christmasadventures

[Eva]

First of all: thank you all SO much for the beautiful cards. I am not a very attentive person on that front :o So I am not likely to send out cards myself. But I do appreciate it very much that some of you have sent me one. Furthermore I want to thank Mimi for the CD's. You're right Mimi: Dar Williams is (again) being very addictive. I think I need to warm up to the other one a bit though. And Kath and Lucille: thank you for the shoe. Wow! That is a beautiful shoe. I will give it a nice place so I can look at it often.

Other news: Max went home yesterday. Today I have been cleaning all day today. The place was dusty, dirty and filled with doghair. It's now relatively clean. No more muddy pawprints, no more heaps of hair. Very nice. I miss Max. I call my ex every day to ask how 'my little boy' is doing. Tomorrow I'll go over to see them. I don't want Max to think I left him. He has been left enough in his life. I look forward to cuddling with him, walking him and playing with him.

It's strange to not having to rush home to walk Max. It's strange not to close and begin the day with cuddling. It's strange not to have him there waiting for me when I come home. It's strange not to wake up to Max standing by my bed because he wants to go out and play. It's very silent and kind of lifeless in here. On the other hand I also enjoy it to have my freedom back. I am ambivalent in this, I guess.

Christmas was nice. On christmaseve Max and me were with my ex. It was his birthday. On the 25th I was with my parents. My nephew (my brother's youngest son) and my ex sister in law also came over for coffee and cake. My parents had made some delicious food. Things like a really good quality steak. And my mom's homemade cherrypie. Well, you get the idea.

On the 26th (today) two friends took me out for dinner. I could pick the restaurant myself. I picked a really good Chinese restaurant. Not just any take away quality but a restaurant where a lot of Chinese people eat. The manager is an acquiantence of my dad and he came over to greet us and he made us a really good dim sum combination. We couldn't stop eating! And the main course still had to come... It was delicious and so good to be with these friends. I love them dearly.

So... tell us about your christmasadventures... :)

Eva

[Mary6906]

Well, my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day started off good, but about 1:00 am this morning..... all hell broke loose... (in my intestines that is)... let's just say that I've been seeing alot of my restroom today!!!

At first I thought I had just over eaten yesterday, cause I was feeling a bit queasy, but since my brother and our neighbor hadn't gotten sick, I figured it was from the food I had at the Christmas Eve party.... I finally figured out after talking with one of my friends on the phone today that she's sick as well her niece, too. Will have to talk to more people and figure out what we ate in common.

So, I am not a very happy camper today.... just mearly looking at food still turns my stomach. :eek:

[KarenSews2]

Yep, Mary, it's going around. I talked to Ned's cousin last night, and she and her husband had it right after her daughter and son-in-law had it.

I don't want it!!!

[coffeegyrl]

After I visited with family at my sister's house in Alton, Illinois (only 12 miles from home) I took a little ride up the Great River Road to the Brussels Ferry. The road runs parallel to the mighty Mississippi. Have you ever looked closely at a partially frozen river near sunset? Absolutely amazing. If you are quiet you can hear the songs of the ice, wind and water. Everything is moving. But the real reason I went up there was to see bald eagles. I saw a few flying around the bluffs and then a great big guy circled the ferry landing and perched in a tree nearby. I've heard reports that out on one of the islands there is a nest the size of a grand piano that the great birds return to yearly. I hung around until the eagle took off. By then I was really cold and it was getting dark fast. That wind off the river is intense. I drove home in the dark with a big smile on my face counting my blessings again.

[Elliott]

My friend Cristy and her son and I went to visit my sister and her family in Brenham, TX. It's where the rolling hills start and the flat part of Texas near the Gulf of Mexico begins to turn to the green hill country on the road to Austin, our state capital. It's only about an hour away, and was a nice peaceful drive with Janis singing all the way. My sister and her husband have exatly 100 acres and a small log house. If it were snowing it would have been something right out of Currier and Ives. (sp??) As they are health nuts, dinner was a beautiful salmon grilled outside with lots of interesting sides. Peppermint icecream cake for dessert. And I finally got to see the beautiful, three legged Bonnie, my sisters rescue pup that got hit by an icecream truck in front of their home. I'm the Godfather to their two now grown and beautiful children.... they look like they are carved out of cream cheese. It was dark when we left, Cristy was driving, and the next thing I realize is that we are heading for Dallas.... so the drive home was a little longer, but that and the pain meds just made it more fun.... My and my four sisters are planning a family reunion early in the new year, so I'm looking forward to that. Everyone in the family is doing well, but we are now scattered far and wide. All the way from Hawaii to the East Coast of the USA. Half of them are part time here or there, and now one is building a really great retreat in Argentina. I think we are reaching the ages where we want to be where winter is not. Living in Houston, it's not an issue for me. Christmas day was about 75 F. I worked for about three hours this morning, and then came home to get the rest of the go to sleep med out of my body. My doctor called to see how I was doing; nice touch. I'm having a deva vu moment so it's off to bed for me now.... wish I was sleepy!

ps thank you all for your cards and best wishes.......

[angelgirl]

After I visited with family at my sister's house in Alton, Illinois (only 12 miles from home) I took a little ride up the Great River Road to the Brussels Ferry. The road runs parallel to the mighty Mississippi. Have you ever looked closely at a partially frozen river near sunset? Absolutely amazing. If you are quiet you can hear the songs of the ice, wind and water. Everything is moving. But the real reason I went up there was to see bald eagles. I saw a few flying around the bluffs and then a great big guy circled the ferry landing and perched in a tree nearby. I've heard reports that out on one of the islands there is a nest the size of a grand piano that the great birds return to yearly. I hung around until the eagle took off. By then I was really cold and it was getting dark fast. That wind off the river is intense. I drove home in the dark with a big smile on my face counting my blessings again.


That sounds like sheer...... Bliss! Will you bottle some up and send some my way!

Angelgirl

[Oak Kitten]

Mary,

You got a virus that causes acute gastroenteritis, which manifests itself in a similar manner as food poisoning. I got it last year and it sucks. Find someone to get you some Edy's fruit popsicles - nothing tastes better - especially when you will not feel up to eating any solid food for a while. This too, shall pass, and yes it is going around, as Karen mentioned. There was an article in the local paper about increased emergency room admissions.

My Christmas was good, my sister in Temple, NH got her power back on Christmas eve. so we were all able to coagulate there for the holiday as planned.

Oak

[Mary6906]

Yep, Oak Kitten, I looked it up, and I seem to have all the symptoms... I actually feel relatively good today, at least the trips to the bathroom have stopped... and I managed to keep down two slices of toast and some plain tea.... but I think that's all I can handle right now... I'll try a bit of plain soup maybe for supper and see if that will stay. I like the idea of the fruit popsicles :D

[dragonlady]

I went to church on Christmas Eve and came home to roast lamb and potatos. Kathleen had made dinner while I was gone.

Most years we spend the whole day of Christmas Day at the movie theater but this year didn't like the selection of movies out so stayed home and watched al three Bourne movies on DVD (that I got from Santa).

We finally did see a movie yesterday in the evening, Twilight. I'm currently reading the first book...interesting film and book...we'll see how the rest of them shape up. We played word games with friends on facebook and just hung out...

Today I get to paly with a friend that is a former student that I taught ASL to when she was a teenager. Now whe's working on her Ph.d at the deaf university, Gallaudet, in Washington D.C. and working as an interpreter. She's teaching ASL now herself at a community college using the same cirriculum I used when I taught her (its still the best one). We've come full circle her and I...I'm so very proud of her!!!

Hve to go she's expected in a few minutes,

-di

[Dee]

Oh no! :( Sorry you got a case of the flying axe handles my pookie smoochie lips. Don’t let yourself get dehydrated.

This year we had an entirely organic Christmas dinner at my friend Ken's place. All of the vegetables were organically grown and the turkey was free-range organic. Even the Apple Pie he made was baked with organic flour and apples. Everything tasted great.

One thing I got this year that might interest some people here (maybe Janis) is Amy Grant’s autobiography Mosaic which I didn’t even know she had put out until now.

[Eva]

OR... you might have a foodpoisoning. Please don't forget about that possibility. It happens.

Eva

[Darlene]

Hello,

I hope everyone is now feeling much better!

My Christmas this year was strangely pleasant and peaceful. My mother died 1 1/2 year ago and her domineering presence was missing. Last year it seemed we were waiting for her to appear and make sure that we were alert and ready to compete at any given moment. This year on Christmas day my sister and I looked at each other differently. The need to measure up was no longer there so we had the best Christmas we could remember. If we had only left it there, but we decided to push our luck and go out to eat the next day. Well let's just say neither of us were ready to stay at that peaceful place and probably will not be seeming each other for a couple weeks anyway. I hope that my sister and I can visit that Christmas Day experience again. I think that both of us wish for that peace.

Darlene

[aabram]

Quiet, fuzzy and a wee bit of alcohol.... No kids within sniffing distance for the first time in 22 years....delightful :)

Love Annabel x

[Sara]

Yep, Oak Kitten, I looked it up, and I seem to have all the symptoms... I actually feel relatively good today, at least the trips to the bathroom have stopped... and I managed to keep down two slices of toast and some plain tea.... but I think that's all I can handle right now... I'll try a bit of plain soup maybe for supper and see if that will stay. I like the idea of the fruit popsicles :D
Hope you're feeling much better, now, Mary, and back to your normal eating habits. ?? (Quick, somebody, hide the wieners!) :p

[Orphan of the Road]

Get the real fruit but get the cheap popcicles too. If you can't have a wiener...

[Mary6906]

Nope, no weiner's yet, but I did have some fruit pops in my freezer .... feeling much better today, and have been sleeping alot the past day and a half, but the stomach is still feeling a bit weird. (but the other end of me is fine :rolleyes:) I actually had some yogurt and two slices of toast this morning and I've been fine... so now, I think I'm going to make myself some soup for lunch. Easying back into the solids slowly.

Back to work tomorrow (at least it's only for one day) I have the rest of the week off!! NICE work if you can get it :D... but that's the last of vacation for me.... then it's back to the normal everyday work week.

[gisli]

Ok.....having a fight with someone close to you is normal....

....thinking of your traveling companions as "made of cream cheese" is weird...

....hanging out in the rest rooms over the holidays is sick:o and I dont care though George Michael may not agree with the last remark:eek: :p

[Dee]

LOL Yer naughty! :p

[Elliott]

Hay, Iceman, if you're talking about my sister's kids, what I meant to say is that they are so beautiful that they look like they are carved out of cream cheese..... Don't make me post pictures! :p Love, Elliott

ps they could use a little sun, but we tend to freckle. When my mother was a little girl, her uncle called her "Rusty". She never liked that man.....

[hoops]

In My family Christmas eve festivities start at about 3-4 o'clock at my oldest brother's house with a viewing of "how the grinch stole Christmas" and some caroling...then since mom died, we've gone to the grave site for a few more caroles, not this year tho since the ice was pouring down...i was a bit grateful, as i don;t care much for singing to a rock. then we go to dad's and decorate the family tree and eat from the buffett that each of us has provided a bit of and by 8 PM we are all on our way home, the others cause they all have kids under 9 and me...well just cause. Tracy was supposed to come over at 8:30 but she called and asked if i would be ok without her...she explained why and of course i was ok. I stayed up late with peanut butter cup, practicing my guitar and got up early to walk on Christmas day the ice was crazy, so i walked in the road. I went to Church to meet my family there and celebrate Mass with them, when I got out of my car Tracy was standing there smiling at me. it was the most wonderful Christmas gift ever. She went to Mass with us and came over for brunch then left about 2 to be back with her family. We had decided that Friday would be our Christmas together with peanut butter cup. the day started about about 4:45AM and was full of children and love and celebration all day long. My sister Gab and I made dinner for about 12 of us ( very small group, but most had gone home by then) and she th most wonderful yummies. i made a heap of cookies and made package for each family and a platter for the group. we finished all the cooking cleaning and Gab and her family and i were th only ones left at Dad's we left about 7pm it was a longggggggggggg day, but it was wonderful. Friday morning, bright and Early Tracy came over and we lit the tree and gave peanut his gifts and shared ours too...then we took a nice long nap...woke up and had a lovely lunch and just relaxd thru the day and into the night...it was a lovely Christmas, just perfect.
peace
hoops

[Bat]

Sure sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas, Hoops...especially since you didn't have to sing to a rock! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHHAAAA!!!!:D

[hoops]

thanks bat, you know my therapist had the same response hee hee
peace
hoops

[Eva]

A nap... Right.
Merry christmas :D

Eva

[Bat]

I can well imagine your therapist adores your humor and can't wait to hear what you'll come up with next, Hoops. It's not too many who can make me laugh at a monitor.

[hoops]

it's my honor bat :)
peace
hoops

[Bat]

damn......

[DaveM]

You know what's even better than going to a therapist? Going to an AA meeting and running into a former therapist....who has less sobriety than you do.

Said former therapist once told me (c. 1994) that what I really needed to do was "to be the best Dave you know how to be". I decided I could get that from Mr. Rogers and never went back. Of course, I wasn't drinking then.

[Eva]

I can well imagine your therapist adores your humor and can't wait to hear what you'll come up with next, Hoops. It's not too many who can make me laugh at a monitor.
What the Bat said.

Eva

[hoops]

Davem, what a sucky therapist! i've had them too. no more tho. when i was placed with my current therapist , a friend of mine who worked with her said "oooo she's tough" and this has been proven to be completely correct,she makes me work for every bit of my mental health. but when i was at my worst in a complete psychotic state in the hospital, she was there visiting me, helping me survive those horrible delusions and their effect on me.
peace
hoops
oh, Merry Christmas

[DaveM]

Said former therapist has, in his defense, found his calling. He runs a Christmas tree farm, does custom woodworking, and goes to a lot of AA meetings. He seems happy enough. So....it worked for him, I can't begrudge that.

[Eva]

Hey, therapists are people too.

Eva

[hoops]

Very true Eva, it's not that the therapist had a problem that is disturbing, it is that he was not a good threrapist. and it seems he has found something more suitable....good for him. and christmas tree sales leads right into the subject of this thread. it's perfect
peace
hoops

[Sara]

Davem, what a sucky therapist! i've had them too. no more tho. when i was placed with my current therapist , a friend of mine who worked with her said "oooo she's tough" and this has been proven to be completely correct,she makes me work for every bit of my mental health.Actually, if you don't work for it, you really haven't gained anything lasting. I'd say this "tough" therapist is probably a good one.

[hoops]

Sara, she is great...i put her in my top 5 for sure...the woman who told me this one was "tough" is in my top 5 too. when working with a schizo like me, you gotta be tough...cause i work hard.
peace
hoops