Hey, how was your Christmas?

Okay, I'll start . . .


I called a friend of mine today and they weren't home.
So I called someone else and they were busy with visitors.
Then I called another person, and they'll call me back in a few days when they have some free time.
Then I left a "Merry Christmas" message on another person's machine, just to say hi and catch up on things.

Then I talked with another friend for couple minutes, just long enough to find out she doesn't celebrate Christmas and doesn't want me to mail her a present that I had picked out for her.

I thought about calling the suicide hotline, but I'm not actually suicidal or even depressed. It seems like I'd have to lie to them, for me to qualify to talk with someone. It is their requirement and I'd like to qualify, but I don't like lying.

So I dialed a random number and said "Merry Christmas!" They seemed happy about it, but then they thought it was a wrong number and hung up.

Then I looked way back in my little black book and found somebody I hadn't spoken to in four years. He was really drunk tonight (understandably) and his wife yelled at him to hang up, so maybe I'll call back later next week.

Then I called Tom. He's an older guy, almost 70, a tall, balding fellow with a full white beard and a hearing aid. In the middle of the beard he has a thin braid that extends a few inches further than the rest. Sometimes he puts a feather or a bead in the end of it, especially when backpacking or camping. It isn't the cool beard so much though, as his smile. We chatted about politics and nature and how he drives a bus now, back and forth, but they won't give him the hours that he wants to work. I told him about my new job. I tried not to tell him how I felt today, but part of me wanted him to know anyways. Maybe he understood.

After half an hour he had to go, as his daughter was visitting. I thanked him and smiled, and went back to making some chicken soup. It would have been nice to have had kids somewhere along the way. Even still. It's kind of a strange world though, and before anything else you still have to talk.

First I went to my brother's place, along with my parents and his wife's parents. We watched the eldest of his two girls (2 years 8 months) open her presents, and had a barbecue breakfast outside in the sweltering heat. I went home and had a nap, then went to my parents place for a lunch of prawns and beer.
Went to a friends place for a drink, we went down the beach for a swim. Back to their place for another drink, then back to the parents with brother and sister-in-law for more presents and Christmas dinner of cold chicken, smoked leg ham and salad. Opened some more presents with the niece, then home for a relaxing evening. A good day all round.

Lots of drinks & lots of family! Do you all live near each other?

Rotten, but hey, thanks for asking, Smileye.

Aw, Roger!
It's always better when it's over, yes? :wink:

Nice to mett you, Smileye! And greetings from Australia.
I KNOW about rotten christmases ... You're not alone!

Sure, depending on what you mean by "over."

I'm the furthest away, about 15 minutes from both. About 10 minutes separates my brother and parents places.

Welcome Smileye! Sorry you and Roger had a bad christmas.

I had a fine day - but I am a bit blueish for some reason this year.

Had a picnic at the beach - flew kites, played ball games - laughed a lot. I am on hols - so all is good.

I need to give myself a swift kick in the bottom, I think!

lovely - family, talk, presents, food, drink, loving atmosphere ....

nice


today is himself's birthday to it continues ... family all coming for lunch and the we're taking him out to play pool, which he loves (he's very good too but a baaaaaad loser! and not exactly modest ) I'm useless at pool - I get the flukey shots and can't cope with the easy ones

Hi Smileye. I am also sad to hear that you and Roger had such an awful Christmas. Mine usually isn't that great either, but this year it turned out very good. It was just my son, my mother and I and we had a very nice chinese dinner and just chilled out the rest of the day. Christmas Eve we had some drinks and lots of laughs, which carried on through Christmas. As far as gifts go, I got a bunch of little stuff, but Christmas is never about the gifts for me, so it was all good. I wish every Christmas was like this one.

A small family get together that grew in number as some neighbors drop by for a springerlie show off and eating tradition that I have no idea who started. alli can recall ,is one year, a neighbor got interested in the bellsnickel, springerlie traditions and weve since, gotten more elaborate.
Its not real stressful so theres no pressure to actually do anything if someone so desires.

Made a number of calls to absent guests all over the world and we know our phone bill will require a home line of credit to pay.
watched Christmas story once while we all sat around the couch and opened presents.

Today is the traditional exchange of stupid gifts with my brother in laws. I dont know how to get off that train cause its just stupid, i think everyone in Christendom exchanges purposefully stupid gifts with their brothers in law. this year I decide to go for broke with sheer v olume of gift. I bought a moose head with much of its hair gone and only 1.5 antlers. Its a real wreck. AND, it will be a pain in the ass to dispose properly because our solid waste authority requires a notarized statement for anything that is disposed that could be regarded as exotic or endangered, or toxic. Now a moose is certainly none of the above but it will require some thought at the truck level wherein the disposal guys will have to make a quick decision. I suspect they will all decide to not haul it away until further instructed. I can see my one brother in law, who is totally anal that he catalogs his cds and has them in alphabetical order. He gets the moose head.
I only paid 25 bucks for it and i got a statement with it from some maine govt agency that has some sort of governing interest in stuffed mooseheads. Boy, Teddy roosevelt didnt know how easy he had it .

Then there is the christmas bird count, always a good ewxcuse to go out in the frosty air and work on your bird identification and counting skills. I go mostly for the hot chocolate

To tell the truth, on Mon and Tues of this week, we enjoyed helping in the local mission , where they handed out presents to poor kids and prepared a christmas meal. We had very menial jobs , wrapping presents and , in the kitchen we were all put to work on the potatoes and yams. Nothin too high tech or requiring great skill, but all of us helping had a great feeling and we are going to do that next year again. Its a great way to help give back something and also meet some nice people from all around the countryside who wind up becoming friends .

Farmerman
What an awesome Christmas you had :-D

Hmm. Mr. Onyx was in bed sick the entire morning. I had to make little onyxlets wait on opening alll te gifts until he got up. t was like holding back a monsoon - i'm telling ya. It's always good to be surrounded by family and friends and such but this year it was just our little 4 person nucleus (sp?). It was awesome. we sat around watching christmas tv and new dvds (which i gave to mr. onyx and onyxlets). drank hot chocolate and played games and just enjoyed each other.

i notice this morning there are candy canes missing from the tree...oddly there are 2 missing...i'm going to be after some onyxlets i think....

roger - smile: so sorry your christmases weren't very christmassy. there's always tomorrow - and it's really just another day. (try explaining that to some people..it just doesn't work)

Oh, just the usual.

Woke up and immediately calmed down the rabid mice in the living room by spraying bottle cat excretement all over. That was nice. We then opened up presents, little Johnny was particularly fond of his new bag of frest yams. Of course he cried when nana used his tounge as an ashtray. You know kids these days. Uncle Bob was a little late with the roadkill, but just a few minutes in the deep fryer solved that problem quick. Nothing warms the bones like a freshly fried hip from who knows what. We all laughed when father ran around the house wearing his helmet screaming at the wallflower. It didn't scream back, but we all knew what it was thinking. Fine day...fine day.

happy cubs, WAAAYYY to much food, eggnog and dark rum...friends over to eat....much conversation.......Judas Priest cd I wanted....squinney happy.....lots of later evening flatulence.....who could ask for more?

Wish mine went like farmerman's and Bear's but it was closer to Smilleye's and Roger's. But not completely.

Still in the process of creating holiday celebrations and tradition in a family that has never had any. It ain't easy but we keep trying year after year.

Thanks for the thoughts, Msolga & Onyx. It wasn't really that bad. Just lolled around the house, took naps and didn't do a single thing either useful or interesting. Big downer, but today is indeed a different day.