Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

I came up here a few days ago, here being Maine and the day of travel being Christmas Eve. I've gone from all stages of being thrilled, exhausted, busy, peopled out, content, well-travelled, restless, well-fed, hungry, and well entertained. daN was sick the few days before Christmas, and i was tremendously tired, so we came up twenty-four hours later than we thought we would, arriving an hour late for the festivities of Christmas Eve at me Mum's house. It was a blast. In fact, everything has been a blast. Christmas Eve at Mum's is a wonderful tradition of opening presents slowly and eating and laughing. Christmas day morning we went to visit daN's Mum for a while, then back to my Mum's house for Christmas dinner. THEN, we went to my Dad's for Christmas there, which involved a lot of mulled wine. I might as well include that i have been fighting off what daN had for several days now. It comes and goes. But i have realized definitively that yoga, lymphatic massage, and red wine and/or POM juice in large quantities make me feel like a million bucks again. From Dad's we all went to his girlfriend's to visit over there for a while, had some more wine, and then Dan and i went back to Union. Next day involved a lunch of vegetable soup and cheesebread with daN's Mum, then over to the Watier's where daN's Dad was housesitting for his Christmas/Channukah/Boxing Day/Kwaanza/Monday Night Football party. It was a good time, and i was falling asleep on the floor by the end of it. We spent the night there, which was a bit bizarre since the Watier's were in DC and Maurice was gone for work when we woke up, but we made do and took the dog Windsor for a walk. Eventually, on the day after Christmas, we headed up to see Zak and Mandi in Waterville, where we played games, did yoga, went out to eat, and had good times, and the next day daN and i came to crash here at Bogland.

BOY did we need a homebase by that point! We'd been in Maine for how long without a consistent place to stay? Not to mention that our car was a distaster zone of presents received and to give, as well as our suitcase packed for ten days away from the house.

I am happy to say that everything we got for Christmas was useful and lovely. I was so afraid that this year, for some reason, people wouldn't know what to get me and would get me STUFF that would end up sitting around. But they didn't! I'm so glad! I also think that all the gifts we gave were well-received.

All in all, it's been a good time, and i'm just starting to get to the point where i am needing some time to myself, which is why i'm in the jungle room away from others FINALLY updating my blog. No doubt about it, Christmas is stressful. But it's really my favorite time of year, so i'll have to make sure that i can keep it that way.