Merry Christmas

If I keep posting pictures of my Charlie Brown Christmas tree I am liable to get a new tree as a present, but I like it just fine. The stockings were hung in time for our usual Christmas day brunch.

Kay came feeling a little puny and took to the sofa to wait for the others.

Mary was prepared as she would soon be hopping a plane to Wisconsin and did not want to catch a germ. Or was it because she had recently had a cold and did not want to share a germ. She even got Jeff a little worried. Have we become paranoid or what?

I was glad I felt great. I cooked ham, peppered bacon, cheese grits, fried potatoes, egg souffle, scrambled eggs, sausage gravy, vegan gravy, biscuits, apple butter, and sugared cranberries. All that was missing were a few cousins.

Kay, Jeff, and Will opening gifts. Yes, Will got some also before he headed back to Fayetteville to beat the snow and freezing temperatures. He did hit some icy spots but made it fine. Mary took off to Wisconsin to finish her Christmas visit with her daughter Kelly, son-in-law Sean and Sean's family.

And Leon scurried to the kitchen for his favorite job - pots 'n pans.

We hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas also. It is so nice to visit family and friends and a big meal doesn't hurt a thing until you step on the scale again!

Christmas downtown

A cold clear winter's night was a good time to visit downtown with my daughter. The Christmas trees in Arlington Park sparkled and twinkled as their lights flashed for all to see.  We parked beside them and ventured into the Arlington for Deleen Davidson's Christmas program.

The lobby of the Arlington Hotel was filled with people enjoying the holidays and dancing to the band. The gingerbread house was in its usual place in the lobby. It always reminds me of the wonderment I would have had seeing such as a small child.

We met my sister and her friends and enjoyed an evening of exquisite music and delicious food. I arrived home just in time to watch the end of the New Orleans/Dallas game with Leon. It was his choice for the evening and indeed a great game.

BEWARE!

This is the screen that popped up on my Macintosh last night. Another small window opened that tried to get me to run an executable file to get rid of my viruses. Panic! What to do? Nothing!!! I couldn't get it to cancel but eventually could close the window and all was gone away. Who knows what would have happened had I run that file?!
Leon got a similar window one day and wound up with a virus. Beware.

Mystery solved

I am so impressed with Splosion Man, the zany character on the XBox 360 game by the same name. Could he really be someone I might meet on the street? He was in the running for the best independent game sponsored by Spike but was beat out by a flower! Still for his creators to be called Game Gods is amazing.

Oh no! It is my nephew, Sean. I am not sure my niece needs to live with a Game God. He is just nice enough in his own right. Play on, fellow gamers.

And now I learn that Twisted Pixel and Splosion Man did win the IGN award for the best platform game! Sweet!

Holiday brunch

Cissy tried the mimosas while Chris served some bloody Marys. We enjoy going to Chris' for Christmas gatherings as nobody does it better!

What a brunch Chris did fix. She could have fed an army but I think we ate like one!

Mel, Darla, Chris, Kay and I sat at one table. That pile of food on a plate is mine!

Patty, Cissy, Mary and Joy visited at another table.

Kay and Joy chatted with Henry who got to come inside after we ate.

Chris' new remodel is delightful and we enjoyed the warmth of the morning sun while relaxing and visiting.

Hey, Hey, the gangs all here. For 18 years we have gathered to spread good cheer.

Whatever Lola wants...

Meet our new granddog, Lola! She is a corgi that Kay adopted from a shelter. We can't imagine why she was in the shelter although she has a couple of medical problems, but they can be fixed. She is a sweet, well-behaved dog as long as there is no competition when it comes to food. She is a bossy little thing and took over on day one. Whatever Lola wants, Lola thinks she is going to get but she is learning. She is a welcome addition.