exatron | Another Christmas has passed

Christmas went pretty well for me this year. I hope everyone had a good holiday and wanted for nothing.

The morning began with a bit of my parents' petty bickering, but that's normal for any holiday.

Opening presents was fun. My mother kept trying to get another picture of wadded up wrapping paper flying at her (She's the traditional target when disposing of things like that), but couldn't get the timing right this year. While my parents were opening their presents, my sister gave me some unfortunate news about a former teacher, but that's a matter for another post since it's kind of depressing.

Afterwards, we had a nice breakfast. Belgian waffles with a choice of maple syrup, strawberry compost, or triple berry compost; nice, crispy bacon; milk; and juice.

My sister and I watched some episode from the Simpsons season seven DVD set until we had to go to my grandparents' house. When we left, I noticed that it was raining fairly hard and all of the beautiful snow had turned to disgusting sludge. :(

Christmas afternoon brought together my paternal relatives and my maternal grandmother for a few more presents and a nice meal. My grandparents' home is the perfect place to have Christmas. It's a decent size, the family room has this cozy feeling to it (You can tell that it's my grandfather's space), the kitchen is filled with food in its final stages of preparation, and my paternal grandmother always has a beautifully decorated tree in the living room.

Oddly, one thing was missing. My grandparents normally place bells on the door to the garage, but either forgot or didn't have the time this year. I miss hearing them ring and wondering who might be coming through the door.

Opening presents is always a bit chaotic since some family members have to occupy some strange places when that many people are in the living room. My uncle sat by the piano, my aunt used the floor, and my parents moved around going overboard with the cameras.

Dinner was great. We had turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberries, mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes (my aunt is right, the skin that forms on the top is good), rolls, and sweet potatoes. My grandmother started nitpicking my sister a bit, so I deflected her attention by volunteering to do things like clearing the dishes before she had the chance to ask. (Strangely, she didn't nitpick anything about me, and I was ready to continue lying if she brought up the whole 'You need a girlfriend' thing again.)

For dessert we had four kinds of pie (apple, pumpkin, cherry, and mincemeat) and my uncle brought a pastry which I can never remember the name of (it starts with a 'k' and is basically a thin pastry wrapped around a fruit filling).

After dinner, I oscillated between the family room, the kitchen, and the dining room as my relatives broke into smaller groups. I didn't get the chance to talk to my aunt as much as I would have liked since we only see her at this time of the year and everybody wants a turn to have a conversation with her.

And in case anyone was wondering, here is what I got for Christmas: