Christmasy!
I had a really nice Christmas this year despite some plague early on. I was pretty miserable at Revels and then Boston Pops the week before Christmas, but managed to recover completely before attending the East Side Caroling expedition. There were probably about 100 adults and 30 children who met up at Chez Pascal to go caroling. Many people did not know each other; I did not know any of them. But we wandered through the streets of Providence for about an hour and a half and sang from a photocopied pamphlet. People came out onto their porches to listen to us sing and some people ran to get us cookies. It was an amazing and magical evening. I loved every moment of it with my husband who even sang a little here and there. Of course, I'd almost lost my voice again by the end of the evening, but it was totally worth it since I'd not really been able to sing carols the previous weekend. I decided to take Thursday off in order to bum around a bit and enjoy Christmas before the crazy of the weekend began... but my sister had to go to a funeral and I ended up with her kids for three hours. So much for doing stuff. We still managed to hit the mall after they left which was a BIG mistake. E gadz, but traffic was insane! And we did see the new Narnia movie. I really enjoyed the movie, but wished that I could have had a non-3D option. I really did not feel like the 3D added that much other than an extra $4.50 and some stupid glasses which took away periphery vision.
Friday was all about the dash to get meatballs ready for the in-law party in Westminster. We were out of the house by 9am and made some excellent time up there due to the lack of traffic and good weather. Happily, all of Mark's family was able to get together for the gathering which made his parents quite pleased. Unfortunately, the only food I could eat was the food that I brought because every other dish had peppers in it. I know that my intolerance is not widely known and it was not done on purpose. But WHO puts peppers in their food? There were peppers in the chili, lasagna, and chip dip. Dude. At least I enjoyed my meatball subs! We also got an angry rant from one of Mark's nieces. We've been told not to exchange gifts, so we tend to bring small things for the adults, but not the kids. Anyway, one of Mark's nieces comes up to him and says that she does not see a gift from him with her name on it. Mark explains that he only got gifts for his brothers. She proceeds to tell him that he is very greedy and selfish for not getting her a gift and, furthermore, he is a poo poo head. Lovely. Well, I guess right there is a reason not to get her a gift! I really leave all the gifts for his family business to Mark because he knows the protocol better than I do. From there, we dashed back to Providence, took care of the dog, grabbed stuff and headed to my sister's house in Barrington for the evening. It was nice to sit in front of the fire and exchange gifts. Especially because the boys were so very thrilled by each thing they got. My parents got them these scooters that shoot sparks when you hit the brakes and they were soon off into the cold and dark to try them out. Dinner was tasty cheese fondue and then there was the post-dinner caroling by the fire. As always, my sister did a great job. We had debated going to the midnight church service, but went to bed almost immediately upon getting home.
Christmas morning, we packed up and headed down to my parents' condo in Jamestown for breakfast and gift opening. Mark actually surprised me this year! He got me a kindle which I look forward to using on my many trips out of town in the next year. It's so slim and small! My Mom absolutely loved her gift of my grandfather's articles and my brother was very impressed by my work. So, it was a definitely hit even if it did make her a bit sad as she thought about her father. I guess you can't really have do a gift about a dead person without thinking about them dying. I helped make late lunch with my Mom and we had a very tasty meal together before napping in front of the fire and then a short walk on the beach where Mark found the most awesome piece of purple sea glass. He made all my nephews incredibly jealous. And then, all too soon, it was time to pack up and go home and start to find places for all the great gifts. I was certainly thankful that I still had Sunday in order to decompress. I made split pea soup from the ham bone, managing to cut myself very deeply on my finger and we watched the Pats game where we stomped the Bills. All the while, the snow came tumbling down. aumshantih sent a last minute invite to a turkey dinner at his house and we braved Blackstone Blvd to get down to Pawtucket. It was really nice to catch up with him and Rob and to eat some incredibly yummy turkey before we braved the cold and snow once more to head back to our cozy home. Luckily, the plows were out and my car, snowflake, was up to the task of getting us safely out and about.
As my parents will not be home for my actual birthday, we celebrated last night at a hibachi restaurant in Warwick that I recently discovered through groupon. It was a fun table full of ten of my family and the chef put on a great show including the long distance sake shot into my mouth. Yum! It was really nice to be able to celebrate and have a birthday cake before I pick my parents up on Wednesday to take them to the airport. Thankfully, they've been doing very well with all this weather.
I should, at some point, post about the year that has been. But I think that might need to wait for another day...
Friday was all about the dash to get meatballs ready for the in-law party in Westminster. We were out of the house by 9am and made some excellent time up there due to the lack of traffic and good weather. Happily, all of Mark's family was able to get together for the gathering which made his parents quite pleased. Unfortunately, the only food I could eat was the food that I brought because every other dish had peppers in it. I know that my intolerance is not widely known and it was not done on purpose. But WHO puts peppers in their food? There were peppers in the chili, lasagna, and chip dip. Dude. At least I enjoyed my meatball subs! We also got an angry rant from one of Mark's nieces. We've been told not to exchange gifts, so we tend to bring small things for the adults, but not the kids. Anyway, one of Mark's nieces comes up to him and says that she does not see a gift from him with her name on it. Mark explains that he only got gifts for his brothers. She proceeds to tell him that he is very greedy and selfish for not getting her a gift and, furthermore, he is a poo poo head. Lovely. Well, I guess right there is a reason not to get her a gift! I really leave all the gifts for his family business to Mark because he knows the protocol better than I do. From there, we dashed back to Providence, took care of the dog, grabbed stuff and headed to my sister's house in Barrington for the evening. It was nice to sit in front of the fire and exchange gifts. Especially because the boys were so very thrilled by each thing they got. My parents got them these scooters that shoot sparks when you hit the brakes and they were soon off into the cold and dark to try them out. Dinner was tasty cheese fondue and then there was the post-dinner caroling by the fire. As always, my sister did a great job. We had debated going to the midnight church service, but went to bed almost immediately upon getting home.
Christmas morning, we packed up and headed down to my parents' condo in Jamestown for breakfast and gift opening. Mark actually surprised me this year! He got me a kindle which I look forward to using on my many trips out of town in the next year. It's so slim and small! My Mom absolutely loved her gift of my grandfather's articles and my brother was very impressed by my work. So, it was a definitely hit even if it did make her a bit sad as she thought about her father. I guess you can't really have do a gift about a dead person without thinking about them dying. I helped make late lunch with my Mom and we had a very tasty meal together before napping in front of the fire and then a short walk on the beach where Mark found the most awesome piece of purple sea glass. He made all my nephews incredibly jealous. And then, all too soon, it was time to pack up and go home and start to find places for all the great gifts. I was certainly thankful that I still had Sunday in order to decompress. I made split pea soup from the ham bone, managing to cut myself very deeply on my finger and we watched the Pats game where we stomped the Bills. All the while, the snow came tumbling down. aumshantih sent a last minute invite to a turkey dinner at his house and we braved Blackstone Blvd to get down to Pawtucket. It was really nice to catch up with him and Rob and to eat some incredibly yummy turkey before we braved the cold and snow once more to head back to our cozy home. Luckily, the plows were out and my car, snowflake, was up to the task of getting us safely out and about.
As my parents will not be home for my actual birthday, we celebrated last night at a hibachi restaurant in Warwick that I recently discovered through groupon. It was a fun table full of ten of my family and the chef put on a great show including the long distance sake shot into my mouth. Yum! It was really nice to be able to celebrate and have a birthday cake before I pick my parents up on Wednesday to take them to the airport. Thankfully, they've been doing very well with all this weather.
I should, at some point, post about the year that has been. But I think that might need to wait for another day...