Enjoyed a lovely Christmas Day, inaugurated by a Skype call from P. and A. P. described the funeral for N/'s uncle, which they had attended--very interesting in the way Buddhist rites both parallel and diverge from the ones with which I'm familiar. Heard and saw the the Singapore/Lake Tahoe contingent, too, always a pleasure. Got a Merry Christmas call from J. and N.; kids had already unwrapped presents and were noisily having a ball with them.
Ellen made me a terrific, calorie-laden (that's why it was terrific) breakfast of two fried eggs, toast, juice, and coffee--yum. After, while she washed, trimmed, and sliced zucchini and other ingredients for one casserole, then put together a corn pudding for the other, I finished wrapping, tidied up, and jumped in the shower, and dressed. Got to our destination up north about 3:00 to find the gang already there. Greatly enjoyed the exchange of presents and good talk, then sat down to a sumptuous dinner of ham and delicious sides.
The antibiotic I take warns that one could become violently ill from drinking alcohol, but I decided to take a chance, Indulged in the "chocowine," or whatever it was called--that N. had brought. It tasted something like chocolate milk gone odd, but wasn't bad and I was delighted that I didn't fall down in fits or something.
Watched again the charming video the kiddies made for me while they were decorating cookies and I was in the hospital: "Get Well, Mimi."
Left about 8:00 after planning to meet up today before our trip to Philly. We leave tomorrow for California.
PLEASE, NO SNOW!
WIDER: From "Fred On Everything":
"...The trappings of fascism spread. General David Petraeus, commander of the Eastern Front, poses with the President in the White House in combat fatigues. The country is now the Homeland, reminiscent of the Nazi Fatherland and the Soviet Motherland. We hear of American Exceptionalism, the ritual self-idolizaton beloved of pathological nationalism. Blood and Soil. The American Dream. Ubermenschen. All we need is a short Austrian."
But read the whole thing at
http://www.fredoneverything.net/ComingStorm.shtml