Anecdotes of the Skipper: Prelude

I realize I've been gone for two months. All I can say is that I've been busy growing a lung.You would think that would leave me with plenty of time to write. And for a more ambitious or dedicated person, you would be right.

Ah well.

However, I do have something lined up for the rest of this week, you special people you. Each day--Tuesday through Friday--there will be an anecdote about the baby from the second trimester. In this case she (yes, it's a girl, in case you were wondering) will be called Skipper, as Sam has decided that is a suitable nickname due to her initials.

All I can think of when I hear that is this doll that was popular when I was a child:

I figure there are worse nicknames out there.

"But how do we know you won't skip out on us like all of those other times you promised us a series of posts?"

Because I have a plan! Bwahahahahaha!

Yeah, I'll probably totally fail at this one too. You'll still love me though, right?

Right?

A Leave of Absence

No, I'm not dead yet.

However in the past couple of weeks Sam and I have been kept pretty busy with friends/family coming to town to visit, and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down any for the rest of the month. This weekend is Sam and I's second anniversary, the following week my parents will be down for a day or two, the weekend after that is Hip Gamer's birthday, and then the following week will be my I'm-going-to-be-a-hermit recovery time. That weekend will then be Independence Day, and then Sam's 'weekend' will happen.

With all that in mind, I've decided I'm just going to take the month of June off, since I've already missed a week of blogging goodness due to the (excellent!) problem of a social life.

So, until I come back on July 7th, I'll leave you with this adorable picture:

Shifting gears

Summer has arrived.

I know this from several factors. Firstly, most of my friends either just wrapped up finals, graduated, or will wrap up their teaching gig in the next week. Secondly, despite the fact that this past week has been in the 70's, we've already been having humid 90 degree days. Thirdly, in the past month, we've been grilling our food 2-3 times a week.

However, the most important way that I know that it is summer is that my husband has gone missing.

Now, now, don't panic. No need to call the police. I just mean that my husband has moved to summer hours at work. Since he works at a pool store and all, that means I'll see Sam again sometime in October.

I kid. I kid.

I think.

More accurately, this means that his work schedule has now completely shifted. Not only does he work an extra hour each day, but our weekends will now be Tuesday-Wednesday instead of Saturday-Sunday. Starting this week. Except that he doesn't really get Tuesday and Wednesday off this week because his coworker is still subbing for the local school district, which doesn't get done until the end of this week.

But Sam will be getting the afternoons off today and tomorrow.

Why am I telling you this? Because it will likely lead to a few changes around here at the Work in Progress. I'm just not sure what those changes will be. Either you'll be seeing a whole lot more of me because my Husband is Busy(tm), or I'll never be around because my friends will have more free time.

Aren't you glad I informed you of all this?

Here, have a cat picture.

(Papa, if you want to save this picture, go here--it's a higher quality.)

Easter Bonnets

This past weekend, Sam and I traveled up to Kansas to visit my parents and celebrate Mama's birthday. For those of you playing at home, it also happened to be Easter.

(Which, for the record, was very strange. I can't remember the last time Easter was that close to Mama's birthday.)

Many of the local churches were having Easter Egg Hunts on Saturday instead of Sunday, which meant that the little neighbor girls were all dressed up in their Easter dresses both days. Since my brother and I have yet to provide our parents with grandchildren to spoil, the little neighbor girls fill the void.

So, on Saturday, they had to come over and show off to my parents their pretty new dresses and hats. My mother insisted I take pictures.

Aren't they absolutely adorable?

Here's a solo shot of Big Sis. I think she was regretting coming over and having a strange woman take pictures of her.

Little Sis was also feeling bashful. I absolutely love the way this picture came out, though. Almost makes me feel like a real photographer!

Their mother is close to me in age, so my parents really do view them as surrogate granddaughters.

I think they're okay with that though.

Love you, Mama

Fifty-nine years ago today, Grandma Nena brought my Mama into this world. Today, she and Papa and a couple of their friends are headed out east to celebrate this fact. With any luck, they'll return a little bit richer than when they left.

Happy Birthday, Mama! It was good to see you this weekend, and I can't wait to hear how your trip went. :-)

The outhouse

Last Christmas when I was home, I asked my parents if I could borrow some of their old pictures. Several years ago I spent a winter going through pictures and scanning them in, but there were still many that I had missed. I had hopes that there might be some which had survived the fire and that I could archive.

I've been working on it off and on since then, and a little while ago I came across this picture:

Taken sometime around 1970, if I were to make a guess.

This, my dear friends, was Grandpa Howell's outhouse.

Grandpa and Grandma Howell were my paternal great-grandparents. They lived in a small town in Kansas and raised twelve children in a ramshackle ol' house that I have the vaguest memories of. It wasn't until some time after my father was born that they got indoor plumbing in that house, and even then Grandpa Howell still preferred to use his outhouse.

I've heard lots of stories about that outhouse.

For example, it was apparently a Halloween tradition in that particular small town in Kansas for the kids to try and sneak into Grandpa's junk yard and knock over the old thing. Grandpa Howell would spend the whole night camped outside with his gun, ready to scare off any teen dumb enough to try it.

As you can tell from the picture, it wouldn't have taken much to knock it over.

There's also another story that my dad likes to tell about certain little boys deciding to send some kittens swimming down there, and Grandma Howell having to fish the poor things back out. Apparently there were quite a few tanned hides that resulted, and that mama cat would have nothing to do with those kittens for weeks.

Don't get any bright ideas.

Blessings Continued

Thirty-nine days after the death of Frank, we welcomed a new, fully functioning computer into the family. This resulted in much rejoicing in our home, and I'm now actually capable of having three different windows open at once.

Plus I have my music back.

And my Photoshop.

*sighs happily*

We have not yet officially named the new computer. It takes a little bit to discover a computer's personality, after all.

Last weekend, Rapier Wit and Literary Cat came down for four days. The first day, Literary Cat, Adorable Nurse, and I walked down memory lane (literally as well as figuratively), made food for the guys, and then had a fun night just hanging out.

The next day I was considerably ill, but it could have been worse, so I'm still grateful.

Saturday all of us got back together to play D&D, and something that I've been planning for months finally occurred to my character.

(My almost-teenage cleric is going to be angsty for a little bit. Lord have mercy.)

Also, Literary Cat loaned me The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, which is the sequel to the book she gave me for Christmas, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. So far I've managed to keep from disappearing inside of it, but I have a feeling that after I'm done catching up around the house today and tomorrow, I'm going to disappear Wednesday and devour it.

It's good to have friends who feed your addiction.

Sherri made it safely back from her visit with will and family, which I'm very glad for. I've missed my sister terribly.

Overall, there's a lot of happiness in my life right now, and I felt like sharing. I hope things are going equally well for you!

Wandering Toe

Growing up, my father often told me that his family line frequently manifests a "wandering toe." We have a hard time staying in any one place for a great length of time; we're always looking to the next horizon, wondering what's over the next hill.

We have a long tradition of migrating ever further west, first across the Atlantic, then to Tennessee, and on westward to Kansas, Nevada, California, etc.

More recently, my Grandpa Norman, my dad's dad, worked with a surveyor's team in Kansas and Oklahoma back in the 50's. The majority of the oil wells throughout this area were originally surveyed by my Grandpa Norman. Dad attended over twenty elementary schools as a result, before they finally settled out in California when Dad was in high school.

After Dad graduated from high school, he spent the next thirteen years or so wandering from one machine shop to the next, while his eldest brother went into the navy and off to see the world. When I myself graduated from high school, I headed into theatre, which meant that every six months or so I moved to some place new. Even when I was in college, I was doing summerstock.

Last week it hit me that I was still in one place. My eyes kept drifting to the horizon, my mind wondering what was out there and where we should go next. Texas? Arizona? Washington?

This is not to imply that I'm unhappy where I am--I love living in this small town, close to friends and family. As much as I may complain sometimes, I love this cute little house and the garden we've planted in the back. I love making this house a home and taking care of Sam. This is, quite frankly, the happiest I've ever been.

And, eventually, the itch passed. By the time Sam and I collapsed into bed Saturday after doing our planting, my energies were focused back on the here and now, and the restlessness from the previous week was gone.

I think Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz got it right:

"If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with!"

Flotsam and Jetsam

My parents came down to see us this weekend.

(This is why I wasn't posting.)

I'm always glad when my parents come to visit, or when we get to go visit them. I realize that this is not the case for everybody--some people deeply dread seeing their parents--but I always really enjoy it. Somewhere along the way I grew up, and my parents and I realized that we genuinely liked each other, rather than just putting up with each other because we're family and ergo love one another.

Blessings abound in my life.

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The tax return finally came in on Friday!

*le happy dance!*

This means that Wednesday the pieces and parts for Frank's replacement will arrive on my doorstep. This is a happy circumstance.

Viiiiiideoooooos. Muuuuusic. Photoshoooooooop....

This really makes me extremely happy. I've missed being able to clean up pictures and post things for ya'll.

Especially recipes.

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I hate food poisoning.

Sam and I have reached a place that whenever we eat out, nine times out of ten we get something and split it. This helps with both a) costs and b) portion control, since I'm too old for the kids' meals and too young for the senior menu.

The downside is that if we get a hold of some bad food, we both go down for the count.

Unfortunately, this means we also missed Something Catchy's Oscar party, which sucked.

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Words with Friends finally succeeded in invading my life.

I've known about it for well over a year, but for one reason or another I never bothered to put it on my iPhone.

While Mom and Dad were down, I got to talking to my Mom about it, and before too long we both had it downloaded and had started a game.

Needless to say, within 24 hours I also had a couple games going with Adorable Nurse and Literary Cat.

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Fact: I lack will's discipline when it comes to the 356 days of blogging idea.

Though it took some time, I've finally made my peace with that.

Still, I find it amusing and exciting that by the end of February I already have more posts this year than I did for all of 2010.

If for some reason I suddenly stop blogging for months on end now, it will be because I posted this. I don't know why that would happen--I really enjoy doing this--but whatever the external excuse would be, the root cause would be this little segment.

That's way my luck runs.

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Sam and I have decided to try and plant a garden this year.

I have no earthly idea what I'm doing. With our luck, there'll either be an overabundance of produce, or not a single thing will survive. Personally, I'm hoping I take after my Grandpa Jim, who used to grow orchids in his hothouse on the farm.

My husband an I talked about doing a garden last year. (For the record, it still makes me giggle happily inside when I get to call him my husband.) We were poor and living in an apartment, however, and by the time we moved to our little house, it was too late to jump in. This year, though, we decided to make the attempt.

You can blame the movie Food Inc. and the book The Hundred Year Lie for that.

It's dangerous to go alone

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the original Zelda's release in Japan.

This makes me happy, but also make me feel incredibly old. I was almost two when it came out.

The first game system I really remember is the NES, which my brother got for Christmas one year, I believe. My father's reasoning was that it would save money in the end, because every time you died in-game, you didn't have to pay another quarter to play again.

My family fell in love with Zelda when they played it. My parents and big brother spent hours and hours drawing out maps for each of the dungeons on graph paper. Not only did they make the layouts, but included what enemies were in each room, where to use bombs, what needed keys, and the best routes to take to find everything and beat the dungeon quickly.

In the intervening years, we have recopied those maps on at least four different occasions, because the previous versions would grow so old and yellow that you could hardly see what was written on them any more.

The Legend of Zelda's been such an integral part of my family's culture, that it became a right of passage to beat the game. I believe I was about 11 or 12 when I finally beat it. I had downloaded an NES emulator onto my computer and started playing through it. Mom saw what I was doing and told me to dig out the NES and play it old-school.

Mom and Dad then proceeded to guide me through the dungeons and give me tips and hints. Prior to that, I had always manned the maps and told them where to go.

It was a bizarre feeling.

This past Christmas, we guided Sam through the game. It was a bit different of course--they had downloaded it onto the Wii, since the NES now lives with Sam and I. Still, after a couple of days Sam had destroyed Ganon and rescued the princess. When he had finished, I heard C-3PO in my head saying, "You are now a part of the tribe!"

(I know the original quote is "we are now a part of the tribe," but that's the wonderful thing about imagination--it can adapt.)

So, it is with great joy that I celebrate Zelda's 25th anniversary!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm off to continue preparations for my dinner date tonight with my husband. It may or may not involve pasta, salmon, and cheesecake. You'll find out tomorrow.

In the meanwhile, enjoy these fun Valentine's "Facts."

Home again, home again...

Grandma Nena is finally home after three weeks away.

This is a moment of great rejoicing throughout the land.

Unfortunately, due to the weather, she did not get home as quickly as she could have, but yesterday my parents made the arduous trip through the ice and snow to get her back home.

Three cheers for Mom and Dad!

I'm glad my Grandma Nena is well enough to be home, and praise God that He has taken care of her once again.

It's good to be reminded of the excellent things happening in your life, even if all you can see is a sheet of white every where you look.

....it would be something else.

My Grandma Nena has been in the hospital for over two weeks.  Just before my parents came down to visit during the Water Line Episode, in fact. There'd been a stomach flu going around her town, and so it was assumed that her issues were related to that.

By the time Sam and I went up to visit his sister and family, my grandmother had been transferred out to Wichita, because her local hospital thought they had found a large tumor on her colon when they did their CT scans. So while we were up in KC, my grandmother was getting settled in in Wichita.

It was a blitz trip up to KC and back, and we stayed the night at my parents Saturday with the plan being to come on home on Sunday. However, because of everything going on with Grandma Nena, I opted to stay in Kansas while they did the biopsy on Monday morning.

It's always difficult to visit someone you love when they're sick, especially when they're hospitalized. However, I'm very glad I decided to stick around--I like to think my parents and Grandma Nena were glad to have me around making inappropriate jokes.

It's a living.

Sammy went on home Sunday, which commenced the 48 Hours of No Spouse. My poor husband had no clue what to do without me around.

I was a little lost myself.

Anyway.

Monday morning they went in and did a biopsy on Grandma Nena's colon. To their surprise, there was no cancerous mass like the original CT scan had indicated. Instead, her colon was highly inflamed due to a lack of blood flow to that area, and part of her colon was starting to die off.

Not good news, but better than another go 'round with cancer.

I stayed that night and went up to see her again Tuesday morning. She was in much better spirits than I had seen her, because she knew it wasn't cancer. Then one of the doctors explained what all was going on, and indicated that what they believed had happened was that the main artery that fed blood to the colon was collapsing, so they were planning to go in and put a stint in place in order to increase blood flow.

At the time they did not know for certain when they would do the procedure, so I decided to come back home, with the caveat that if things suddenly got worse, I'd be back north in a heartbeat.

Yesterday was the first day in a week that I hadn't spent a minimum of two and a half hours in a car, so I was lazy and spent most of the day napping. Today's been my catch up day, and my house, clothes, dishes, and cats are thankful that I'm back taking care of things.

Meanwhile, this morning they went in and did the angioplasty on Grandma Nena's artery, and discovered that the artery was completely blocked. They did something else--I'm not completely clear on what--and now they're in a waiting game to see if this fixed the problem. If it worked, then she should heal up fine. If it didn't, then they'll have to go in and actually remove part or all of her colon, which is a bit of a risky surgery.

Obviously we're hoping and praying for the healing up fine.

Grandma Nena will likely be home in the next couple of days, and then begins the waiting game. They'll know one way or the other after three weeks. If she can go that long without any bleeding, she'll be free and clear. If not... well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

I'm telling you all of this so that if for some reason I go MIA again, you'll have a rough idea as to why.

Down the Yellow Brick Road

Last Christmas, Sam and I had originally planned to drive up to Kansas City on Christmas Day and visit his sister and family. However, due to the bad cold I'd caught, we decided to postpone our trip until some later point in time in January or February.

Well, this past weekend was that later point in time.

Our plan was to leave leave town Thursday after Sam got off work and go up to my parents. We'd stay the night Thursday, then get up Friday morning to go on up to KC, spending Friday night in KC. Saturday we'd spend the day with the family, and then that afternoon/evening go back to my parents, so Sunday we could go on home.

Of course, like all plans, things didn't happen quite like that.

Late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning, we got a bit of snow in our part of the country. While it wasn't bad in our town, the parts of the state we had to drive through to get up to Kansas had been harder hit. As the day progressed, everything started melting, but it wasn't melting fast enough for our tastes, and we knew that, with our luck, it'd all refreeze and we'd have icy roads to drive on if we left that night.

So we decided to leave town midday on Thursday, with Sam taking some extra time off work.

This allowed for more detox time when we got up to my parents, which was good because A) we weren't as tired the next day and B) my parents were needing some relaxation time as well what with everything going on with Grandma Nena.

The following morning we had breakfast with my parents and their friends, and then we made our way on north to KC.

(Side note: There was a time in my life when I could drive for hours on end and only stop whenever I needed gas for the car.

That time is now behind me.

After about an hour, hour and a half, my hips and back start vigorously demanding a chance to get out and stretch. Thankfully, my husband is of a similar inclination, so we travel well together.)

By late afternoon, we'd checked into our hotel room with the incredibly floppy bed, and then we went over to Sam's sister's house.

It's a cute little house, filled with books, movies, and music paraphernalia. And, since there is now a three year old and a three month old living under the roof, there's also tons and tons of toys everywhere.

I love kids.

There were belated Christmas presents for the Pretty Pink Niece and the Nom Nom Nephew. (Seriously, the cute little guy is three months old and has already outgrown six month old clothing. He likes him some noms, I'm telling ya.) We also had a couple of presents for my brother- and sister-in-law, which Pretty Pink Niece had to help unwrap.


It's one of the special benefits of being three, don't you know.

Pretty Pink Niece is crazy about her Uncle Sammy, and insisted that he play with her pretty much nonstop. This was cute and awesome, especially because it meant that I got in more baby snuggles with Nom Nom Nephew.

And that right there was the highlight of the whole trip for me. I got in numerous snuggles with my three-month-old nephew while we were visiting. In fact I got to hold him almost throughout dinner at the Steak'n'Shake, (except when Uncle Sammy had to hold him so that I could eat my chicken fingers).

That's not to say I never let him go--I was more than willing to give him back to Mama when necessary. But I did get a substantial amount of cuddling.

Of course, the flip side of all of this is that I now have a bad case of baby fever. Okay, a worse case of baby fever.

By the time Sam and I left Saturday (after being introduced to both Jelly Telly and Chicken Little, the latter of which Sam hadn't seen), Nom Nom Nephew seemed quite content to sit in my lap and watch everything going on around him. Which was good, because Pretty Pink Princess was doing a pretty good job of snuggling with the napping Sammy.

Unfocused

My brain is going in twenty different directions today, for some reason I can't figure out. I've started to write about three different things since I sat down to do so, and then my thoughts just peter out about half-way through.

Part of it is that my front yard seems to have sprung a leak. I know that sounds funny, but it's true. We've had no loss of water pressure in the house--none noticeable, any way--but our drive way has a little river running down it. The strange thing is, there's no watery spots near the house. It's not until you get out into the front yard it appears.

So we're waiting to hear back from our landlady about that.

Also, I received word today that my Grandma Nena is in the hospital due to dehydration. Since going in she seems to be getting much better, but that's worrying. My parents are still coming down to visit, but our thoughts will be on Grandma Nena.

There's also other drama going on amongst friends of mine, and the consistent worrying and praying for will and Kim and their boys. While these have been going on for a little while, they've been weighing on my mind all day. Also, haven't seen much on the internet today or yesterday to share with the masses, so I don't have that to distract me.

So, instead, you'll get this little blurb. If my mind settles down later this afternoon, I might post again. If not, well, here's a picture I thought I'd share, because I like the way it turned out:

Nala and her amazing whiskers!

Blessings Innumerable

All the cool kids are doing some type of 'Year in Review' this week to celebrate the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. GeekDad has a Top 10 posts of the year, Whatever reflected on the past year yesterday, TPM decided to review the past year by giving out awards for various political stunts. Closer to home, will gave us his Top 7 theatre moments from the past year, and Literary Cat gave us an overview of her, well, literary adventures.

Since I am a sheep and follow the direction my peers and idols point, I figured I should also do some way of recapping the past year. Thus, in no particular order, here are a few of the blessings I've received and learned from in 2010:

• God has a plan. Sam and I managed to get by on $600 a month of income plus food stamps for 6 months this year. Looking back, I'm still not certain how God managed to pull us through Sam's last semester in grad school, but somehow He managed.
• Take Nothing For Granted. Up until this year, I'd never truly known what it was like to be completely without and having to rely on God. Because we had to, however, I appreciate so much more everything Sam and I have.

• Sam got his Masters in Music. That right there is a huge reason to celebrate. I couldn't tell you the number of times Sam and I discussed his dropping out of the program, and I am incredibly proud of him for sticking through it.
• Moving back amongst friends and family. When I graduated from college, I thought I'd left this town far behind. Some might consider moving back to one's secondary home-town a failure in life, but it has been a wonderful blessing in mine. My in-laws are here, my sister is here, and many of my friends from college are still here. The beginning of 2010 was lonely, but the end was all I could have hoped for.
• Learning to care for my home. Teenage me would never have predicted that I'd one day be a housewife and be happy about it. But I derive a great deal of pleasure, pride, and accomplishment from caring for my home, paying the bills, cooking meals for my Sammy, and doing my best to live up to Proverbs 31:10-31. 

• Bringing Tiger back into the fold. After nearly five years apart, my first cat has rejoined the pride. The first month or so was pretty rough, what with all three cats fighting because no one knew just what was going on. Once Tiger figured out though that she was here to stay and calmed down, though, she became an incredibly sweet addition to our little family.
• We have a new nephew! Speaking of sweet additions to the family, Sam's sister had a new baby boy last October. Even though we still haven't managed to go see him, we were both very excited for her and her family. 

Over all, I'd say that this was possibly one of the best years I've had yet, even if the first half of the year were rough and stressful in many ways. Sam and I have survived our first year of marriage, and I find myself thankful and hopeful heading in to the New Year.

Happy New Year everyone! Praise God, and may 2011 bring you joy and great happiness!

There and back again

Glad to see that my experiment with the Blogger scheduler worked out. On the other hand, it does remove one more excuse for why I don't update all the time. Ah well.

As to our trip, some things did go sadly "wonky" over Sam and I's Christmas Vacation, but we did make it safely home yesterday afternoon. Some of you may remember I had a bit of a nasty cold in the middle of the month, but after a few days of laying around watching cartoons got to feeling much better. By the time the Christmas Party rolled around, we were both in tip top shape and had a fantastic time hanging out with all of our friends.

The next day (or maybe it was two days) all of us got together again to continue our latest adventure in D&D with the big group, and while we were there my nose was constantly running and I was downing pain killers for the sore throat that was developing. Hip Gamer noticed what I was doing and nonchalantly pointed out that if I had strep he was sorry, as he'd gone to the doctor the previous week and they'd put him on anti-biotics, though they didn't think he'd actually gotten strep. Walking Hyperbole then chimed in and explained he and Adorable Nurse had had horrible sore throats and coughing the previous week.

Oi vey.

The night we went over to Sam's parents for Christmas with them, I was noticing more drainage and coughing, so I tried to keep everyone at arm's length. By the time we left for Kansas the following morning, my voice was crackly and could not hit any of the upper registers. Which made me very sad, as it meant A) No singing Christmas Carols during the car ride and B) I had a raging headache/sore throat while riding in a car. But I could still torment Sam.

After we'd finished all of our Christmas Eve celebrations at my parents' that night, my voice was completely gone and I was utterly out of it. As there was a remote chance it was strep and not just a bad cold, Sam called his sister to see if she wanted us to go ahead and continue on to Kansas City the next day. We both really, really wanted to see our niece and new nephew, but we also did not want to get the new baby (or big sister who loves cuddling with the new baby) sick.

Everybody wanted to see each other, but they finally decided that as much as they love us, they did not want to risk a houseful of sick children. Completely understandable. Instead, the hope is to get up there around the end of January and see them then.

That decision resolved, I went and collapsed into bed.

Am I the only one who thinks McCoy looks like Gollum here?

What followed was a joyfully hazy time of sleep, movies (including ST IV), food, sleep, Nintendo, sleep, card games, pictures, and, oh yes, sleep. It took a few days, but by the time Monday rolled around I had my voice back and was coughing only occasionally, so we went and visited my Grandma Nena  (Hi Grandma!). It was an enjoyable afternoon, filled with good conversations, food, and the final round of Christmas fun.

And yes, I did bring home more recipes from Grandma. Good things will come of us this.

Trust me.

We made it back to my parents' house that night, and concluded our final evening with my parents by watching Sam participate in a long-standing family tradition--he beat Ganon in the original Zelda.

Yesterday morning, Sam and I packed ourselves up in the Jeep and headed on back to Oklahoma. It was a fantastic trip, all things considered, even if I was sick and we didn't make it all the way up to see Sam's sister and her family.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas!

Faithful friends who are dear to us...

Outside, two pillars of red and green framed a porch drenched in icicle lights as a lightly chilled wind blew dark clouds across an eclipsing moon.

Inside, the house was cheery and bright. A modest tree stood before the front window, decorated with angels and ornaments found over the years. Beneath the tree, a pile of presents steadily grew as each group of guests arrived. Stockings were hung on the wall with care, between shelves laden with books and holiday trinkets.

Ensconced in the big chair sat Walking Hyperbole, his hand unconsciously running through Adorable Nurse's hair as she sat on the floor in front of him. Hip Gamer gestured and talked animatedly from his place on the couch, a holiday drink in hand. Beside him lounged Rapier Wit, long, lanky legs splayed before him, while Gleeful Traveler sat also on the floor and leaned against Hip Gamer's legs. Curled in a large, leather office chair next to Rapier Wit, Literary Cat relaxed and watched the proceedings with a knowing gaze. Sher-bear nibbled a cookie made especially for her while she sat at the table, with the occasional laughing exchange with Literary Cat.

My Sam was perched on the keyboard chair, leaning his chin against the back of the chair, just behind Walking Hyperbole and Hip Gamer. I sat at the table with Literary Cat and Sherri, soaking in the joy of having my family in my home.

We sat and watched as images from the past five years flickered across the screen, while Christmas Carols intermixed with Fall Out Boy, Flogging Molly, Great Big Sea, Lily Allen, and Five Iron Frenzy in the background.

As a picture of Adorable Nurse playing amongst rocks and waves came on the screen, she said "I love that shot of me!"

"I really miss that shirt. Whatever happened to it?" Hip Gamer wondered as another picture from his college days appeared.

Walking Hyperbole sat up a little straighter, "I really have lost weight already. That makes me feel awesome!"

Another picture scrolled across the screen. "Whoa! Check out Sam's monstrous beard!" Hip Gamer said.

I piped in, "That was taken my senior year, so yes, we have proof that he and I did meet at school."

"That was your birthday party Rapier Wit, remember?" Sam added.

Rapier Wit beamed. "That's right! Does this mean I can officially take credit for your relationship now?"

Meanwhile a portrait of Sherri in Central Park came up.

"That's a great picture of you, Sher-bear," said Adorable Nurse.

"Thank you!" she said, only a trifle bashful.

On the television, Literary Cat and Rapier Wit posed at their wedding.

"And that's a picture of Literary Cat going 'I'm tired of taking pictured now," Adorable Nurse laughed.

"I'd been taking pictures all morning before we even got there! Yeah, I was tired of it," Literary Cat replied.

"There's a lot of pictures from weddings on there," I said. "Weddings are about the only time we take pictures when all of us are together."

Rapier Wit gave the couple next to him a sly grin, "Hear that Hip Gamer? It's up to you to have the next wedding so we can take pictures again."

At that point Hip Gamer decided it was time for all of us to open presents.


Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.
--Edna Buchanan