Happy 12 /25 everyone!

[gimmethesimplelife]

What are you doing today if anything? We are having a ham and a salad from the guava fruit and oranges from our yard. Went to Mass this morning, exchanged gifts late last night as is the tradition in Austria. Just a nice, peaceful, mellow day. And even the weather is getting Christmassy this year.....raining and upper 50's today. Rob

[bae]

I am celebrating with family.

My divorce was finalized yesterday, Christmas Eve. One year after divorce papers were served on me the previous Christmas Eve. One and a half years after my wife left me, 15 minutes before the family was arriving here for a dinner party, to drive herself to Michigan and move in with her lover (and cousin). Two years after we began expensive and grueling high end marital therapy. Three years after she began her affair with the cousin.

So, I am so happy and relieved today to finally be done with this process, and the uncertainty. To still have my health, and my family, and my friends. To still have my house, and the house my mother and sister live in, and enough capital to live continue to live. And to have a certain amount of new wisdom.

Feasting begins in about an hour.

[sweetana3]

We had mom over for a Christmas lunch of turkey, hash brown cheesy casserole, fresh asparagus, and a berry tart hubby made. Everything was delicious and all presents were well thought out and useful.

Weather here is lovely with almost all the snow gone and husband will finish setting up Mom's new TV when he takes her home. He got me a small vintage Coach purse in red leather to use when we travel.

[Teacher Terry]

Bae, you have really had a tough time but glad that you are in a good place now. Yesterday we went to a movie and lunch and then went to our favorite happy hour place. Today we are going to my son’s for a traditional Polish Xmas dinner. My DIL is a excellent cook and there will be different courses. Glad everyone is enjoying the holidays.

[herbgeek]

Bae- I just want to acknowledge your strength and dignity through your whole process. I admire your courage.

For us, Christmas Eve was with the family. Loud and chaotic and fun (with 4 kids under 8). Not long enough to talk to some of the far flung members of our clan that I only see a couple of times a year. Today is quiet, with a late breakfast, some small things for each other to open, and then a walk in the clear cold New England day. I like my life and am generally content with it, but Christmas Day is really the only day I feel it is too quiet.

[Yppej]

Christmas Eve was with my parents, siblings, and SIL, food, gifts, and Scrabble. Christmas Day is with my son, food, gifts and relaxing. I am still in my pajamas.

[Tybee]

Went to the next door neighbors yesterday and had a wonderful Cuban dinner.

Calling family today and eating excellent turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes, green beans, apple pie. Used the good china and am burning two bayberry candles down to the end for good luck. Used my parents' champagne glasses. Listened to Stephen Cleobury Kings College choir, now on to German choirs of the same carols.

My husband liked his Christmas presents.

[iris lilies]

We are both sick with colds and that have been going on for 10 days so we are not doing much. We are walking around A little outside in the sunshine. I’m listening to Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle concert videos, gettin’ lots of f bombs. Turkey soup for lunch, steaks for dinner.

[Alan]

We just came into the camper after spending several hours sitting on the beach in South Carolina. This is our third day here and we'll be here for another four days before heading back home for our annual combined Christmas/New Years celebration with our daughter and grandkids. We'll be heading out soon to a Chinese Buffet for dinner and then we'll return to watch a couple of movies from RedBox. We're both hanging onto cold symptoms my wife brought home from school with her just before her Christmas break so I think we'll sleep well tonight after medicating ourselves with NyQuil. Sickness aside, we're having a great time sitting beneath sunny skies with low 70's temps, such a welcome relief from a typical S/W Ohio December.

[catherine]

bae, bad timing (Christmas Eve) but glad you have some closure on your annus horribilus.

This has been the most "interesting" Christmas of all.. My non-attached son wound up in the ER on Monday (nothing serious--he's fine now, but sore after a nasty fall) so that put a money (Freudian slip--I meant "monkey") wrench into my last-minute shopping plans. So, all bets were off. We determined we'd do no gift exchange today, and we wouldn't stress out about anything. So the three of us have simply treated today like Thanksgiving. Just hanging out, chilling. We had a blueberry pancake brunch and we're having a pork tenderloin dinner. We decided to each pick a Christmas movie and we'd binge watch those, so we'll be doing A Christmas Carol, National Lampoon Christmas Vacation, and Charlie Brown's Christmas.

I'm really, really at peace with this. I've spent a lifetime of stressing out over Christmas (at least 43 years), and now I'm trying something different. There's something to be said for it.

Tomorrow or Friday we'll get together with the two other kids/SOs in VT and do a gift exchange.

Oh, and I did wind up with a tree--$12.50 at the Dollar General, plus $2.00 for ornaments, and $3 for batteries for the LED lights)

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[SteveinMN]

I think we'll sleep well tonight after medicating ourselves with NyQuil."NyQuil, the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, how the $&^#) did I end up on the kitchen floor medicine." But sleep works wonders for such illnesses. Feel better soon -- sick over holidays is no fun.

bae, someone's timing on the milestones was amazing! I got my final divorce papers the day of my birthday. It seemed to be more of a relief than a gift: the long slog (about two years for us) was over. You've been through a wrenching process, bae, but you seem to have come out well on the other side. Good days are ahead for you, I'm sure of it.

[bae]

Good days are ahead for you, I'm sure of it.

Well, except this Christmas Feast today has everyone here moaning, because it was so good we overate. Seems memos got crossed, so too many people brought too much food, and it was all insane.

Not a bad problem :-)

Ooof.

[Tybee]

Catherine, it's adorable! Glad you and DS and DH having a chill and especialy, a peaceful, Christmas!

[ToomuchStuff]

Going to be a very long day tomorrow, as it was Monday. Been waiting on a receipt from the tax people, as it should have cleared by now (mailed the same time/mailbox as coworker, who I have printed off their receipts a week ago). Missed the bank Christmas Eve (wasn't originally on my plan), as I am going to take money out of savings to go pay and get a receipt, until I know wtf is going on with my check.

So today, had lunch/dinner with the family. Then they watched a movie, and I have been online, ordering parts for a project. Now, sitting here, watching a show that I once saw on PBS, that is good, Finding Sugarman.
Bae, may your Christmas's all be better from here on out. Not my favorite holiday either, enough bad times.

[pinkytoe]

Just us two and we are blue - missing family far away. So we took a long walk on the first sunny day in a while, made posole for dinner and ate by a roaring fire. It's odd, but a family member also just finalized a divorce last week. Perhaps it is good to wrap up those things at year's end to start fresh in the New Year - and for tax purposes.

[NewGig]

Stayed home and quiet. I started the big furniture rearrangement that is one of the first steps to our moving downstairs, aging in place. Neighbors came and removed the electric bed they’d loaned us. We returned the commode a week ago. DH is walking mostly with a cane these days but is still in pain and tired at the end of the day.

While looking for equipment for DH, found out that a now-defunct rehab hospital, nearby, was selling their old equipment. If we’d known about them sooner, I would have bought DH a wheelchair!

We decided this morning to try and salvage our old leather couch, but also decided that if we can’t, we’ll probably buy a convertible couch, so we get a guest bed and couch in one.

One more step done or started anyway!

[happystuff]

It ended up being a good day with family, but the days leading up to Christmas were way too hectic - with work all the way up to and including Christmas eve and preps, etc. Christmas morning we did our little family thing and then the driving began. Again, it was GREAT seeing family, but having Christmas on a Wednesday really made it not feel like a holiday. Just 1 day off between workdays. But, again, seeing family always makes it all worth while in the end.

Happy Holidays to all!

[SteveinMN]

having Christmas on a Wednesday really made it not feel like a holiday
But it sure makes today feel like a Monday...

[Teacher Terry]

PT, sounds like it’s time to plan a visit to your daughter and grand babies. We had a great time at the kids and came home with leftovers.

[iris lilies]

Here are my lovely, elegant, and unique Xmas gifts from DH, haha : windshield fluid, duct tape, Lindt chocolates. Only the Lindt truffles were wrapped. I DID ask for duct tape. One roll is in classic grey, the other is in color pop red.



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[sweetana3]

We bought a bunch of Lindt truffles at today's after Xmas sale at our favorite grocery store.

[happystuff]

But it sure makes today feel like a Monday...

Absolutely! And two Mondays in one week - well, it just isn't right. >:(

LOL.