Busy, productive, and a great fun day. Mike called on the web cam in the morning and we got to see Vivian and Violet in LaJolla. I was surprised to see a large Christmas tree and other decorations in the house they're renting. In code, Mike told us they were going to Disneyland--it was a surprise.
We spent the afternoon at Ellen's school, where we prepared for the next term, starting January 11. We took down the 2009 material and added 2010 stuff (yoicks, can 2010 really be coming up so soon?); erased and replaced "whiteboard" information; sharpened pencils, copied papers, and so on. Ellen wrote her lesson plan on the computer, copied a lot of material, worked out math problems, and did the multitude of other chores every teacher knows. I helped in various small ways and enjoyed doing it. We had brought sandwiches and took a break long enough to sit out in the warm sun and have lunch. The setting is lovely, with vegetable fields all around, lush foliage heavy with flowers, and the gracious green foothills in the background.
When we finished, we decided to go see "Up In The Air." Went to the theatre, but found we had missed an earlier showing, so bought tickets for 5:00. Went to Trader Joe's, a terrific whole foods/supermarket and got supplies. I bought a bottle of "Two Buck Chuck" White Zin, an incredible $2 a bottle bargain--no wonder there are so many alcoholics in California--then we went home and had a bite before going back for the movie. Boy, I loved it. I thought it was so funny and subtle, but bittersweet, too.
Got home about 8:00, then Ellen went to the store. She got me egg nog, which I put a stick in (Mike had left us a half bottle of rum), then went happily to bed and slept like a--yes, a log.