What a wild and wonderful party we had last night at Nora’s house! I think the cousins’ gift exchange is the craziest thing we do all year. Allen was very brave to bring his girlfriend, Jen, but I was glad to finally meet her. She certainly saw our family at its wildest. Nothing can surprise her after this. Christmas is nearly here!
Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, Dad and I will be home all day. We’ll be watching Christmas movies (especially “Christmas Eve on Sesame Street”) and eating Christmas goodies (and healthy soups, too,) so come and join us, if you like. Donna is bringing her wonderful rolls around noon, so that will be our unofficial starting time. I have one set of aerial fireworks left over from summer, and I plan to set them off as soon as it’s dark. I know Christmas Eve isn’t one of the authorized holidays for fireworks, but Francis City doesn’t even have its own police department and any officers from the county will be busy with more important things. (Hopefully home with their families.)
On Christmas Day, Dad and I will be out and about, visiting some of you that are close. (Sorry we can’t make it to Maryland or Wisconsin.) If you want us to come by your house, let me know, and we’ll be there.
Thursday we’ll have our annual sledding party, this time in Pocatello, at Vanessa’s house. There isn’t much snow right now, but we ought to have a storm sometime in the next couple of days. Even without snow, we’ll have a great time. I’m bringing sloppy jo’s and potato chips, and if some of you bring your leftover Christmas goodies, we’ll have plenty of food. There’s a possibility for a trip to Lava that evening. The fun goes on and on.
Our younger kitties visited Arcadia clinic on Monday for their booster vaccinations, their declawing, and their “fixing.” John’s kittens were there at the same time! When Jacob took them in, he saw our kitties (with their poor bandaged paws) and recognized them right away. We picked them up on Tuesday, and they yowled all the way home. Since then, they’ve been licking and biting their paws, and generally going crazy. Our Christmas tree is a mess, from their shenanigans. Yesterday morning while I was playing the piano they had a big fight for my benefit: leaping and diving, front flips and back flips, and lots of biting and rabbit kicking. When the fight finally ended I noticed blood on the floor and spattered on the walls. One of Scout’s toes had broken open, and he didn’t even care! Dad and I cleaned up the mess, and then we calmed them down with good doses of their pain medication. After that, they slept all day under the Christmas tree.
At this time of year, I’m especially grateful for all of you, and the wonderful things you do!
Lots of love, Mom
