Happy Holidays

[Freypower]

Well, we've opened our presents down here and now we are waiting for my mother to arrive so we can start cooking Christmas lunch & also start drinking.

I love dharmarose.com which does a nice line in tie dye T shirts. I got 5 of them this year - including a San Diego Chargers one. Remind you of the Prelude to Obscurity photo? Plus the Seattle Mariners, Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears and a Led Zeppelin IV 'Stick man' shirt with the ZoSo symbols on the back. (With American sports teams I have quite a few of these now but I only get places I've visited so I have none of Detroit, for instance). My husband likes the ones they do with animals so I gave him shirts with a deer, wolves, and an old Rush logo.

Also received a New York 'pop up' calendar, the new Van Morrison CD Pay The Devil, DVDs of Van Morrison at Montreux & John Fogerty. Rosalind got lots of DVDs & some clothes (including, of COURSE, a Sydney Roosters T shirt). Mike got himself some DVDs which are actually from his mother in England. I am still waiting for other things I bought him to arrive from amazon.co.uk.

Merry Christmas morning, everyone!

I am stealing a little time on my future brother-in-law's computer while he is taking breakfast to my mom & sister in the hospital. My mom lives two hours away from Bham, so my husband and daughters drove up yesterday and we visited their grandmother and then had our private family Christmas together. They are going back to Bham later today so our daughters can go on a skiing trip with our church youth group to Boone NC tomorrow. They have never skiied (sp?) before so I hope they have fun and are safe!

Money is a little tight this year so we gave lots of little presents to each other--jeans, sweaters, scarves--no Ipods or cameras like last year---but I did receive a Christmas check from my mother that I have earmarked for Eagles tickets in 2007!

I am happy and thankful for my mother's returning good health, for a family who loves me, and for good friends and all my wonderful new on-line friends. It meant so much to me to log on and see all your good wishes about mom.

You people are special to me and I am thankful the Eagles have brought us together! Now I am looking forward to 2007 bringing all of us together in real life at many, many Eagles concerts!

[DonFan]

I guess I didn't log on my bro-in-law's computer properly. Guest was me.

[timfan]

Oh Soda! i hope everyone is feeling better qucikly! Our Christmas was rather broken up this year as my brother and girlfriend decided to go to Florida for a holiday over christmas. So we had christmas dinner with them and presents on December 21st and then this morning my dad and i opened the presents for each other. It's been a very low key Christmas but for whatever reason both dad and I are missing my grandparents ( his parents) ALOT this christmas. So we had a nostaligic day llistening to old music and talking about old times.....

[Z]

We just got home from spending 15 of the last 24 hours with family and 4 of those 24 hours in the car. It was wonderful and I love them all, but I can't tell you how nice it is to sit down in a calm, quiet house without mass quantities of food in front of me.

Santa was very generous again this year (seems there is no truth in that "checking it twice" story) . We had a slight scare when 7 week old great nephew Alex was admitted to the hospital Friday with pneumonia, but he was released late Christmas Eve. He is still being watched very closely as the doctor feels he is not out of the woods just yet.

DF, glad to hear Mom is doing well. Soda, sorry to hear about the bug that's hit your family. Try to stay healthy. TF, I personally believe it is good to talk about the people we miss especially at times like this. It helps keep them in our hearts. FP, sounds like you got some great gifts. I'd love to know how the Van Morrison CD is.

[EasyFeeling]

Merry Christmas everyone!

I'm glad everyone had a nice Christmas time, more or less.
Mine was very relaxed. We celebrated Holy Eve at my place this year. After dinner we unwrapped our gifts and I got a theatre ticket, a DVD, a new keyboard for my PC, a cinema gift coupon and cash from my mom. Then we watched several music DVDs while playing cards and having glühwein. My brother had cheated several times, it's always the same when we are playing games.

TF, I'm with you. We've missed my other brother (they were twin brothers) who passed away last year shortly before Christmas.

[glenneaglesfan]

Well, the main festivities are over here now, so time for a little catching up. Nancy and Z, sorry to hear that your littlest family members were unwell, particularly wee Alex ending up in hospital. Hope he continues to recover. I was thinking about you all, particularly Michaela and Kath with your recent losses. Toonlass, welcome back and nice to hear from you again!

We were woken on Christmas morn with the boys bringing us tea - first time ever! We went to a church service in Plymouth before cracking the bubbly and opening our presents. I got a scarf, a picture, CDs (Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell and the Beatles), a book (Terry Pratchett's 'The Hogfather') and Corel Paint Shop Pro, which I have been trying to master today. David cooked lunch single-handed - he knows I'm culinarily challenged. It was lovely - traditional turkey and all the rest. We watched the 'Strictly Come Dancing' Christmas special and played a few rounds of Pictionary in the evening.

Today, Boxing Day, my parents and my sister and her SO came over for lunch - cold buffet and lots of wine, apart from brother-in-law who'd nobly volunteered to drive. Sis and I went for a brisk walk around the lanes and related hair-raising tales about dangerous situations we have both been in and never told our parents, and had a lot of fun!

I'm very grateful for family and friends.

[Molly]

I hope the little ones are doing well. Z, keep us posted on Alex's progress.

Christmas has a way of being joyous and melancholy at the same time, doesn't it? My son, Tom and I had a discussion about how much we miss the loud, boisterous, over-crowded Christmases at my Mom's house. Mom is in a nursing home, now, and I don't think she was even aware of the Holiday. Our Christmases now seem waaayy too quiet.

Steve's family is very small and they celebrate Christmas very quietly. Well, more than quiet, more like zzzzzzz...... Next year, I've promised the boys we're going to spike Grandma's punch and see if we can't liven it up a bit!

Hubby had no time to shop this year, since he's working pretty much 7 days a week. He did find time to wrap the IPod I picked up for him to give to me. He somehow managed to surprise me with an original Eagles concert poster from 1979. He intended to have it framed, but ran out of time. He's never bought me anything Eagles on his own so I was a little stunned.

[glenneaglesfan]

Molly, what a great husband to find an Eagles poster for you, with everything else he's had to cope with recently.

I had to laugh at your description of Christmas at the in-laws as it's just like that with us. They sit a lot, and conversation mainly centres round which of their friends have died. All the while, in the background they have a very loud ticking clock - time passes very slowly. We make feeble excuses about working over Christmas now, and visit in the new year.

[Molly]

I had to laugh at your description of Christmas at the in-laws as it's just like that with us. They sit a lot, and conversation mainly centres round which of their friends have died. All the while, in the background they have a very loud ticking clock - time passes very slowly. We make feeble excuses about working over Christmas now, and visit in the new year.

My MIL must have the same clock as your in-laws! It hangs on the wall behind what has become over the years, my designated seat in the living room. Tick, tick, tick...and here's Molly, Zzzzzzzz.....

We bring our dogs along with us sometimes to provide some entertainment. They seem to really turn on the naughty when they're at Grandma's house -and yet when we don't bring them she always says, "Awwww, you didn't bring the girls?"