can you meet me halfway

Merry Christmas! I had a v. nice day in ye olde Iowa, as is usual on Christmas. I had to set my alarm to wake up in time to open gifts, which was a bit of a bummer since I typically prefer sleeping in (and never get to on Christmas). But the usual gift opening tradition was nice, and I got some lovely gifts (mostly for my new house), so that was a delight. I also enjoyed giving the gifts that I gave, which included a relatively useless tool for my brother's stocking (I delight in giving him useless tools that I mostly pick up in museum gift shops) and a pill holder for my dad made from teak from the deck of the USS Missouri (where the surrender of Japan was signed, and which is now in Hawaii as a museum).

After present opening, I took a shower, and we had brunch (breakfast casserole and blueberry muffins, courtesy of Mom). I also took a bit of a nap because I absolutely had to. Then, the full festivities began - Aunt Kathy, Drewbaby, and Drewbaby's girlfriend Sammie came down for the day, and so I spent the rest of the day cooking / drinking / hanging out. I made a pineapple upside down cake (gluten free), which was v. tasty. I also made ham balls, after a hilarious mishap with the grinder in which I forgot one of the parts and so ended up extruding ham through a single grinder hole in a way that shot ham across the kitchen. But in spite of that, the ham balls were ultimately delicious, especially paired with Kathy's layered lettuce (an Iowa specialty) and cheesy potatoes. And I made cranberry margaritas in the middle of the afternoon and had a big cheese / charcuterie platter (x2), which made for great snacking.

So, all of that was great - and obviously meant I spent my whole day hanging out in the kitchen (which is mostly where most people hung out). We had dinner and continued hanging out for awhile; eventually, [censored] and I brought Kathy / Drewbaby / Sammie to my place in town so that they could avail themselves of guest beds. They toured my place and generally agreed with common sentiments (the bathrooms are horrible and everything else is huge), and we hung out a bit longer until it was clear we were all falling asleep.

And now I really need to go to bed so I can repeat some hostessing activities tomorrow - goodnight!