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December 26, 2004
And on the Day After...
Christmas Eve proved peaceful. Spanglish was very entertaining, well acted and an original story. The pacing drags a bit in the middle but I recommend it.
We got home to find Robbie having surprised us. He returned home from work and made our dinner. We had the traditional pasta, shrimp and salad. Then there were the gifts. We were most pleased. By 9:30 they were dressed and off to prep for singing in the choir while I puttered around the house, getting things ready.
They sang nicely, the mass was fine and I only started to nod off during the homily. We got home around 12:40 and the kids slunk off to bed. Deb and I played Santa including wrapping one final gift I totally forgot about.
Robbie got us up by 7 a.m. and we were staggering downstairs and opening what Santa delivered within minutes. We allowed the process to drag out, barely keeping an eye on the clock given their obligation for more singing at 10 a.m. mass. They managed to be ready right on time so this worked.
Between Santa Deb and the family, I was given some lovely things. I now own all 11 Marx Brothers movies thanks to the two recently released box sets. I also received a Merino wool sweater, black belt, socks, a GWU travel mug, The Very Best of Robert Palmer, The Clash’s London Calling 25th anniversary edition (from Kate) and the Crimson Tide soundtrack. Robbie proudly provided me with the first wave of Corgi’s new line of die cast metal Bat-vehicles. Not a lot of books, the latest Steve Kloves novel and Men of Tomorrow, the book about the founders of the comic book industry. Very satisfying.
We had a leisurely afternoon as Robbie beat me at Lord of the Rings Stratego and we played the LOTR Trivial Pursuit until the turkey was done. We swung into action and by 4:30 were sitting down to our feast (not quite of roast beast). It was all wonderful with plenty of leftovers for the next few days plus a carcass that will soon become soup broth. Afterwards, we cleaned up and then Deb’s brother Jim arrived with his boys for dessert. We hung out as the boys played until they got hungry. And again, as the adults chatted, the three boys went off and Robbie introduced his cousins to the wonders of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo via Horesfeathers. The transfer quality looks pretty good so I’m pleased.
Everyone was pretty much in bed and dead to the world by 10. Today, we took care of business in and out of the house with the goal of being done early enough to chill. Once Robbie gets back from work at 6, we’ll settle down to our final Christmas treat: a hopefully uninterrupted viewing of the extended edition of Return of the King. There will be turkey sandwiches and assorted finger foods to keep us going for the nearly 5 hours required to absorb this new version of the story. We can’t wait.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at December 26, 2004 03:08 PM
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Comments
Can't handle all five hours. I have to give you credit with that. That's why I love the fact that it's on two disks. Sue and I are tackling them Monday and Tuesday night. BTW, got your email and will take care of it this week. You just need to shoot me a snail mail address to send it to. ("Borck! How many times have I told you not to end a sentence with a preposition?" Bonus points for whoever figures out the movie that's from.)
Posted by: John S. Drew at December 26, 2004 07:54 PM
Hey, Bob, we got a gift in common -- I also got the London Calling reissue! Can't wait to dig into it -- it looks like quite a set. I also got a book you worked on, the DC Encyclopedia, and have been happily perusing it this evening, so thanks for the gift!
Posted by: Julio Diaz at December 26, 2004 11:44 PM