Holidays

We had some very nice holidays this year -- absolutely the best blend of intimate time with the immediate family on Christmas morning, followed by the arrival of family for a very good (if I do say so myself!) traditional dinner -- turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans and homemade cranberry stuff.  Followed, may I add, by more cookies, pie, pumpkin rolls, egg nogs and chocolates than anyone could wish.  Just lovely.

I myself had a very respectable haul waiting under the tree, but the best part of the holiday for me is seeing how well I have done with selecting gifts for others.  Olivia seemed to actually like her new clothes -- she is just not a girly-girl; she hates shopping and fashion -- and she loved her books, art supplies, and all the goofy stuff I find to fill her stocking.  This year it included a little stuffed Batman plushie, some Lego minifigures (a man in a Lego Gorilla Suit and a Native American warrior, if I am not mistaken) and various other little trinkets, snacks and goodies.  Megan got a necklace she had been wanting and it appears I picked an acceptable style for it -- something I always fret over way, way too much.  She also liked her books and clothing.  (Just about everybody gets books from me -- you can take the librarian out of the library, but good luck removing the books.)

I think my favorite present this year is a tie, between the game of Go that Olivia gave me -- a game I have always wanted to learn how to play! -- and the hand-held music synthesizer Megan gave me.  It's from the Korg company and is called a Kaossilator.  It has more music programmed into it than I have ever learned, including some scales of which I've never even heard.  I hope to learn a lot more about music and have a bunch of fun in the process -- I love electronics, I love music, and I especially love techno music, so this wonderful little toy will have me in heaven.  Best of all, I can jack it into my headphones and play all I want without bothering anyone else.  The hype on the Kaossilator refers to it as the "twenty-first century hand-held lute of the future" (I know -- wow, right?) and I can't wait to explore its possibilities.

I also found the Hal Jordan Green Lantern/Thaal Sinestro two-pack of action figures that I wanted, the one I mentioned in the previous post.  It's terrific!

I hope everybody reading this who celebrates the holiday got to be a little bit of a child again and experienced the magic of opening some unexpected gift on Christmas.  And I hope everyone got to feel the wonderful satisfaction of giving someone a perfect present.  I know that it's the most fun I get to have all year!