shelled nuts

I almost wrote a post about this being the eight hundredth post, and then I wrote some nonsense about my last post, and I couldn't remember when that was. There have been interesting incidence of things happening since late on the eve of Christmas eve, and then there's been a variety of whatnot since then.

I did end up looking and realized I'd added a couple of drafts and that I can actually just click on published posts if I really want to know. So if you care, that's why this isn't about being any sort of number representing something. Just so you know.

It's not as long and sordid a tale as it could be, but it certainly has it's moments. Christmas was fun enough. I won't mention that I got cash and some English Leather gift set sort of thing with four little bottles of cologne, most of which I never heard of and all entirely useless to me. Who wouldn't rather a man just smell like himself, preferrably a recently cleaned version?

We hung out with MIL on Christmas eve far later than we should have and then visited Momma's dad's family, showing up when most of us would have been leaving in past years, or so it felt. Momma and one aunt, then eventually the other aunt, ended up in the kitchen shrieking and laughing and being girls. I sat with the men and sort of tried to see the t.v. from where I really couldn't. I tried to be nice to everyone as usual, made what I felt were appropriate jokes at the appropriate times.

We came home and put the boys to bed. Momma and I drank beer and sat up late and wrapped Star Wars Lego and Littlest Pet Shop. We placed this year's haul of used books between the two meager piles. We drank what might have been the very best gift, Momma having brought home a bottle of Tanqueray, we had gin and tonic most of the night as we perfected the pint glass gin and tonic.

She's still my favorite person to sit up and drink perhaps a little too much with. I can't help as I think this but to consider 2009 and what it's going to be. But that's a whole other post.

Christmas day broke warm and sunny, the best we could hope for considering the rains we've had lately. I really shouldn't complain, as usually the worst some rain is going to do to me is make me do the crate walk across the basement to the pump so I can jiggle and/or stir it back to life. Then I wait to relight the water heater. I have to remember to show Momma this or get a rain soaked call sometime next year when someone's shower stopped being warm slowly.

It was my first Christmas waking on the couch, and all the coffee was shitty Eight O'Clock beans. Blech! But I soldiered on and greeted the day with at least a smirk, toning down my usual sneer. Our usual Christmas morning, the boys check out their stockings and anything not wrapped that they have reason to believe might be for them. Either Momma or I will be making coffee at this point, and as the coffee enters the room and is settled away from where it represents a danger, the boys finally look to the wrapped gifts.

We were lazy for the majority of the day. Eventually Momma decided that it was time to visit Grandmother, though we knew a set leaving time as we'd invited friends over after a certain time. Dinner at Grandmother's was fun. It was several of the people from the previous night minus one, plus four. And then it was back home.

A few friends stopped by, mostly families, the kind of people who know what BYOB means and don't care that you've obviously thrown some shit together as an offering to their kids when we realize at the last minute that they got our kids stuff. But it was cool. We drank beer. We stood outside and smoked. The kids behaved mostly, and now that her mom finally took her too cute little boots home we now have a darling child's too cute tiny pink glittery shoes when they finally turned up. Next year we'll save up all the shoes she leaves here and give that to her for Christmas.

And to make matters odder, there was a child's birhtday party at the place I work recently, the daughter of someone in the family for whom I work. After the party, as everyone was getting up to leave, I spied the birthday girl, and she wearing a pair of fuzzy pink butterfly wings, and a certain part of me saw those wings and fell in love. I kind of want my own butterfly wings.

And eventually I went to bed. I worked the next two days and was then off today. Very little happened between those two days for me. I went out for drinks one of those nights and had a very serious discussion with Momma that was not about me. There may or may not be news on that front soon enough, but that's all of that I've got for now.