That’s really wonderful msbelle. And Karl! Lovely to see you as always.

Seriously craving trout dip right now.

We did not have the Xmas we were planning (who did, really?) but it’s been okay. With my dad in the hospital and no real idea for how long we had to go retrieve his dog and then decided just to move Xmas there anyway. We’d already planned to have a traditional Canadian tourtiere that my mom used to make for Christmas Eve, and he was going to get Indian takeout for Christmas Day so I went ahead and made the pie on Tuesday and picked up the Indian food yesterday and then we loaded up gifts and decorations and everything and moved it all lock stock and barrel to Wisconsin.

Highlights: He got sprung! He came home about 2 o’clock today. His dog and mine are just over the moon to have him back. We’re pretty chuffed too.

The food has been great and just the level of comfort we needed. The new Xmas addition to the cabin is an electric fireplace with a mantel which is just so soothing and mellow so we’re all blissfully crashed out.

We’ve rolled with the punches and dropped what needed dropping and it’s been real good.

.

Oh, that’s good to read, brenda!

Oh god, except for this. All’s well now but Mozzie had an adventure last night and Hilary and I both lost a year off our lives, probably.

It was 7 degrees and dark and we realized we couldn’t see him anymore so we ran around the yard with flashlights and then H spotted footprints leading out on to the new ice in the creek.

We’re both completely freaking out and then I spotted him coming towards us in the neighbor’s yard. He ran across the ice to the end of their dock and then thank dog turned and went back to land. I grabbed his collar and basically flipped him up and over the fence and carried him inside while my sister hyperventilated behind us.

Holy jeebus dog. I went and looked at the footprints again this morning and started shaking all over again. He was pretty shell shocked too, probably from our reactions and being yanked over the fence. (The fences go down to the water line so the only ‘go around’ option is on the ice/water. Very very glad it didn’t come to that.)

Mozzie! No!

Meep

Mozzie! Yikes!!

Merry merry, everyone. I Zoomed with friends from Minneapolis (the host's birthday is today, so he moved his usual bar celebration to Zoom), we went down to see Lee and give her presents from 6 feet away, and now we're going to have the Trader Joe's Beef en Croute, for the novel experience of not really cooking on Xmas Day. (Heating things up from frozen does not count.)

Hi juliana! That all sounds excellent

Merry Xmas, all. ~ma to all that needs it - I started a mental Meara but was too much.

Shir, I’m so sorry about Batcat.

I had planned to get Thai food (there’s no good Chinese here and the Vietnamese are all Catholic) and watch WW84 but couldn’t find a Thai place open and I ended up trying to validate/comfort my sister via text which totally drained me so I had oatmeal for dinner and don’t care. Currently drinking bourbon hot cocoa, will finish Muppets Xmas Carol (had never seen it before, believe it or not), and then to bed.

Highlights of the day were Xmas dance party complete with disco lights while doing dishes with roommates (got apt bombed for roaches Weds so we are having to wash every. fucking. dish) and reading books via Zoom with family.

Lowlights: methheads upstairs sounding like hippos playing DDR simultaneously with pickup sticks made of old school tent poles and being very worried about my sister. They had to put one cat to sleep one Tuesday (expected) and the other on Weds (not expected) and she is furious at my parents for not noticing her cat was sick and herself for going off to house/petsit.

And I have to work tomorrow through NYE and I am just done with it all. I haven’t even lined up the next job, I’ve been so 24/7 trying to finish this one and just get through the day.

Anyway. Blah.

We’ve rolled with the punches and dropped what needed dropping and it’s been real good.

That's how to do it!

Mozzie, no! That's not how to do it.

Wishing you Thai food soon, smonster.

As Matilda articulated, Xmas Eve is where it's at, and Xmas Day more of an anticlimax after the prezzies. I'm overstuffed and ready to get to running again tomorrow.

Kind of missing our friends' Open House on Boxing Day which was just the right amount of low key mingling with others to taper off the holiday.

Xmas Shows Watched This Year:
Grinch
Charlie Brown Xmas
Holiday (Cary Grant/Katherine Hepburn)
Elf

Traditionally Watched But Not Watched This Year:
Rudolph (where we jeer at Santa and other reindeer for being assholes)
Olive, the Other Reindeer
A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott version favored here)
It's a Wonderful Life
Invader Zim Xmas

Bonus Watching:
Matilda and I have been re-watching the Harry Potter movies, and I think I have to move Half-Blood Prince into second place after Prisoner of Azkaban. It's got Rupert Grint's best comic scene (love potion), Daniel Radcliffe's best comic scene (luck serum), second best guest teacher (Broadbent as Slughorn), Michael Gambon's best scene (drinking the poison), and best scene by Kloves that wasn't in the books (Lily's fish gift to Slughorn). Also, the SPFX with the ink-in-water Pensieve scenes were so inventive and beautiful.

Confession: I watched Olive with my the due South fanartist mom of my deceased friend, who is now my friend in her own right, and we will probably watch either It's A Wonderful Life or the GC Scott Christmas Carol sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Sorry to hear about the kitty, Shir.

Aurelia, best wishes for your uncle - and your dad!

Roommate made lasagna and we watched Moonstruck. I’m still feeling the Chianti.