The Best Week of the Year

Whew.

It's not that I'm particularly glad that Christmas is over, but I am glad that Christmas is over. I like the day, I like the sentiment, I like the feeling of "specialness" that comes with the holidays, but I don't much like the way it hijacks my life for 6 weeks. Have you ever heard of that Chinese curse, "may you live in interesting times"? That's kind of how I feel about Christmas. And this is my favorite week of the year; everyone is full, entertained, occupied, happy to stay home and, most importantly, expecting nothing of me.

We had a very nice Christmas here at Chez Loudshoes; I think I can speak for the Mister when I say we both like each other's families very much, and there are no hardships in spending a couple of days with them. (When I hear clients talk about the emotional minefields that have to be circumnavigated over Christmas I thank my lucky stars that I landed up in a Norman Rockwell painting, by comparison.) My mother and mother-in-law fed us magnificently for 3 days running, and the leftovers are spectacular. (We have prime rib, ham, turkey, 2 kinds of apple pie and trifle. Trifle, in case you are wondering, makes a splendid breakfast. Particularly if you get up before your father and have at it before he does.)

The girls made out like bandits, although Santa did not come through with a Wii, as Thing 2 had requested. (Truth be known? Santa blew that one off a long time ago. Santa is of the opinion that Wiis are like hot tubs, the best one is the one at somebody else's house.) But they are good kids who are happy with whatever, even if they don't get something in particular. For the next few days they will happily snort around the house amusing themselves, and there will occasionally be a delighted cry of "oh, I forgot about this!"

Yesterday we had an interesting phenomenon, weather-wise: there was a freezing fog on Christmas night, with no wind, which resulted in spikes of ice crystals forming on almost everything outside.

Here is the clothesline in the back yard:

Today it is snowing softly and is a very good day to stay in, which is what I will happily do. My book, a cup of tea and a nap with a semi-liquified cat are my rewards for getting everything done. I deserve it.