Potatoes in the Mist

So here are some highlights or just noteworthy events from the holidays, '07: Sunday. D and I took Amtrak to get to Boston, and the ride was uneventful. However, the drive home from the Alewife T station was not. Mom has a penchant for getting lost on the way home (and blaming me for it!) So I micromanaged her driving from then on. She also collided with a snowbank and started heading to Providence at one point (though I averted that disaster). The high speed on the highway also made me nauseous. So, let's just say - I'm happy not to have to drive in New York! I'm a walking kind of gal. Mom told us a story about my aunt (on my father's side) and her cat. One night Mom went to check on my aunt, who is 91, and found her anxious about her cat, Sophia. Aunt: I'm going to stay up with Sophia. She's having a problem with her leg and she can hardly walk. [Sophia strolls by, without effort.] Mom: She looks fine to me. [Sophia sprints up the stairs.] Mom: I think yo...

Hello! I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. It was kind of a crowded weekend, so I don't know where to start. We stayed at my mother's house and went to my brother's house on Thanksgiving. As we drove down my mother's street, she pointed out a house where there had been a fire, and the owner's dogs died in it (the owner was at work). This was the kind of thing she really should not have told me. It is still making me sad. The owner's cats did survive, however. The fire department tried to resuscitate the cats and 1 dog (the other had already passed away) with special tiny masks, and the cats lived. I am glad there are little masks for the animals, but it was one of the saddest things I'd heard in a long time. The owner is, understandably, hugely upset. In happier news, my niece turned 12 this weekend, and we celebrated the night after Thanksgiving. I still can't believe she's 12. When she was very young, she had her own special language: mobila = oatm...

So I just got back from a brief visit to my hometown. It was for a sad reason, but I liked seeing all my family. My mother has a really big family -- they have a Christmas party every year, and 70-80 people show up (and that's not even perfect attendance). I like the social aspect of a large family. Anyway, I finished two knitted pieces on the train. Here's a hat for D's sister: And here's a heart scarf: And, since today is D's birthday, he got a couple of presents from my mom:

Here are some pics from my birthday on Saturday (a day early, but Saturday is more festive, don't you agree?) Well, first is a very fuzzy picture of the bunny in my backyard, taken on Friday: Two pics of my sister's dog, with one of my nephews and my niece: D with two of my nephews: D with most of the kids: A necklace my sister gave me:

I'm going to my little hometown this weekend. There is always a little bit of culture shock involved. Suddenly we have to drive everywhere instead of walking, and there is no longer a gym/library/CVS within a few blocks away. But, on the upside, it is much quieter, and you can see the stars. My family's Christmas party is this weekend. They rent out a hall, Knights of Columbus or some such, and all 60 or so of my mom's side of the family shows up. She is the youngest of five, and they all had kids, and their kids have kids, so it's a nice, big crowd. Among the events are Santa (played by one of the men, it changes each year. One year, embarrassingly, Santa had presents for me and D, so we had to perch on his lap, one per knee. I think Santa was my BIL that year) and the Yankee swap. I'm still fuzzy on the rules of the Yankee swap, but it is basically a Darwinian game where people give each other presents, but someone else can take yours away (and give you theirs). O...