Christmas has passed and we are still enjoying the holidays. All of our children are at home again. Stephen bought us a thin-screen TV - the first we have ever had, and I didn't even help them unwrap it on Christmas Day. Much of the day Stephen devoted his time top unpackaging the set and setting it up with all the features he could add, including something called ROKU. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the new TV and all its features, for Stephen also connected a brand new XBOX 360 to it, and video games were running for hours.
The house was so busy, and I was so tired from staying up until nearly 4 a.m. making fruitcake. I took a very long Christmas nap during the morning while everyone else was preparing the Christmas meal. I just disappeared into my office/bedroom and collapsed into my bed. After we had eaten dinner, I watched Christmas videos and read the news much of the rest of the day. I worked into the night clearing out our receipts file and removing most of the mess from the top of my little credenza and the small table beside it.
Today I again ate leftovers, some turkey soup Claudia had just made, and watched Gabriel while Carolyn worked downstairs. Gabriel got to play some video games for the 15 minutes he had earned, I took another nap, he got into mischief, he got to watch much TV while I worked on getting my cell phone access back. I called for support and a gentleman finally had me just do a factory reset. The rest of the day I worked on restoring as much data as possible from whatever source it might have been backed up to, and re-installing apps I had lost with the reset. This process will continue, I am certain, for more than a day beyond today.
Christmas was without a Christmas tree or a nativity scene displayed this year. I had hurt my lower back a little from moving my room from downstairs to upstairs this past week, and did not feel like climbing up to the attic to get the decorations down for Christmas. Stephen was in a "Scrooge Mood" with regard to getting it down, Claudia couldn't climb up and get it, and neither could Carolyn, I presume. Nobody else seemed to care about the tree and decs. Gabriel had brought a little decoration home from his Speech teacher. They made it together during their last session. It was hanging over the front picture window. On the window sill was an electronic stable of animals that all made their animal sounds to the tunes and rhythms of familiar Christmas carols. We still had Christmas, in spite of the Grinch's attempts for we just piled the wrapped gifts onto the window sill of our front room, and onto the floor. When we passed out gifts, Gabriel was just as excited as ever, and it was just as fun as if a tree had been there. I still read the Christmas story from the Bible to Gabe and all who would listen on Christmas Eve.
I cannot but be thankful for everything I have and have enjoyed this season - the recent loss or misplacement of my Nook Plus tablet notwithstanding. I am sad-hearted because of Carolyn's ordeals of the past few months, but we have high hopes that somehow everything will work out for her to have her children back with her. I watched more than one performance of The Messiah, and the 1951 version of Scrooge on YouTube, and watched many presentations on my computer, posting much to my facebook page. My lower back is continuing to improve.
I suppose I am ready to work my way to the New Year's Day celebration at this point. With a small amount of preparation, we all should be able to enjoy that in good spirits. Even Claudia, the New Year's Eve Scroojette, is planning to stay up and celebrate the new year, as Stephen's friend, Nicole, is planning on coming over for it.
Christmas and New Year's Eve and Day still happen whether we celebrate them or not, and we are calmly celebrating our own peace on earth. Everyone have a wonderful New Year!!!
The house was so busy, and I was so tired from staying up until nearly 4 a.m. making fruitcake. I took a very long Christmas nap during the morning while everyone else was preparing the Christmas meal. I just disappeared into my office/bedroom and collapsed into my bed. After we had eaten dinner, I watched Christmas videos and read the news much of the rest of the day. I worked into the night clearing out our receipts file and removing most of the mess from the top of my little credenza and the small table beside it.
Today I again ate leftovers, some turkey soup Claudia had just made, and watched Gabriel while Carolyn worked downstairs. Gabriel got to play some video games for the 15 minutes he had earned, I took another nap, he got into mischief, he got to watch much TV while I worked on getting my cell phone access back. I called for support and a gentleman finally had me just do a factory reset. The rest of the day I worked on restoring as much data as possible from whatever source it might have been backed up to, and re-installing apps I had lost with the reset. This process will continue, I am certain, for more than a day beyond today.
Christmas was without a Christmas tree or a nativity scene displayed this year. I had hurt my lower back a little from moving my room from downstairs to upstairs this past week, and did not feel like climbing up to the attic to get the decorations down for Christmas. Stephen was in a "Scrooge Mood" with regard to getting it down, Claudia couldn't climb up and get it, and neither could Carolyn, I presume. Nobody else seemed to care about the tree and decs. Gabriel had brought a little decoration home from his Speech teacher. They made it together during their last session. It was hanging over the front picture window. On the window sill was an electronic stable of animals that all made their animal sounds to the tunes and rhythms of familiar Christmas carols. We still had Christmas, in spite of the Grinch's attempts for we just piled the wrapped gifts onto the window sill of our front room, and onto the floor. When we passed out gifts, Gabriel was just as excited as ever, and it was just as fun as if a tree had been there. I still read the Christmas story from the Bible to Gabe and all who would listen on Christmas Eve.
I cannot but be thankful for everything I have and have enjoyed this season - the recent loss or misplacement of my Nook Plus tablet notwithstanding. I am sad-hearted because of Carolyn's ordeals of the past few months, but we have high hopes that somehow everything will work out for her to have her children back with her. I watched more than one performance of The Messiah, and the 1951 version of Scrooge on YouTube, and watched many presentations on my computer, posting much to my facebook page. My lower back is continuing to improve.
I suppose I am ready to work my way to the New Year's Day celebration at this point. With a small amount of preparation, we all should be able to enjoy that in good spirits. Even Claudia, the New Year's Eve Scroojette, is planning to stay up and celebrate the new year, as Stephen's friend, Nicole, is planning on coming over for it.
Christmas and New Year's Eve and Day still happen whether we celebrate them or not, and we are calmly celebrating our own peace on earth. Everyone have a wonderful New Year!!!
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