Corner of Bourbon & Division

It's Christmastime, and that means the stores are stocking eggnog again. This makes me a happy camper. I love eggnog. I love Christmas, actually. Every aspect of Christmas, except maybe the rampant commercialism. Even that I can mostly tune out. I like seeing all the pretty lights come out, and I enjoy the cheesy Christmas carols playing tinnily over loudspeakers in the street.

I love the cold air, I love the snow. I love putting up Christmas trees and decorations and lights, and watching little children get excited about Santa Claus. I like trying to figure out what kind of presents to give to my parents and to the few members of my family to whom I give presents every year. Even if my brain chemistry hates this time of year, I really like it.

Did I mention I really love Christmas? :)


( Cleaning update #5,347,892 )

Did I mention I have eggnog?

I am a very, very happy camper right now, although I am quite tired.

I figure I ought to know by the end of the week if miseri has managed to infect me with his chicken pox. I rather hope not, as it would put a serious damper on my Christmas and work plans.

The weekend went by in a blur. I'm not sure how that happened. Wasn't it January yesterday? I keep saying that, but it's true.

Friday was the NaNo wrap party, which was loads of fun even though I was drugged and in pain and not altogether coherent. I did read an excerpt of my novel, though. I was blown away by the quality of some of the writing. Well, at least, the ones I'd never heard before. I'd already read the work of several people there, so I knew that their writing skills were awesometastic.

Staggered home in a cab with baronscartop and ai731, and ended up passing out around midnight or 1am, I don't remember.

Was up at 8:00 the next morning, packed my stuff and tried my best to hustle my way out the door in order to go to Alexandria to visit fearsclave, the Wuh-Mun (who still has no LJ despite our best efforts), looking4wings and wultabat. looking4wings wasn't feeling 100% in the morning, so she took a nap while wultabat hoovered. I assisted in the cutting and peeling of carrots and potatoes, while we were subjected to the entirety of "A Tony Bennett Christmas." Some Christmas carols are not meant to be crooned, that's all I have to say about that.

Once that was done I went back to my knitting. The Supar Seekrit Projekt continues apace, and at the rate I'm going I think I may well have time for the Other Supar Seekrit Projekt I was hoping to get done. For a while I thought it might have to wait until after Christmas, which would be too bad. I shall not say more in this public forum, lest little pitchers turn out to have big eyes as well as big ears.

After a quiet lunch of carrot soup (oh, God, the carrot soup! ahem...) and yummy soft white bread, the Hordes descended upon in the form of looking4wings's sister, her sister's boyfriend S., and her sister's three children, aged something like 5 to 12 or so. Very nice kids, well-behaved and well-mannered, even though the youngest was a little hyper and climbed all over the place. Overall I was very impressed with them.

We (that is I, fearsclave, wultabat, S., and the eldest of the three kids) set out into the woods not long after to bag ourselves some Christmas trees. fearsclave pointed out one which looked suitable for me, and so I chopped it down without further ado. I then struck a triumphant pose, because it seemed like the thing to do at the time.

We staggered home triumphantly with our trophies, and fearsclave continued my ongoing corruption by introducing me to something he has decided to callGlögg. He put in a lot more rum and brandy than the recipe called for, and thus he and I got very, very sloshed. Not so sloshed that we were incoherent and sick, but definitely enough to make walking a challenge and to make everything seem a lot funnier. Mulled wine is very, very nice.

looking4wings made a positively scrumptious dinner, from which we emerged slightly on the wrong side of stuffed. You gotta love the holidays.

fearsclve and I eventually made our way back to the Fearsranch across the road, where I decided to stay the night. The Glögg did nothing to improve my driving skills, after all. Despite my virtuous intentions of going to bed at a halfway decent hour, I ended up playing this very addictive game called Bejewelled on his computer until a completely ungodly hour of the morning. It's like crack on a computer screen, and it just keeps going and going and going... I also briefly checked my email and LJ, just because I had access to a computer and teh intarnet. Whee!

We woke up later than we intended the next morning, since we were scheduled to go to breakfast with looking4wings and wultabat, but we managed to make it only about fifteen or twenty minutes late. I caught up quickly with the Wuh-Mun, but not nearly enough, so it's a good thing I'll be seeing her again next Sunday.

Bombed back to Montreal in the car (gas is so much cheaper in Ontario! It's not fair!), and headed directly to see luvenditti. Did not pass Go, did not collect $200. We vegged out for most of the day, watching movies. We saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which was positively uninspired. I haven't seen such poor onscreen chemistry since the remake of The Thomas Crowne Affair. We moved on to Madagascar, which was cute but not as funny as I thought it might be. It had some very good moments, mind you, and I suspect a lot of kids who watch that may end up becoming vegetarians. :P

We made a quick stop-off at the store, where I bought some cheap Christmas baubles for my new tree, and made another detour by the grocery store for a few more essentials which are too boring to list here.

Trooped back to luvenditti's just in time for dinner, which was also delicious (it always is), caught a few minutes of A Muppet Christmas Carol, and then ended up watching a Bill Murray movie called Scrooged, which was also very cute but not especially impressive (sorry luvenditti!). I knitted and we chatted, and altogether had a great time.

And, all too soon, I had to go home and haul my Christmas tree up the stairs (thank goodness it wasn't very heavy!). I put it in the stand that fearsclave generously lent to me, but when I got up this morning the tree had fallen over(whether it was all gravity or the cats helped, I'm not sure), so I suspect I shall have to do some bracing/tying of the tree when I get home today. Decorating shall happen Wednesday, when I have time.

That's all, folks! One day I shall not be in a position wherein I have to make monster updates to keep everyone up to speed. :)