you were standing on another track like a real aristocrat

Merry Christmas, friends and stalkers! I hope that y'all had as lovely a day as I did -- this was truly one of the more lovely, relaxing Christmases that I've had in recent memory (since at least last year, anyway). I did manage to drag myself out of bed at 7:40am so that we could open packages at an ungodly hour, and we ended up sitting around and opening packages until nine. It's not that we had hundreds to open; rather, we had to start by filling each other's stockings (since we each buy two things for everyone else's stockings) and getting situated with beverages, snacks, and trash bags to collect the paper as it came off the packages (my house is usually quite tidy, but I live in a pig sty compared to my mother's rules of housekeeping). And, we always open the packages one at a time so that everyone can see what everyone got and ooh and aah (or laugh and make derisive comments, since we're all interested in v. different things).

But, even though our interests are quite diverse, I think everyone was pleased. My poor father got the most boring stuff (clothing, Eric Clapton and Willie Nelson CDs, a couple of grill racks/implements, and bags for the vacuum sealer my sister gave him yesterday) since he rarely gives us any ideas, although I would not have been interested in my brother's gifts either (which included something called a 'hammerdrill', a book on welding, speakers, and some country music CDs). My mother got a bunch of gardening stuff, including a pair of kneepads for kneeling in the garden that elicited the usual nausea-inducing wisecracks from my father. And I got some super cute Asian-inspired bowls, a matching soy sauce pitcher, chopsticks, a gorgeous red platter, a coffee grinder, a loaf pan, and champagne flutes (my parents know me so well) from Crate and Barrel, five or six books (including Mark Twain's autobiography, which is way longer than I realized), and a set of my all-time favorite felt-tip pens that deeply upset my brother because it violated all his principles to spend $14 on a set of markers, but he did it anyway because he loves me.

After the giving and receiving of gifts, we took our time with the rest of the morning, eventually having brunch at noon. Gram came over for brunch, and we ate a delicious breakfast casserole, ambrosia, muffins, bacon, juice, etc. off the fancy dishes that mostly only get used around Christmas. Then, most of us took naps off and on all afternoon, eventually waking up for dinner (prime rib, yum). And then I spent the rest of the evening talking to my mother and continuing to read a book on writing that my brother gave me.

But now, after my annual mercenary post about what I got and what I gave, I should probably get some (more) sleep. There is talk of another game of Rail Baron tomorrow, and I must steel my heart against any possible compassion toward my fellow players and buy up railroads with the ruthlessness of a Rockefeller or Carnegie. Goodnight!