Happy 12/25!!!

[gimmethesimplelife]

Just what I said above. Off today as the store was closed and had the chance to sleep in really late. This year it's about family and food and charitable giving and very few presents - that economy, if not gone with the.wind, is at least not current reality. Money is much better saved.....

How's your Christmas shaping up? (Gotta fess up though - I am guilty of impractical spending in these times for my cat). Rob

[Tammy]

It’s a quiet day at home - our 3 kids are just with their own households also.

Our youngest son digitized a DVD that we made 20 years ago from super8 and VCR family movies. We thought we were putting old technology onto the newest thing. Look how fast that became old.

So we’re having fun watching old family movies from the 1960s - 1990s that he shared with us via google drive as a surprise today. The older ones without sound have Simon and Garfunkel background music. Great gift.

[KayLR]

Quiet here too. Did a Zoom with daughter's family & watched gift openings. Just hanging out with hubs and doing some stitching. Rainy & cold here.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Oops. Typo. Above should have read that the economy is really not in good shape. Rob

[happystuff]

Had a nice one all-in-all. I was tired by the end of the night as I did most of the cooking myself, but it all turned out okay. Have plenty of left-overs this time around (unlike Thanksgiving). It was nice having our immediate family here at home and being able to skype our grab bag with extended family.

We also did more donations this year versus material gifts, although we each had something to unwrap. I got a new bird feeder and several cakes of suet! I'll be heading outside to feed the birds (and squirrels!) later today.

[JaneV2.0]

I had a quiet day eating chocolate and truffle cheese, talking to loved ones on the phone and in email, and opening presents--very pleasant, all in all.

[Teacher Terry]

Exchanged food with my kids outside. We were outside in 39 degrees for 2 hours. My husband and I played games. Talked to my other 2 sons on the phone and a few friends.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I liked 25th Eve better. Drove around with bf and saw decorated trees (xmas lights) then. I think the xmas lights are one of the few things I really do like this time of year. So many decorations seem imported from cold climates and just radically clash with not living in one that yea even they irritate me (ha everyone's problem after climate change, but warmer parts problem now! :laff:). But it is dark here on account of the solstice too. I could do lights myself and think about it, then can't justify even the minor increased electricity use and drop the idea. Yea that's how it goes here :).

The 25th I was with people outdoors and distanced. Me and bf and 2 others, another person stopped by as well. For about a couple hours in 75 degree weather (it it going to be hot as heck this summer to pay for it? you bet). I don't do gifting really except if I spontaneously buy a gift for someone. If people buy me a gift I accept, but they should know I'm a jerk and don't do gifting by now :~).

[frugal-one]

75 degrees!!!! Sounds like heaven. Yesterday morning we went for a walk and it was 2F and today a warm 20F. I sure hope we can leave next year!

[catherine]

We had a very warm Christmas up here, for us. Warm enough to build an outdoor fire.

So, get this--DH gave me a set of cross-country skis!! He knows I like walking and he thought I'd enjoy being able to "walk" even when it snows. I'm grateful but ambiguous about the challenge. However, I will accept that challenge, after some education on YouTube. Does ANYONE here have experience cross-country skiing??

[SteveinMN]

We braved Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with our kids and grandkids and SoniL's mother, maskless. It almost felt normal to spend time with the grandkids again. I've missed that. So far, not regretting it. But we'll take a week or two to let things shake out before we attempt more visits -- unless there's an emergency, of course.

DW and I enjoyed a pleasant quiet afternoon at home with the televised Yule log and an accompanying playlist that, thankfully, was low on the Christmas Songs I Never Need To Hear Again. We exchanged a couple of small gifts. The scale felt about right.

I used to cross-country ski, when I first moved out to Minnesota and actually went to a beginner's class (3 hours) last winter. It will strain muscles you didn't know you had, even if you do it correctly. :) But it felt nice to be outdoors and moving along without the steady slog of foot lifting required with hiking in boots or even snowshoes. Kind of like coasting on a bike. I decided after the class, though, that I'd rather snowshoe since that's easier to do right outside the door of my house. Skiing is not (too urban a landscape); if I have to drive somewhere (even a couple of miles) to a trail, it's not gonna happen. I'd give it a try. Just make sure you learn how to fall properly.

[bae]

Christmas morning my Dad got to visit his husband/my stepdad, for Christmas at the hospice care facility. Stepdad was alert, aware, and oriented for a few hours in the morning, and they spent a fine time.

Around lunchtime, he took a nap and didn't wake up. I've known this fine man for 40+ years, and he was the best backup-Dad ever.

Happy trails.

3541

[razz]

Christmas morning my Dad got to visit his husband/my stepdad, for Christmas at the hospice care facility. Stepdad was alert, aware, and oriented for a few hours in the morning, and they spent a fine time.

Around lunchtime, he took a nap and didn't wake up. I've known this fine man for 40+ years, and he was the best backup-Dad ever.

Happy trails.

3541

Sorry to hear this as he won't be able to be a part of your life any further, Bae, but what a peaceful way to finish one's life on this earth. Visiting tranquilly with one's loved ones and then falling asleep quietly.

[Yppej]

I learned how to use Google meet to get together virtually with family outside my immediate household.

[frugal-one]

Sorry to hear this as he won't be able to be a part of your life any further, Bae, but what a peaceful way to finish one's life on this earth. Visiting tranquilly with one's loved ones and then falling asleep quietly.

Exactly. Condolences to you.

[Tradd]

So sorry to hear that, Bae.

My Christmas was church, food, a good nap, then a long hot bath. Lots of reading.

Talked to a few friends on the phone between Christmas Eve and today.

[Teacher Terry]

Bae, I am so very sorry. What a wonderful way to leave and so happy you and your Dad were able to be there with him.

[happystuff]

Condolences, bae.

[Simone]

Sorry, bae. Glad you had him in your life and saw a love that lasted decades.

[rosarugosa]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Bae.

[SteveinMN]

I'm sorry, bae. It sounds like he left the best way possible, though.

[JaneV2.0]

A peaceful death--it's all most of us would wish for. My condolences to you and your father.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Christmas morning my Dad got to visit his husband/my stepdad, for Christmas at the hospice care facility. Stepdad was alert, aware, and oriented for a few hours in the morning, and they spent a fine time.

Around lunchtime, he took a nap and didn't wake up. I've known this fine man for 40+ years, and he was the best backup-Dad ever.

Happy trails.

3541Bae....my condolences. I am sorry to hear of this. Is your Father going to be OK? Rob

[bae]

Bae....my condolences. I am sorry to hear of this. Is your Father going to be OK? Rob

Well, this death has been expected for some months. Stepdad fell and broke his hip a while ago, which then triggered the usual elderly-death-from-fall process, made worse by his Parkinson's-like condition taking a radical turn for the worse after the surgery and during the initial rehab attempts. So his death has been in some ways a blessing, as he hasn't lingered for years, and Dad had some time to come to terms with the situation.

However, Dad himself managed to break his own hip heroically trying to help Stepdad right after the fall. He has recovered from his own nearly-simultaneous surgery to repair his own hip, broke himself out of his rehab facility as soon as he discerned they were just going to let him lay in bed and die, administered his own IV antibiotics through a port at home for weeks, and did his own rehab. So now he has strength back to continue fighting the cancer he was in the final stages of treatment for, which had knocked him for a loop during the year.

He will be finishing up his affairs in Palm Springs in the next month or three, then moving up here to the island to live with me for a while, as he contemplates the next stage of his life.

So, overall, I think he's doing as well as anyone could, given the circumstances and covid.

[Teacher Terry]

Your dad is amazing. It’s good that he can spend his time with you.

[catherine]

bae, so sorry for your loss. I know how much meaning a stepdad can give to your life, having had a great one myself. And your dad is so lucky to have you to help him transition to the next stage of his life. So, it seems that you will be the "caregiver" to both your mom and dad now, right?

[Tammy]

You and your dad are cut from the same DIY cloth I see 😊

[bae]

So, it seems that you will be the "caregiver" to both your mom and dad now, right?

It's that stage of life for us all :-) I'm just glad they both will be nearby, it was really horrid going through this with the MIL and FIL when they each lived in different states across the country.

[Rogar]

Bae, my condolences as well. It's just been a rough year.

[happystuff]

Very impressive father, bae. I hope things work out for everyone.