And So This Was Christmas

Oh hi!

We had, of course, the best Christmas ever.

On Christmas Eve, Joe and I threw some stuff in a bag and took a cab to the train station. We're both pretty sure that the hole in the door of the cab came from a bullet; it's Philly, after all. Naturally we were two hours early, because every time we allow a lot of time for the Schuylkill Expressway to be hosed up, it's wide open. So, as we have done for the previous three years, we sat ourselves down in the Bridgewater Pub and had a late lunch. We stretched out the time as much as we decently could, but ended up with an hour still to pass.

Then Irving Fields came by to entertain us. He's an artist - he sketches folks in the station for donations. I suppose you could call him just another bum, but I really think he enjoys doing what he does. So he picked out Joe, sat down opposite us, and started telling us his story while he sketched. He used to be homeless, but not anymore. He was hit by car and lost his leg - he showed us his prosthesis, yikes! We yakked back, telling our own stories. He told me I was beautiful, which was nice, and was suitably astonished when we said we'd been married nearly 40 years. He signed the sketch, rolled it up and put a rubber band around it, and then asked for money. We gave him 10 bucks, because of the conversation and the sketch. It's pretty good, too!

Anyway, the train was only a couple minutes late, comfortable and quiet and swift. SonnyeBoy picked us up and we headed for my sister's house and the family Christmas Eve party. It was, naturally, wonderfully fun. My sister cooked a standing rib roast that was so big it needed it's own ZIP code. It was perfect, too - juicy and rare. It tasted like memories. We had a gift exchange and champagne and hugs. I'm so fortunate to have a family that gets along and enjoys each other; the biggest drama we have is when we remember family stories differently.

After the party, we spent the night at SonnyeBoy's Baltimore pad. We woke at a decent hour, piled in the car, bought breakfast and snacks at a Royal Farm, and got back to our place around noon.  And then - presents! We all got great, great stuff. There were clothes and gadgets and toys; all of them hits. I was especially fond of this gift from SonnyeBoy:

Speaking of action figures, SonnyeBoy loved his Ruth Bader Ginsburg action figure. We thought it especially cool to see her atop his new copy of the US Constitution.

After the presents, I made a pumpkin pie while the boys chilled out and napped.

Then we went to Christmas dinner at Founding Farmers, an excellent and fine restaurant near us. For me, that's a fabulous Christmas present! No cooking, no cleaning, no smoke alarm, no stress. It was delicious, of course!

Yesterday was simply a day to relax. Mostly, anyway - Joe had to work the closing shift and SonnyeBoy had to head home. Once I was alone, I got myself over to the gym and did my walk on the treadmill, making my week's goal.

Now I am back at work and it's almost time to go home. Another Christmas done and dusted!