1) I mean, we had our family Christmas yesterday, so today was an anticlimax. Coffee, a bowl of cereal, the Tylers quietly preparing to go off to Lafayette for the day. I bid farewell to my brother-in-law, who won't be returning to lovely Lago di Carlo this trip.
1a) Gramma and Uncle Bill would wave until the car was out of sight, and I continue to do that 'cause I think it's important - even if no one else does.
2) Once they were on their way, Mother and I exchanged our remaining gifts over coffee. She chose for me a deeply ridged plate for grating garlic and a tiny copper skillet from Sweden that I remember from long ago (but I don't know why). I got her a hat and a daily calendar with quotes related to simplicity.
3) Mother then went down for a great big NAP, and I wrote Christmas cards in the dining room while watching Alfred Hitchcock's fun-for-the-whole-family Christmastime thriller Spellbound.
4) After lunch, this dialogue:
Mother: [brings clean silver into dining room to put away]
Me: "I'll take care of that."
Mother: (smiling) "Oh no, you need clean hands and a pure heart to handle the silver, and you joined the ACLU."
I posted this on ye Fycebykke, and it got quite a response. Later, over dinner, my sister told me it got a big laugh from all her assembled in-laws, most of whom have met me at least once, and all of whom fall further right on the spectrum than I.
5) I took a brisk walk through the subdivision after lunch. It's roughly shaped like a figure 8 with two tails, and I have a particular route I take so that I don't miss any of it. Took me about an hour, after which I allowed myself a NAP.
6) Laura and Niece Who Must Not Be Tagged returned in the late afternoon, and Laura and Mother and I set ourselves down to some Scrabble. For a change I came out victorious, though I began the game with five Es.
7) Oldest Nephew Who Must Not Be Tagged also showed up, and gave us some Postmodern Jukebox for background music. Their take on K*** P****'s "Last Friday Night" is surely my favorite.
8) Nephew headed out, and we four remaining enjoyed leftovers in the dining room. Discussion of the "silver ACLU" dialogue (see above) led to some brief political discussion.
9) After dinner, I did end up reading cards for Laura and Niece, something I rarely do for family. Mother was interested to see, but not to have a reading.
9a) Niece was annoyed that I wasn't using the Alice in Wonderland tarot deck they'd given me for Christmas, but I explained that I'd been using my Rider pack for 35 years . . .
10) They are all off to bed now, and I'm back in the dining room (with the sound down, as my ear buds are missing) to write more Christmas cards.