Another year, another Christmas. We invited our friend Mary Ann over for our traditional Christmas Eve clam chowder, and again on Christmas day for an early dinner, to which she contributed Brussels sprouts (we prepared a ham with rice). I’ll add a few photos down below; like the one to the left, they’re thumbnails you can click on to see ’em larger.
It’s now 8 a.m. the morning after. I’m waiting for the sun to clear the mountains before taking Fritzi and Lulu for a walk. Friends in the foothills have invited us to a Boxing Day party: we’re not planning to stay long. Later this morning I’ll drop by the library to pick up a reserved book, then stop at the wild bird store for black sunflower seed. Our family Christmas gift was one of those solar-powered camera bird feeders, all the rage this year. Took me most of the afternoon to get it assembled, set up, mounted, and connected to my iPhone and iPad … I used to be proud of my old ass for my facility with tech, pairing phones and cars via Bluetooth and such, but now I’m just another old ass bewildered by the internet of things’ complexity.
Photos or it didn’t happen. Unwrapping gifts, my low-tech solution to getting an Amazon gift card out of a tricky box (thanks, Number One Son Gregory), my new watch (a Rolex homage, a gift to myself), the three of us at dinner, our guest and dear friend Mary Ann, the peanut gallery waiting for the all-clear to enter the dining room.
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Did I mention taking a hearing test at the VA hospital last week and being prescribed hearing aids? My next appointment is on the 22nd of January, at which they’ll be fitted (and hopefully explained in a manner my old ass will be able to understand).
To all my readers, I wish you a merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah. Happy Boxing Day. I’ll try to check in again before New Year’s Day, but if my intentions are overcome by events, Happy New Year as well!