Holidays, holidays, holidays
Christmas was the usual exhausting, but enjoyable ride.
It started with the annual trek up to the townies to see my folks. The drive was nice and sunny with dry roads, always a treat. We spent Christmas Eve at my grandmother's place, my aunt made a big supper and we all ate until bursting. It was the first Christmas Eve that my other aunt was not at the table. Christel is sick and now spends most of her time in a hospital bed in the room next to the diningroom. It was very sad and the idea of her not being there at all next year was present in all our minds. My father decided to be difficult and had a spectacular outburst before the gift giving that ended with him leaving in a huff, but we managed to get over it quite quickly, we gave out gifts and laughed and made the most of it. Fortunately, my Dad was over his foul mood by the time we got home and we just ignored his attempts to restart his original rant and so he had no choice but to forget it.
Christmas Day was more gifts, more food, some phone calls and a little bit of visiting. I was looking forward to seeing Caroline's folks, but missed them this year. On Boxing Day we headed back into town and rushed around getting everything organized for the trip to Windsor the next day. We got up very early to catch the 6-something train. The trip to Toronto was great because they seated us in one of the new Renaissance cars. More leg room, more padding on the seats, curtains on the windows, and a wider angle of recline make for a much more comfortable trip. I had hoped that we might not have to change trains in Toronto, but of course we did and ended up waiting for 20 minutes out on a freezing cold and windy platform waiting for another train, this one without the comfy seats. I was really bummed to get in an old seat with two degrees on recline and next to no padding. Add to that the fact that we were over an hour late getting to Windsor and you have a pretty cranky Dina. Steve's brother and Dad picked us up and we were soon back to our cheery selves. We stayed with Scott, but Steve's folks live just upstairs, which is convenient for us. We saw The Two Towers, watched DVDs, played games, ate, ate, slept, and went out to a big construction site where Steve's Dad works. Had lots of fun. The trip back was hellish to Toronto because of the American teenagers going to Toronto to drink in the new year. Does everyone from Detroit dress like Eminem? The trip to Montreal was better, but no good seats and it was late by the time we got in. I couldn't wait to get back to my comfy bed and the kitties, who showed us how much they missed us by barfing on many flat surfaces while we were gone. By the time we cleaned up and sat down, there was no hope of going out for New Years, so we fell asleep before midnight. What an exciting life we lead :-)
I went in to work today where many things have gone wrong and the movers lost my chair. I have a meeting on a rush project this afternoon, and all I can think about is having a nap. Good thing it's Friday!