Merry Christmas!
We have had a lovely day here in Charlotte, though it is seriously cold. Like 35 degrees. As the high. Living in Houston has stripped me of all ability to deal with anything below 50.
In any case, Santa found us last night, and left lots of great gifts under the tree. I got a warm fuzzy GT blanket from Katie, a light/lantern and camping towel from Brian, a Photoshop book I’d asked for from David, money from both Grandmothers (which I plan to use part of to buy a new camera lens and a DVD), and clipless pedals and the shoes to go with them (for my bike) from Mom and Dad. I also got a few other little things — a new ornament, lotion, a set of DVDs about the Apollo 8 mission, and a book. All in all, it has been a great Christmas.
I think everyone enjoyed the gifts I got them as well. A basic DVD player and a framed photo for Katie, Return of the King and geocaching gear (to go with the GPS receiver I knew he was getting) for David, an assortment of camping stuff for Brian, a necklace (made by me!) for Mom, a plant and a picture for Grandmother, and image-stabilized binoculars for Dad. Dad was so surprised to see that we’d all chipped in to get him the binoculars that he’s only been talking about, oh, I dunno, since April. I love surprising people with exactly what they want but never thought they’d get! (Or, in Dad’s case, what they would never actually gather the resolve to buy themselves.)
Oh, I also got Night Sky Monopoly, which kept Katie and Brian and me busy for a few hours this afternoon. I won one game; Brian won the other. Katie and Mom and I had a nice 3.5-mile walk all over the neighborhood, and my face almost froze off. Seriously. Have I mentioned that it’s, like, majorly cold outside??
We had leftovers for dinner and then Katie, Mom and I headed out into the frigidity again to see Phantom of the Opera. Despite a few slight differences from the stage version, and the change in singers (after listening to the original so many times, anyone other than Michael Crawford as the Phantom sounds strange), I enjoyed it a lot. There are just so many different ways you can frame a scene on film that you can’t do on stage, and it really makes a difference. The “Past the Point of No Return” scene was mesmerizing.
I didn’t write yesterday because there was so much going on. I had brunch (that turned into lunch) with the old high school group — Cayce, Amanda and Andrew along with Dave (Cayce’s husband) and Sari (Andrew’s longtime girlfriend). It was great to see them all, and hopefully I’ll catch Jes and Don this coming week while they’re in town. After that it was a quick trip to Walmart to pick up some photos, then home for a great run in the c-c-cold (7.3 miles at 10:26 pace!) followed by a great Christmas Eve meal. Brian was reading at the late church service, so we went at 11:00.
When I was in junior high, I babysat for two boys who are now a senior and freshman (?) in high school. Their parents both play for the Charlotte Symphony, tuba (him) and trumpet (her), and the boys are exceptionally musically talented as well. All four of them were playing as a brass quartet last night at church and they just sounded fabulous. I couldn’t believe that the two boys up there, both of whom now tower over me, were the same two cute little boys that I babysat for so many years ago. I remember changing the younger one’s diaper — it made me feel so old! They’re bigger, but I’d still recognize them if I passed them on the street. I only got a chance to speak to their parents, not to JD and Tucker. But I saw JD looking back at me as he went to put away his instrument. Tucker probably wouldn’t remember me, but John David did. It was neat to see them.
Merry Christmas to all out there in internet-land, and to all a good night!