one grand Christmas Day!

 With warm and sincere thanks to Mr. and Ms. Blogmaid for hosting. It was a day that we will all remember, filled with fabulous food and lively conversations and so much beauty and warmth.

merry, merry and so on

 Christmas Eve Day was nice and quiet for me and I splurged on lox and bagels down at the corner cafe and then enjoyed a good walk. We are having plentiful rains and the gardens are benefitting. Two power outages last night during another rain storm, but I was fine with fresh batteries in candles and flashlights. Today is clear and Neti and I head to Pumpkinville for a happy holiday celebration.

a happy day in Half Moon Bay

 Pumpkinville became Holiday World yesterday and we all had a delightful time, too much good food and then a walk by the ocean. Lovely gifts and laughter and warmth. Many thanks to Blogmaid and family for making me feel so welcome. And I came home with leftovers galore!

Christmas morning

 The top photo is our San Francisco sunrise today and the bottom picture is from Doug in New York. Both beautiful. I am looking forward to a day with the Blogmaid and her family and a magical walk by the ocean today. And too much food, of course. Merry, merry!

Crissy Field on Christmas

 Just what I needed, a good long solo walk ~ fresh/fresh air and time to appreciate this beautiful city and my privileged life. Tons of people and dogs, few bikes (yay) and a lifetime of memories with a warm nod to those who are no longer with us. This was always Husbando's favorite walk and some of his ashes are here, of course. Then I had dinner last night at neighbor Heidi's as her husband and sons got depressed about the 49er loss. I missed my Pumpkinville friends, but they are healing from Covid and knocking back Paxlovid. 

still a Merry Christmas

 Mr. and Ms. Blogmaid are fighting the Covid, so plans have changed and I will have a nice walk and then dinner at neighbor Heidi's tonight. I worry about my friends ~ Doug has Covid too and yes, this thing is with us forevermore. Light cases though, thanks to vaccines and Paxlovid cures quickly and leaves a horrible taste. Heal, dear friends. 

city sidewalks

 Here I go again about how much I love my city. We had theatre yesterday and a wonderful musical that I will review tomorrow, or the next day. It was one of those cold, crisp, clear only in SF kind of days and I did some smart shopping and watched the ice skaters in Union Square. This little doggie is wearing pearls and why not? Stores were busy but not TOO crowded. Yay!

Norwegian fun on the Flix®

 I like Johanne who is a single 30 something nurse in Norway who always gets stuck at the kids' table and has to work the holiday shifts because married people with children come first. With subtitles, of course, but funny how Fuck! is the same in every language. Home for Christmas has two seasons and lots of laughs and tears. I'm liking Norway in this Netflix special...

it's a wrap

Too much delicious food, lots of joy and laughter yesterday in Pumpkinville. A lovely gathering which, as always, makes me appreciate the long and fulfilling friendship with the Blogmaid and her family. AND her American Girl Doll collection ~ some of which you see in the middle photo. 

 

a happy Pumpkinville Christmas

 A wonderful day despite the rain. The top photo might be my fave ~ three generations of Blogmaid women and then of course we all ate too much once again at the super festive holiday table. I am beyond grateful to and for these dear friends.

Chrstmas Eve Pod Meeting

 Chef Sarah joined us at Doug and Barb's yesterday and she gifted me with enough food to last for a week. Drat, and I was looking forward to Campbell's Soups. We had a nice time talking, laughing and crying. Honestly, this is pretty much a shit time for everyone. Good to know we aren't alone. It is cold and grey here now, but that's okay. Netflix, here I come (again). Love to all, stay safe. Oh, Merry Christmas.

today's writing prompt

 MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TOY (the prompt). Santa tried to interest me in dolls of all ages, but from the earliest moment I knew that phrase "the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world" was designed to keep women on a lower rung in society, too busy with boring things like diapers and house cleaning. I knew instinctively that raising children was really hard work and not very interesting, all in all. But hey, who wants to hear this on Christmas Eve Day? No one. When I was about ten I was given a bright red metal toy cash register and man, what fun was that? The dye was cast for this future retailer...

you must be joking

 I was downtown yesterday. Early November and the damn fake xmas tree is already being installed in Union Square. This did not help my mood one iota.

buffet xmas day

before

after, with curious creature

I'm glad I did this even though I'm not a buffet fan what with the
balancing of the plates on laps and all. But I didn't know how many
would be here, so it was all a-ok. My friends five all provided some
fun conversation and we were happy to be in front of the fire and
together. Now I celebrate that the damn holiday is over and I can
begin taking red and green shit back down to the garage as I work
on adjustming my attitude once again.

merry, merry

Annabelle found her gift from the Blogmaid and made me laugh at
the same time. I am a fortunate woman in so many ways. Thank
you all and enjoy this day. Now maybe some xmas music? Maybe...

I still love the cards

Back in the dark ages, when I was a little thing, we had mail delivery
twice a day and on Sunday during the Christmas season. I save the
cards and love the ones showing kids and animals and of course we
always marvel at how quickly the children grow and change. This
year I sent easy Annabelle holiday cards and reaped the return
benefits. I am doing a lot of eating and only a few tears, by the way...

vested holiday visit

you're wearing WHAT?

posing after lunch and before the walk

Neti and I went down to Pumpkinville for lunch with the Blogmaid
yesterday and we had a lovely time indeed. After lunch at "the
Italian place on the corner" we admired the Grout tree and went for a
walk on the bluffs and talked and laughed ~ just what we all needed.

the day is set

Here is the jigsaw puzzle we will do on Christmas Day. The fireplace
is key to this gathering and I am determined to keep it casual: snacks
and TV and laughter. I have no idea how many people will show up,
but it will be a good day. It will,  damn it. (Puzzle is only 500 pieces.)

back to xmas

Here is the missing piece, the host and his sidekick. Marsha sent me this
photo of Miss Puma and Carlini after all their work preparing our holiday
meal. A noble twosome indeed.

where's the host?

The cougars two

The animals three

Miss Puma likes my vest

Bill's beret ~ he would approve

Here are some photos from yesterday, however I neglected to take a
picture of Richard Carlini who cooked and entertained us. It was a
fine day with good food, laughter and lots of red color, as you can see.
Marsha drove which was a treat for me as I usually take BART to
Walnut Creek. So glad to have this first solo xmas finished. Made it...