A Christmas Digression....

I have a wittle hangover........

Merry Merry!

I'll have a drink, thanks Craven! Make it a double - gimlet.

So, the bunny has a hang-over? Good for you. Was it the friend's bday party that did you in?

I went out last night (thursday), but didn't end up with a hang-over. I ended up with a bit of a problem. I have a dream date kind of guy. Pays for all, is very charming, fun, cute. But, it's date #2 and he's got his tongue in my ear (reminded me of Craven and I laughed, unfortunately he took it the wrong way) and he's asking if I want to go with him to Barbados in january. Sigh. I'm going to have to say no to the man, methinks. All around. He's a bit too young and wild for me even though he's 11 years older than me.

Sorry for the tangent - oh wait, nevermind, no I'm not.

Another double gimlet (man that went fast!), please.

I think I had too much mulled wine...

Craven's legacy -- to be forever bound to tongues in ears. I hope he's proud.

Oh, good, I got to the party early. I lost the last digression, so maybe I am very late, very late, I have an important date! Now that I am here, plompffff,
sputter, I will have a wee bit of something, Craven, please. Do you have any Laphroig? How old? 18? That'll do. Cold glass please. Lots of ice. Yes, I know it is a no no with good booze, but I like it that way. Good. Thank you so much.

Please pass those little canapes...yes, those...oh, good. I do love smoked salmon with my single malt...

Now then, where's my silk pillow? We have a new store in town here with the greatest pillows. Sigh, oh to be wealthy. Or wise. Either, really, would be a nice change.

Raining here, very blustery wintery. I know about warm Christmas times though...Los Angeles, where I used to be, can be warm in the winter because of the Santa Ana winds. 93 in January...sort of a surprise to the mind and body. Except of course if you are from Equator down.

OK, this time I will ask for updates.....

I went with my friends to our neighborhood clubhouse. They had a Holiday "Open House", with all kinds of goodies. Remember now, it was 11 in the morning. They had (all you can scarf down),cocoa, rum punch, egg nog, cookies, brownies, and all kinds of little cheesecakes.

I went completely hog wild. On top of that we went to lunch, and I had the chili. By one thirty, I felt like a stuffed pig. Never again......until next time!

Phoenix! What a great neighborhood it must be!

I finally got all my Christmas cards written and mailed, except for those from whom I'll be receiving a card that I forgot while I was getting all my Christmas cards written and mailed. Now, if that's not a lousy sentence, I don't know what is! Does that ever happen to you? Not the lousy sentence thing, the part about getting your Christmas cards done and then receiving one from someone you forgot.

My next big project is getting gifts wrapped. I think tomorrow night I'll play some Christmas music and get myself in the mood. I think that every year, but I'm never in the mood to wrap presents. Those cute bags they have sure do come in handy! There was a time I would only use them when I had some oddly-shaped present and couldn't find a box that would work for it. But I figured out they work for perfectly square gifts too. I put Christmasy tissue wrap inside and sometimes add a silk poinsettia or holly that peeks out of the top of the bag. Now don't get me wrong. I'll wrap some of the presents, and I'll use some bags, and I'll listen to that music. But I'll be very relieved when I have it all done.

I haven't done any decorating yet. A few years ago before I had a home computer I would have been way ahead of the game!

I don't wrap the gifts until the day or two before xmas... Just can't get in the mood, plus, there's the travel damage. You know, nicely wrapped gifts piled into a box all together and packed a little too tightly into the trunk (boot) of the car. All the ribbons get flattened, the corners of the wrapping get torn. Yep, I just bring the paper and the extras with me to my parents' place and wrap there. Do need to buy clothing boxes this year though, most of the gifts I bought are clothing.

I greatly admire great wrappers (and that includes anybody who bothers to put ribbon on the package). I come from a long line of bad wrappers -- my packages look just like my mother's did years before (which is why Santa never wrapped packages for my house -- he just piled each child's gifts on the designated chair). Never do the bows and ribbons (except maybe for the peel and stick type once in a while). Never make sharp, neat corners either. My hubby and my son both wrap beautifully. Not me. Why take all that time and effort and then watch it be ripped to shreds! Actually, I'm just jealous. I can't slice a decent piece of bread and I can't wrap a decent package.

I like wrapping - it's like art (even if you do it badly).

Worked my fingers to the bone the last two days preparing for dinner guests tonight. Got out "the good dishes" (the "good dishes" thread got me psyched!) Washed, polished, cleaned, cooked..... I even bathed the dog! Dinner: Ham (8.41 lbs.), raisin sauce, baked potatoes, broccoli salad, fresh green bean tie-ups, rolls... I almost thought I would be too exhausted to eat by the time they arrived...

They cancelled at the last minute!!!! Well, 15 minutes after they were supposed to arrive!!!!

So, Maxsdadeo, Maxi & I ate 8.41 lbs. of ham with the "good dishes" tonight. We're quite full now.

I guess I'll just have a Bailey's on the Rocks, please....

Quite true, littlek, and I don't have an artistic bone in my body., which is why I'm not a good wrapper either.

Hmmmmm - now, Christmas for me is a time to go ferally silly, wind down for the year, have a sort of blank margin that delineates the old from the new year - 'tis a totally arbitrary punctuation to me - not being religious and all - but the whole place punctuates together, so 'tis one of those whole culture together sorts of things that are so rare these days.

I have, however, a complicated relationship with the cards and presents and such trappings...... as an admirer of culturally unifying celebrations (I think most of the other religions and such appreciate the break, too, and go nuts with the rest) I ought to do some of that stuff, no? - as I would eat matzos with a Jewish family, for instance - but I am really not so happy with all that - so presents may or may not be bought and ditto with cards. This year, nothing - sigh...

Traditionally, at work, I have done cards or a week of daily silly surprises for my workmates - last year was toys - (clockwork hamsters, little brightly coloured pieces of wood, origami paper and suchlike - which was enormous fun) - this year I am poor....hmmmmm.... what to do? I also used to do certificates for each of my workmates - with a silly, satirical poem about them or their year, and illustrations to match - now I cannot work the new graphics program..... but - I HAVE IT! I can do the poems and ask the clerical folk, who can sort of use the graphics, to do a basic certificate for me! YAY!!!!

off to slave over a hot poem.....or 13, actually...... waaaaah!

Oh - but I have neither digressed nor been especially silly...hmmmm

'K - what precisely is it about laughing with a tongue in your ear that led to Barbados? One imagines that a Barbados sort of reaction would have been a gasp of pleasure - followed by a melt of some description - but LAUGH! One would have thought the fellow might have felt a little discouraged, as the chappy who, unasked, stuck his tongue in me mouth was when I gagged violently!

Although quite how one determines the exactly appropriate moment to pop a tongue in an EAR is a little moot, the time for a tongue in a mouth seems to me a lot clearer - or at least the time for NO tongue in a mouth does!

maximom, unless they had a very excellent excuse I think I'd be forced to never ever speak to them again. Hope you like leftovers.

Maximom! The jerks! I agree with Bandylu!

dlowan - I'm baffled I don't know what lead to what. I didn't recognize the usual series of dating ritual, so therefore, I'm a little put-off. I thought that tongue-in-ear happened more in one's bedroom after a certain level of undress.... or, at least well on one's way to undressing. But, really, I knew the bloke for only a few hours before hand - very weird.

Actually, I think we're the jerks.

Maxsdad had his laptop signed on all day and they had been trying to call "all afternoon" to cancel due to the husband's illness. When they were about 10 minutes late, I asked Maxsdad to be sure his computer was shut down - they could be trying to call for directions............ As soon as he shut it down, RING RING...

Yeah, we're the jerks. But I'm not inviting them again, anyway. Bad experience, bad taste in my mouth, even if I'm the biggest jerk. HA!

littlek, perhaps the 'bloke' likes being laughed at? Seems a little odd, but it is a possibility.

dlowan -- Love your choice of gifts! Sound like so much fun. Wish you worked in my office.

Hey, Maximom, I was gonna say make a fake dead horse's head, and put it in their bed, but I guess you better had not.....


Little k - there is a great deal about tongue etiquette that evades many folk, I think.....

Mine sometimes gets completely away from me - and























says the most outrageous things!


Now - the folk on the twin Abuzz thread to this are DIGRESSING .......