’s been looking for forever but Texas doesn’t seem to stock)
and an Ulta gift card; and Little One a flexible jar opener (an inside joke,
useful now that she lives in her own apartment) and a PetCo gift card, to take
care of her new kitten over there.
My boss
got us all squishy blankets, so I regifted that for my dog Charlie; he’s a connoisseur
of anything blanket-y, the softer the better. Candles and gift certificates and
gift cards from parents both north and east of us rounded out the holiday haul.
I’m off
for the next three days – my gift to myself – and then I work Monday and
Tuesday of next week, followed by New Year’s Eve and Day off. I plan a post on
my resolution as well as a post mortem on 2024’s resolution for 2025. Oh, and
the 2025 Best Ofs! Don’t forget that annual festivity!
Hope you
all had a very Merry Christmas!
More to follow!
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