We celebrated Wampler Family Christmas (tm) today, which meant that I had to get out of bed by nine, which is a total travesty. However, I survived it, and I'm going to try to improve upon that feat tomorrow, which means I need to go to bed soon. But getting up was worth it, I think. When the family members from the Des Moines area arrived, [censored] and I promptly kidnapped Andrew (aka Drewbaby, my only cousin on that side) and drove him to an undisclosed location for an undisclosed project, with the help of [censored]'s [censored]. Then we drove into town to complete the project (more later), and we made it home in time to help with the final preparations for Christmas dinner (aka lunch in your neck of the woods).
My mother put on a sumptuous feast, of course, with assists from Aunt Becky (rolls and other sundry snacks/cookies) and Aunt Kathy (relish tray + pies + a broccoli salad that Gram adored, although Gram promptly forgot that Kathy made it and kept complimenting Mom on it). All in all, it was quite lovely, although Gram's mental decline continues to be depressing. However, we all had a good time eating, joking around, talking, and then cleaning up + watching football.
We eventually opened presents, which meant we opened basically nothing since we're all too old for presents (although Uncle Mark and Aunt Kathy gave me a paper bead maker, which will be useful if I stop writing books and try to support my jewelry habit by making trinkets for other people). However, [censored], Andrew, and I gave everyone a delightful gift from this morning's shenanigans - the three of us recreated one of the most ridiculous family photos from our childhood, which was pretty entertaining. The original photo featured each branch of the family wearing matching colored polo shirts (my immediate family was pink; Drew's was navy blue; Becky was purple; Gram and Granddad were teal/green), and it was taken when [censored] and I were looking particularly awkward (as opposed to now!). So we recreated it with the three of us, and it looks *awesome* (and by awesome I mean kind of terrible, but so terrible that it goes back around the spectrum to awesome).
Of course, Gram thought it was a legitimate gift, which means it will probably be displayed prominently in her apartment until she dies, but whatev. After the gift-giving, Becky and Brian left, Dad took Gram back into town, and then the rest of us hung out for another couple of hours before Mark/Kathy/Drewbaby went back to Des Moines. And then Dad and I finished yesterday's wine and opened another bottle (a 2005 carignane that I think I'd brought back at some point - it was pretty good, surprisingly enough), and the wine helped dull the pain when my father figured out that his cellphone is messed up, so I think I will be running cellphone-related errands tomorrow.
And now, I shall sleep, and dream of all the work I want to get done tomorrow - goodnight!
My mother put on a sumptuous feast, of course, with assists from Aunt Becky (rolls and other sundry snacks/cookies) and Aunt Kathy (relish tray + pies + a broccoli salad that Gram adored, although Gram promptly forgot that Kathy made it and kept complimenting Mom on it). All in all, it was quite lovely, although Gram's mental decline continues to be depressing. However, we all had a good time eating, joking around, talking, and then cleaning up + watching football.
We eventually opened presents, which meant we opened basically nothing since we're all too old for presents (although Uncle Mark and Aunt Kathy gave me a paper bead maker, which will be useful if I stop writing books and try to support my jewelry habit by making trinkets for other people). However, [censored], Andrew, and I gave everyone a delightful gift from this morning's shenanigans - the three of us recreated one of the most ridiculous family photos from our childhood, which was pretty entertaining. The original photo featured each branch of the family wearing matching colored polo shirts (my immediate family was pink; Drew's was navy blue; Becky was purple; Gram and Granddad were teal/green), and it was taken when [censored] and I were looking particularly awkward (as opposed to now!). So we recreated it with the three of us, and it looks *awesome* (and by awesome I mean kind of terrible, but so terrible that it goes back around the spectrum to awesome).
Of course, Gram thought it was a legitimate gift, which means it will probably be displayed prominently in her apartment until she dies, but whatev. After the gift-giving, Becky and Brian left, Dad took Gram back into town, and then the rest of us hung out for another couple of hours before Mark/Kathy/Drewbaby went back to Des Moines. And then Dad and I finished yesterday's wine and opened another bottle (a 2005 carignane that I think I'd brought back at some point - it was pretty good, surprisingly enough), and the wine helped dull the pain when my father figured out that his cellphone is messed up, so I think I will be running cellphone-related errands tomorrow.
And now, I shall sleep, and dream of all the work I want to get done tomorrow - goodnight!
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