Well, we had a late Christmas here. Denis had to work on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, so we waited until the 26th to open our gifts. Each night when Denis came home from work late (1-2 AM) he would say, "let's call your mom and open our gifts!" Nah. We wanted to have a relaxing time together, not a late night, yawning present session.

On Christmas Eve, Mom and I went to the 11 PM candlelight service at the Methodist church downtown. It was nice. And on Christmas Day a friend from my church invited us both over for her dinner. So we had an enjoyable time meeting new people while Denis slaved at work.

Well, anyway, that was almost a week ago now, and we are about set to take off for our vacation at Mt. Shasta. I'm pretty much packed and Denis is getting his last-minute stuff done. The kitties will go to visit Grandma's house while we are gone. (for more about what they think of their grandma, go visit their blog.) So, I have my camera packed with my new memory card which can take 500 pictures! I plan to experiment and hopefully I can make you all a nice snowy slide show when we return. Have a wonderful New Year celebration, whatever you have in store. I'll be back in 2007.

Keeping up with the Lemmings

Ta Da!

Well, there it is. We put up the Christmas tree last week. My mom and I went to a tree farm and cut it down about a week ago and Denis brought it in and set it in the stand. While he went out to experiment with outdoor lights, I decorated the tree (with Phoebe's help, of course).

I have a busy week ahead of me. I am working 5 days this week instead of my usual three. Denis' birthday is Thursday. He is working the days I have off and I am working the days he has off. So we won't see each other too much until our anniversary trip. I think I'm about set for Christmas shopping, but there is still wrapping to do along with other important items to accomplish as well.

What does your week look like?

Downright Balmy

Last night at 6 PM I went outside into the darkness with some garbage for the dumpster expecting to be shivering cold out there. To my surprise it was so comfortable. It was 56 degrees! Today it is beautiful weather out again - 55 right now. Just a couple of days ago we had a cold snap, with freezing temperatures overnight. I went out each morning to find frost on my car window and shivered as I waited for it to defrost so I could drive to work. I'm not complaining about the change!

I have been quite slow getting started with Christmas preparation this year. Now I'm starting to realize that I had better get cracking or there won't be much under our Christmas tree this year. That reminds me, gotta go buy a tree. :o)

I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season and anticipating the celebration of our Savior's earthly arrival.

T

Here I am with my friend T. I saw her this weekend when I was in Portland. I think it had been almost a year since we last saw each other. Lately, we have been keeping in touch through blogging and instant messaging. Isn't the internet great?

We go way back, us two. We met one fateful day in sophomore health class in 1982. I don't think we knew many people in the class and we just happened to be sitting next to each other. We kept each other entertained in that class and later when we took typing together. We became best friends through the next year - shared a locker and decorated it in various themes, stayed overnight at each other's houses. T introduced me to the concept of cold pizza for breakfast. We sang Eurythmics tunes at the top of our voices and generally made a nuisance of ourselves. That all ended at the end of our junior year when we broke off our friendship due to parental pressures. Ahem... Our mothers did not approve of each other. We were so different, really. She was kind of wild and dangerous to me. I was considered a goody-two-shoes, and not just by T, but others in my class. I must admit, we were an unusual match. So from that second fateful day, we hardly even spoke until our graduation day when we acknowledged each other with a brief good-bye, good luck, etc.

I went off to college and that was that. But, up popped T a few years later. She contacted me through my mom who had not moved. We had some casual contact a couple of times, but then came back into each other's lives in a big way in 1990. She had been living out of the state and was looking for a place to live so she could move back to Portland. So we became roommates for the first time. Since then, we have shared an apartment three times, attended the same church and home group, prayed together, studied together, told each other all our secrets and made a commitment to always stand by each other. As we've gone through different stages in our lives, we've been in close contact and out of contact. But, with the exception of Denis, there is no one who knows me quite as well as T. (Well, probably my mom does too, but not quite in the same way.) Our personalities are still very different, but we do have a bond that we are convinced will not be broken.

To Portland and Back

Denis and I had a quick trip up to Portland for some business and took advantage of the opportunity to visit with some friends we hadn't seen in a long time. The weekend started with a nice dinner and visit with my boss who had us over for dinner. She is a good cook - we had pumpkin soup, cornish hen, cheesy potatoes and a luscious chocolate peanut butter brownie cake. After dinner, we strolled through downtown Grants Pass and looked in the shops which were open late for the special monthly art walk. A very pleasant evening.

After leaving them, we drove halfway up the state to Eugene and slept to break up the trip. Saturday, we were on the road in good time and arrived in Portland in time to do a bit of shopping before our meeting. We went to the Cost Plus World Market and bought some Tim Tams. I had to get some after hearing how great they are from my Aussie friends (and to try a Tim Tam Slam). Then we had time to visit my friend LM1 and her family. After our meeting, we headed across the city to spend the evening with our pinochle playing buddies. We kept them up late with the competetive spirit, then called it a night.

Sunday morning, we met a gal from my old singles group (that's old to me, not old singles...) We hadn't seen each other since my wedding! She is getting ready to go on her first trip out of the country on a mission to Africa. So exciting! We attended her church with her and then went out for brunch. Our last stop was the big Portland REI store where Denis generously spent his annual rebate on warm clothes for me. I was nervous about being warm enough on our upcoming anniversary trip to Mt. Shasta. But now, I shall be toasty warm. All in all a nice, relaxing trip.

Christmas Song