debboamerik: black-and-white cat (Default)
After I wrote that last entry, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized what I have. I felt much, much better.

When I got home, I found all three of the items I bought with the amazon.com gift certificate I got for Christmas/Yule from [livejournal.com profile] melebeth. Hooray!

Miles adores his new food. I hope this means he's going to gain a little weight and the sores on his body will go away. It is really worrying.

Life is very good.
debboamerik: black-and-white cat (Default)
My original intention was to record this Christmas season in its entirety here, but that proved difficult this weekend. Yesterday, we rinsed the henna out of my hair. My hair looks amazing. It's got a rich reddish brown color instead of the dull brown that it had turned because it's been going grey for the past several years. It's also very soft. [livejournal.com profile] papertigers and A. were happy with their work.

We finished watching Swing Time, which contains a pretty horrifying blackface sequence. (A. and I fast-forwarded through the worst of it, but not all - F.A. retains the blackface after the performance sequence is over, since in the plot he rushes straight from the stage into a situation he's trying to avoid). After that, we picked S. up in Gaithersburg and went to the mall to get presents for A., her sister, [livejournal.com profile] scooterbird, and [livejournal.com profile] efbq. We waited to take A. with us because we wanted her to choose something for herself. Teenagers, after all...

I also had my first experience with Rita's, which was fantastic. A. chose my flavor - a mixture of black cherry ice and vanilla custard. Yum.

We then took S. to have linner with [livejournal.com profile] fafou and her newish girlfriend at The Cheesecake Factory. The newish girlfriend is cute and shy and has a sense of humor, and we all rather liked her. We had a relaxed and funny waitress who also made the evening fun. We took S. home after that, and [livejournal.com profile] scooterbird came to pick A. up and bring her home. We gave him his present at that point, which he liked, and we all opened Christmas crackers.

Today, after church, we set the house up for a small but lively group of children. Our guests were: [livejournal.com profile] papertigers's niece E., who is just 6; my nieces A., 12, and L., 8; my nephew D., 11; and J. (3) and H. (1), who are the daughters of some good friends of mine whom I have known for almost a decade. We gave the kids snacks - apples, carrots, spinach dip, cheese, crackers, and corn chips - and talked for a while. Then the kids got to cut out and decorate gingerbread cookies. As usual, we were left with a lot of leftover cookies; the kids always make more than they actually want to take home. They wreaked destruction in the guest room (Legos really do go everywhere) and cleaned it up very nicely. We gave them each a Christmas cracker (they swapped the toys until each kid was satisfied) and sent them home happy and tired. It was fun.
debboamerik: black-and-white cat (Default)
We slept late yesterday. Then we had bread pudding, watched silly TV, and took a nap before picking up A. We let A. drive us back to Wheaton and went to Starbucks and Giant. Then we headed straight to Brookside Gardens for the Garden of Lights. It was well worth the $20 per car. We saw the model trains as well as the amazing lights display. They had a thunderstorm in lights, complete with lightning flashes and a rainbow.

We went to Silver Diner for dinner and then came home and put henna in my hair while watching The Gay Divorcee and Shall We Dance (half of it; we were tired, so we went to bed while Fred and Ginger were dancing, shortly after The Way You Look Tonight).

Today, more fun!
debboamerik: black-and-white cat (Default)
Happy new year, everyone.

I worked today. There were few students, but I hope the ones who were in class got a lot out of it, for all that.

I've been thinking about 2009 as a year ever since [livejournal.com profile] melebeth mentioned something about its not being so good.

She's right. I started the year with a sprained ankle that acted like a fractured ankle. There have been health problems for me and mine - everything from cancer to bad teeth. There have been emotional upheavals. There have been family upheavals. There was even a fire.

Still, I will say that some things have gone well. I've continued to learn just how valuable my friends and (extended) family are. I've learned, too, just how strong the support of my Family-of-Choice is. [livejournal.com profile] papertigers and I have drawn closer together, and (not coincidentally) I have grown a lot less emotionally dependent on her. I have been lucky in many ways. I still have blessings to count when anxiety tries to keep me awake.

Tomorrow, we will continue our Christmas celebrations with [livejournal.com profile] scooterbird and [livejournal.com profile] efbq's oldest, redheaded child. (Though I suppose, at 16, she is almost not a child anymore!)

Tonight, we have a clean house and Christmas carols on the stereo, good food, and cute cats. We are going to have a quiet and relaxed New Year's celebration with just the five of us (two humans, three cats). That is my favorite way to mark the change of the year. I feel good about this. May 2010 be a year of blessings and favors, joy and goodness for everyone who is reading this.
debboamerik: black-and-white cat (Default)
It was really nice to see [livejournal.com profile] papertigers at the end of work today. We cleaned the house - I took the wrapping paper from Christmas morning out to recycling, [livejournal.com profile] papertigers cleaned up the dining room table, and we collaborated on the kitchen and the living room.

Last night, we watched Holiday Inn while we ate our pie.

I'm still having a lot of difficulty processing Thanksgiving weekend... and the 32 years that came before it. I want to thank you all for your kindness and support. Holidays are fraught with family associations, but I can honestly say that we are having a lovely Yuletide.
debboamerik: black-and-white cat (Default)
Today, I went to jury duty at 1. I stayed until 4, mostly sitting in a chair alternately reading and being bored. Also, I have the Cramps that Took over the World. Also also, one of the books that I got with [livejournal.com profile] melebeth's Yule/Christmas present (amazon gift card) has shipped, and we got a gift card to Barnes & Noble from my second set of parents in California.

We are having sweet potato pie for dessert. YUM!!!!!
debboamerik: black-and-white cat (Default)
We spent an hour last night and an hour today clearing snow from the car and parking space. Part of the problem was that we didn't have anywhere to put it. It was fun shoveling all that snow. Despite the late start liturgy, I didn't manage to get to church (it's pretty far for this kind of driving). I did manage to make promised Christmas treat gifts for [livejournal.com profile] tostita and [livejournal.com profile] obscurerichard and their family (and some extras for us). Tomorrow, though, I'm going to build a snowman and slide down the hill. All this in addition to making a really good sauce and home-made ravioli, plus pie, for Yule. I have wrapped [livejournal.com profile] papertigers's presents already, so that's good.

We are going to be having a Very African Christmas. [livejournal.com profile] papertigers requested maaro e liddi (which I will serve with more veggies than typical, because I have access to them, whereas most Africans do not). I am going to make some bissap to go with it because I found dried hibiscus flowers and I love bissap. She will make sweet potato pie for dessert (I, of course, will compose the crust). Not exactly your traditional turkey and stuffing, but I think it's a meal we will both enjoy very much.

We haven't decided whether to go to midnight or morning Liturgy on Christmas. That will depend on other people's plans and the weather. At any rate, it's shaping up to be a lovely, quiet holiday at home.

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