Thanks, y'all! I had a nice birthday seeing Sherlock Holmes with my parents, and opening more presents, which I always enjoy. Possibly my favorite thing was the knife block I saw in their attic the other week, and asked for! I really think this notion of giving stuff we already own has a lot of legs -- many of my family members have similar tastes, and most of us have too much stuff!

A friend of mine sent me a hilarious someecard, but I think this one is even more apt, in my experience: [link]

My best friend's birthday is the day after Valentine's Day. At least her husband never ever forgets it.

Heh. My parents came pretty close this year -- when I went over there the other day, they had one thing written on the calendar for today. Kwanzaa. And THEN my mother was reading the horoscopes and forgot I was a Capricorn. Seriously, family?!?!

So I just got a set of those Buckyball magnets for myself and omg they are the funnest toy evah!

We leave our tree up till Old Christmas, Jan 8.

Of course, we have left it up till February when it was particularly pretty. Or we were extraordinarily busy. Or lazy. I threatened to remove the ornaments and replace them with valentines, and Easter eggs, and little flags and canons and firecrackers, and jack o' lanterns, and turkeys, and thus around to Christmas again. The kids cheered. H got off his duff and helped me de-ornamentize.

Amy Grant, pop/Christian singer, ties firecrackers to the tree and sets it off (in the yard) on New Year's Day to start a bonfire. I like that.

My parents put a tree in a fire once. It exploded, because every needle burns at once, and the neighbors called the FD. Not recommended.

Ooh, I like that! (ETA--Firecrackers on the tree in the yard, not an esploding tree in the fireplace)

A friend's mom always did the Advent journey. She'd set up the creche under the tree, with M&J, the animals and shepherds, but the manger would be empty and the wise men across the room somewhere. The wise men would move a little toward the creche every day, and on Christmas Day the baby would magically appear in the manger. The wise men would continue their journey, and by Jan. 8, they would arrive at the creche. She'd take down the tree and other decorations and leave the creche another day or two. Her kids (and I!) always looked forward to the journey, and loved to spot the places where the wisemen were as they made their way to the creche.

My back and neck pain is particularly irksome today. I have taken a darvocet, a flexeril and 4 advil in the hopes that the pain will break immediately. Or you know, while I'm asleep and dead to the world.