Oh, no, ND! Food poisoning at the holidays is the worst! I send you virtual ginger ale and bananas.

Did some dog training, got my toenails painted, and now I am waiting to take my pie out of the oven. I think it will look fab, but I'm not sure how it will taste; I fear the bottom crust might be kind of soggy. [On delay: woops, nope, not perfect, but pretty good!]

We are definitely doing a staged Christmas this year. Last night we had a nice dinner with my nieces because one of them flew to DC today, and we exchanged gifts with her & her boyfriend. And today my brother is bringing his family up from SJ and we will do takeout and possibly pie with them, and give my niece & nephew her presents. And then tomorrow it's just me, my sister & BIL, one niece, and an orphan friend I strongarmed into coming for dinner.

No Christmas dinner for Dad, I fear; he's on pureed food and antibiotics, and is still mostly nonresponsive. My sister mentioned going alcohol-free for January; I pointed out that that would be particularly hard if Dad continues to decline...

Get well soon, hippocampus, askye, and ND, and anyone else under the weather today.

Love and light to you all.

To all who celebrate this time of year, whether Solstice, Hannukah, Christmas, or some other festival for the spirit, may all of us be blessed and merry, our days full of light and laughter and love. And may the New Year, despite fears and misgivings, prove kind to us all.

In hopes and in celebration, I'd like to share my favorite holiday vid, made by Icepixie, to Hem's Identical Snowflakes. Love and beautiful days to all of you.

What a lovely sentiment, Bev. Thank you.

I did way more cleaning than I planned today. Just started load 3 of laundry. I saved folding sheets by putting the right back on the bed.

It helped that I only baked one dessert for Christmas. I may yet make something else, but it will be tomorrow morning if I do.

Now DVDs and wrapping. I wish mac would go to bed, but alas, when you have screwed up your sleep cycle as badly as he has, I doubt I can get him to bed before midnight.

We lit Hanukkah candles and opened Hanukkah prezzies, and then read several of our favorite Christmas stories. My brother and mom are prepping the breakfast casserole for the morning. Soon to bed.

Feel better, sickies. Go to bed, Mac.

wrapping all done, I didn't even start a DVD. 2 presents each. plus some cash for mac. so 7 things to take over to mom and dad's tomorrow. little bitty Christmas.

I think next year we are going to go somewhere else for Christmas and have the trip be the present to everyone except mac. I have been fighting the suggestion for a couple of years, but I think it is actually more depressing to be home with no one in the Christmas spirit than to just go somewhere else. I suggested Scotland, but mom wants to remain in country, so I will start researching places. She and Dad love the Smokey Mountains, so maybe there.

Apparently you *can* eat too much cheese. Or, at least, *I* can. I might barf.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Oh, man, flea that's awful. And Noise! Ugh.

That cave mapping girl is indeed awesome.

Spent the day with my parents, cooking and eating: Salmon Poached in Lemon Olive Oil with Crispy Skin (so much easier than I thought it was going to be), All-the-Root-Vegetables-Except-Potato Latkes (yum), green salad with apples and lemon vinaigrette (actually made with the recovered and strained olive oil from the salmon), pears poached in red wine, and handmade chocolate dreidels. Also watched football, lit candles, and exchanged some little gifts - I got my mom sparkly slippers and a Potlucker Tote and my dad a GPS-tracking app for hiking; they gave me a Pratchett collection of nonfiction and a calendar for the Contra Costa Water District that will be good to hang in my cube (severe lack of free calendars being handed out for 2017 at work). Walter was feeling spry enough to hop out of the car and start trotting down the street when we got there and insist on heading downhill again when we were leaving, which was mildly inconvenient but always nice to see. Good day.

We watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special last night and I was amazed that my nieces and BIL had never seen it.

Turns out Chinese takeout on Christmas eve is pretty good!

Now we're killing time with the American Bake Off before we go to "midnight mass", which is actually at 10:30.