Saturday, we got everyone together at my place and had a Christmas celebration with presents and everything. I think I got 12 tons of stuff, including a sci-fi trilogy that the library only had one book of, shirts, and a couple of scarves from Stephanie’s parents. Dad got an enormous Doonesbury book, Mom got a leopard-skin pillbox coat, Stephanie got some CDs and gift cards.

There was way more stuff than anyone really needed. But Moira decided that the boxes everything came in were far more fun than the things themselves. Then we had lunch at Stephanie’s place (leftovers from last night’s dinner), and my parents got to see Stephanie’s cats. Well, they got to see Anna—Pinto was hiding under the couch almost all the time they were there.

Dinner was at my place, with ham, rolls, casserole, a nice Pinot Noir, and some Jello that Stephanie made for dessert. Mom and Dad said they really enjoyed the nice weather, since it was 70° F and sunny. But this year, the real fun wasn’t in the presents, it was in seeing everyone and not having to deal with work for a few days.