Friday, December 25, 2020

Little gifts that spark joy


HALLIE EPHRON: Hoping everyone is snuggled in for a quiet, warm holiday, networking with loved ones, opening presents, indulging in Christmas sweets and savories, and enjoying a bit of peace and quiet.

Usually both of our daughters, along with our 4-year-old grandson and 8-year-old grand daughter and our son-in-law would be here, opening presents Christmas morning and leaving the house awash in wrapping and ribbon.


This year we're snug in our own homes, Zooming the present opening. I am hoping we hit homeruns with our presents.

The thing is, you just never know with gifts, especially for children. I was forever buying not-quite-the-right doll or a knock-off My Little Pony for my ungrateful children, and believe me they let me know. But sometimes it's the littlest most unexpected gift that's an unalloyed home run.


In that spirit, I share with you our grandgirl's delight at one of her presents two year ago when she was six. That year she got dolls and tutus, party dresses and the nightgown she's got on. But watch and you'll see the one gift (from her Aunt) that gave her the most delight. Again... and again... and again.
Her laughter is the gift from that Christmas that keeps giving. Every time I watch this, it cracks me up.

So Happy Holidays to you all, HUGS from all the Jungle Reds! Wishing you a bit of artificial flatulence. And if you take a break from all the capering and cavorting, share a memory of the little gift from Christmas past or present that packed the biggest whoopee!.

76 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas!

    Seeing the children’s enjoyment with their gifts is one of the greatest pleasures of Christmas . . . our dinosaur-loving grandbaby’s continued delight over his dinosaur book with his name in the story is priceless . . . .

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    1. Our littlest grand loved dinosaurs - and outer space

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    2. That's an interesting combination . . . .

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    3. Science! Unless you're a Doctor Who fan. Then it's dinosaurs on a space ship.

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    4. Dinosaurs on a space ship sounds like lots of fun!

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  2. Merry Christmas!

    It is amazing to watch them when they are tiny as they start to realize that the pretty paper is covering something for them. Those very early presents that caused such delight are the best memories.

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  3. That is a wonderful clip, Hallie! A safe and delicious Christmas to all the Reds and regulars here on the comments page.

    Last evening Hugh and I zoomed with my kids and our close friends with whom we always spend Christmas Eve - my best friend of many decades, her daughter (who is like my sons' sister and vice versa), her husband, and Cosma, my favorite three year old - all of whom are in quarantine from an exposure but feeling fine). Toward the end, I told Cos that as soon as I could visit, I would bring her gifts (a toddler cookbook and a boxed set of 12 Beatrix Potter books). She said, "You can just throw them to me. I will catch them." "Through the screen?" I asked. "Yes!" That little bit of sweetness was a gift I won't forget.

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  4. Merry Christmas!

    As I posted yesterday, as recent immigrants and Buddhists, my parents reluctantly followed the Christmas tradition of presents under the X'mas tree. But they did appreciate getting a New Year/Christmas parcel sent from Japan by my grandparents. This box often contained food ingredients that were hard to get in Canada. I remember there was always a box of FRESH mandarin oranges included. This was before boxes of clementines were commonplace in supermarkets in Toronto, and was a rare treat.

    Since I was the first/oldest grandchild, I did get spoiled rotten. I was a huge GODZILLA fan when I was 5-6 years old. The original Godzilla movies were released in the 1960s and we watched them on TV in Toronto multiple times. So the BEST GIFT I got one year in the Christmas parcel was a battery-operated Godzilla doll. When turned on, he walked and roared, his eyes glowed red and he breathed "fire". This was my most treasured toy for a long time!

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    1. I hope you still have that Godzilla doll ! And mandarin oranges fresh from where they’re grown still best most supermarket ones... satsumas from Louisiana in season - sublime

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    2. Merry Christmas, Grace. I hope your ordered-in dinner is delicious! Enjoy your day...

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    3. Hallie, sadly no, that Godzilla doll is long gone. My parents threw out most of my childhood toys and books when I left home to go to university in the 1980s.

      Amanda, thanks, I am really looking forward to eating the multi-course dinner. Way more elaborate than I would ever do and yet very reasonable in price.
      Moderate rain is STILL falling so I will be hunkering down for the morning.

      Merry Christmas!

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  5. One of my sweetest Christmas memories is not of the children, but our dog, Punkin. She was a chow mix and we had hung a tiny red stocking with 2 dog treats for her on the Christmas tree. This she never touched. On Christmas morning, there were kids everywhere opening presents. When given her stocking, she took it around to every single person to show them before she ate her treats. Still missed, still loved, Punkin!!

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  6. Loved that, Hallie! Wish I had thought of that gift for my grandson - but I'm not sure whether he or his father would like it more!

    When my daughter was very little, not even 2, she received a little doll cradle. Apparently she didn't know it was for a doll so she tried to climb in herself. Still have that precious picture!

    Merry Christmas, everyone!

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  7. Happy Christmas, everyone!

    I don't remember the gifts from under the tree as much as I remember the anticipation of feeling the weight of the stocking at the end of my bed. Then opening it early early early -- I'm sure that one year our parents had barely fallen asleep before my brother and I woke them to watch us open what Santa had miraculously brought us. Such fun memories.

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    1. Oddly enough, we didn't do stockings. And gifts were opened on Christmas Eve, a German tradition I think.
      Merry Christmas my friend

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    2. Amanda, our family did not do stockings, either. That anticipation of feeling what is in the stocking is great.

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    3. We dd a tree but no stockings, either. But we hung them for our kids. Still do (still WILL!) when they're back after the plague.

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  8. So many Christmas memories, both happy and sad, but one stands out for me. I must have been about four. It was the war years, and my mother and I lived with my grandparents in tiny Wetmore, KS. My mother had two younger sisters, Donie and Dot, and a little brother, Keith. His sisters lovingly called him "Keithy Louise". It was hard being the only prince in the castle.

    I was definitely the princess. The only grandchild so far, and I pretty much controlled the adults in the room. It was a snowy Christmas Eve, and we had all been to the highschool for the Christmas program, which included Santa Claus handing out presents. Mine was a doll in a package that looked suspiciously familiar. In fact I was sure I'd seen it under the tree earlier that evening.

    When we got home, my aunts and uncle rushed me upstairs to watch out the north window for Santa, who was due for a fly-by about then. They were yelping and laughing and pointing at I know not what. I certainly didn't seen any little red sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

    Then the miracle happened! I heard a deep HO HO HO MERRRRY CHRISTMAS coming from the living room. I so wanted to go and see for myself, but the aunts and Keithy Louise weren't having it. Then I heard some rustling around and finally the shutting of the front door -- no fireplace. Time to go investigate.

    I ran down the stairs and into the living room. I couldn't believe my eyes. Not only was the tree stacked with presents yet unseen, but there were great big snow tracks across the carpet, leading from the front door to the tree and back again. SANTA!!! He'd come and gone, but the forensics showed me he was very real. And had big feet. I knew for sure that my grandmother would let no one else track up her wool rug.

    Now I look out my window on Christmas morning and see it is beginning to snow. Should I go track some in before Julie gets up? Just in case?

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    1. Can you send some of that snow to Ottawa? It is +5C/40F and we have had over 24 hours of heavy rain!

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    2. You sure it wasn't Bigfoot? ("Santa, what big feet you have!") - but seriously what a lovely lovely memory - sounds like you got lucky with your relatives. And you dramatize that scene SO beautfully!

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    3. What a magical memory, Ann. Love this.

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    4. What a sweet memory of your childhood, Ann. Proof of Santa!

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    5. That is the magic of Christmas that I love. Such fun, and such wonder created by mere mortals who love openly. That's the spirit.

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  9. The year we had a brand new baby, much to the delight of our 7 and 9 year olds.

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    1. We have a brand new baby in our family, my first great grandson, who will be two weeks old tomorrow. Christmas is all about the birth of a baby isn't it.

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  10. Shalom Reds and friends. A secular Christmas was celebrated every year as I was growing up. As a child, I had no idea how hard one had to work to pay the rent and the bills and have something set by for Christmas with all the trappings. There were three of us children. I am the oldest. So each of us had a pile, they seemed very big with presents with each of our names marked on tags. There was usually some clothing. Then there were books. And usually, there was one large present of the type that we lusted for. I remember a Lionel Train set. My father found two sawhorses and a plank of ply wood to set it all up in my bedroom. I remember a microscope one year. Stuff like that.

    However, the gift that has endured these 60 years later, were three records from my Aunt Una. When I was four or five, she gave us (me) a 45 rpm record of Elvis Presley singing Just Want to Be Your Teddy Bear. When I was a few years older, it was a recording of Bedrich Smetana’s Ma Vlast which included the Moldau. And one year, a recording of Kenneth Grahame’s The Reluctant Dragon, narrated by Boris Karloff. It is still in print and I, within the last ten years purchased a copy of an mp3 on iTunes, just to listen to, when the spirit leads me. I still like classical music. I like most types of music and sometimes try to make some myself. I like books but I love the human voice better. As an adult, I found some recordings of Ronald Coleman narrating A Christmas Carol and some other Dickens’ Christmas stuff. Someday soon, there will be an app, where you recite something and the program will spit it back to you in the voice of your favorite actors. (A whole lot more work for copyright lawyers. Happy Christmas to all.

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    1. Your aunt had good taste in records, David. I love Ma Vlast, and The Moldau is definitely the highlight of that work. I was delighted to discover how much voice work for children Karloff did after he stepped away from all the Frankenstein roles. He had a radio show for children in New York for many years and is, naturally, the narrator for the original television version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I'll bet your copy of The Reluctant Dragon was a gem.

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    2. Sweet memories, David. We celebrated secular Christmas, too. I was girl #3 so though we had a lionel train set it wasn't "mine" and, as I recall, it was missing quite a few of its pieces.

      I'm going to check out The Reluctant Dragon! Google says: Full text of Dream Days at Project Gutenberg. "The Reluctant Dragon" is a chapter of Dream Days. Link: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1288

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    3. Hallie, at least you girls got a train set! My brother, ten years older, had a train set, and it was the sorrow of my childhood that I was never given one. Dolls, pah!

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    4. I still want a train set. Just told Julie that a couple nights ago. She looked at me like I was nuts.

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    5. My mother always, always wanted a train set. Daddy got her one and set it up to run round the tree when she was 50ish.

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  11. Happy Holidays, dear Reds community! It's a very quiet one for us here in Columbus. We were expecting an inch of snow last evening, and got three inches instead, so that added a little excitement and a lot of beauty.

    In a weird way, I got a special gift last night. My sister is single and lives alone and for many years she has spent the holidays at our house. Bob and I sing at the late Mass and when we come home, we always all have a snack and a stiff eggnog while we unwind. We were able to do those things last night, but without my sister here, for obvious reasons. (The singing at Mass was 11 people socially distanced throughout a choir loft that normally seats 40+, and singing while masked, mainly for a congregation watching the livestream.) But when we got home and shared the snacks and eggnog, I really, REALLY missed my sister. It just felt so odd not to have her here with us. I choose to view this as a special gift: next year, when I anticipate her being here with us again, I will know to stop and fully appreciate her.

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    1. Yes, realizing how much you miss someone really is a gift. Next year the holidays will be super sweet and super special, the good Lord willing and the creek don't rise (again.)

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  12. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to the Reds and Readers - We are having a warm and rainy Christmas in the northern Maine woods, but it will be filled with laughter and love. We wish the same for all who read this!

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    1. Rainy and warm here in Boston, too... this week's foot of snow is mostly melted and my basement doesn't seem to have flooded (yet) so all's right with the world.

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    2. The rain pounded us and the wind howled (Connecticut) all night. I finally got out of bed at 5:30 to assess the damage. We are ok. Hallie, I thought about your basement, LOL, glad you are ok, too.

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  13. Happy holidays, everybody! Hallie, that whoopee cushion is a hoot. Whoever bought that for a child was a brave, brave adult. Contemporary composer Lowell Liebermann wrote a work for symphony orchestra and whoopee cushions. I remember the musicians of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra experimenting with the whoopee cushions extensively as they figured out all the proper techniques and nuanced movements they'd need to make them sound at just the right volume at just the right time. Classically trained musicians are really dedicated to their art, don't you know.

    My Christmas memories are kind of a happy haze of good presents and lots of food and laughter. One year my mother bought me my own copy of a favorite book I checked out of the library over and over again. I still have that. Another year I stayed up past 2 am finishing a stuffed dragon of my own design--a gift for my sister. She loved it, and still has it.

    Last night I got an early Christmas present when Deb's daughter sent me a video of Deb's granddaughter opening a gift I'd left on the porch for her. She liked the things I got her, but my favorite moment was when she was so eager to get past the tissue paper she simply draped the sheets over her head like a veil so her hands were free to dig deeper into the box.

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  14. Merry Christmas, everyone! It was in the 20s overnight and there is frost everywhere in Lower Alabama - the closest we get to a white Christmas. I hope all of you are safe and warm and well. Just a few more days and a better time will begin!

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  15. Christmas hasn't been quite such a big deal for me since my mom's passing but growing up, the extended family gathering on Christmas Eve was always something I looked forward to.

    The big meal at my grandmother's house (later my aunt's house when she took over hosting duties as my grandmother got older).

    The latter year visits from Santa Claus (who looked suspiciously like my Uncle Billy. That was done mainly for the great grandkids by that point).

    The themed costumed events for the gathering, my aunt's amazing chicken dish, the opening of presents. The latter years Yankee Swap gifts for the adults and the themes the gifts were supposed to be.

    The last year my grandfather was there, the year we gave my grandmother 1,000 one dollar bills because she told us the year before she didn't want any more presents unless we were going to give her 1000 dollars. So we took her completely literal.

    All great memories of Christmas past.

    Merry Christmas everyone!

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    1. Jay: What is a Yankee Swap gift? And the one thousand $1.00 bills was a genius idea. I love that kind of creativity!

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    2. Amanda, here's the explanation for The Yankee Swap - http://www.secretsanta.com/yankee-swap-rules/

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    3. Genius idea with the $1,000 Jay. I'm sure your grandmother was glad you didn't opt for delivering it in dimes, or some other denomination that would be heavy and even harder to count.

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    4. Just to be clear, it wasn't my idea to do the $1,000. I don't want to take credit for what I didn't do, but the entire extended family all chipped in their share to get to the dollar amount mark and then my Uncle David got the dollar bills.

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  16. So many great Christmas memories, along with a few duds. Like the time my first husband gave me a blonde wig for Christmas. Hmm. He left me for a blonde. (And I exchanged it for one that matched my own hair color, by golly.) Practice husbands, tsk. Steve does not always buy me a gift, but when he does it's something I end up using for years. An early, awesome gift was the floor-length down robe he bought me on our first Christmas together.

    This year we aren't exchanging gifts, although I bought us virtual concert tickets to two evenings of one of our favorite groups, Pink Martini. The first one was so much fun, and we're looking forward to the second one on New Year's Eve.

    That Whoopee cushion clip is sheer delight!

    Steve's local family always gathered at his cousin's for Christmas Eve supper, and a few small gifts being exchanged. The youngest child (in this case it was my husband and his twin) always got a jokey toy, usually something mechanical. The funniest one was the metal chicken that laid eggs. I remember laughing so hard at that silly thing.

    Jay, I can't even imagine how long it took to gather 1,000 dollar bills! You must have had to hit up every bank in town.

    Merry Christmas, dear ones. May your holiday be filled with warmth, love, and the wonder of childhood.

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    1. OMG, Karen, the blond wig story just produced the biggest snort of the week. That could be such a funny scene in a book! Merry, Merry Christmas!

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    2. "Blonde Wigs and Practice Husbands" -- sounds like a best seller to me, Karen! Happy Christmas to you...

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    3. Pink Martini is a great group! Enjoy the concert, and thank you for supporting the arts. Merry Christmas!

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    4. The blond wig for his brunette bride. Yikes. Talk about a 'telling' detail. Could be that'll show up in someone's book some time in the near future.

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    5. Karen, thankfully I didn't have to do the gathering. I clarified my post in a later reply just a few minutes ago. It was my Uncle David who went around to 3 different banks when everyone had sent in their share of the money. I was just the one who got to hand my grandmother the box.

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  17. Merry Christmas everyone !
    I don't remember a gift in particular but the Christmas years with little ones were certainly the best.

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    1. Danielle: I have no small kids in my life, but I agree -- the magic and wonder of Christmas is so beautifully reflected in their joy and anticipation of the big day. Joyeux Noel to you!

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  18. Frank gave various children fart machines one year. Evil person. One adult Christmas I really enjoyed was maybe 20 years ago. All of us grown kids and children were at my parents' while they lived in Plano. I had found old photos of us kids as little ones, young adults, whatever age in an interesting pose or background. Frank scanned, enlarged, and printed them up. Each sib got two 8x10 photos of themselves long ago. We had a ball as each opened his/her package to see what had been wrought. Great laughs and reminiscing.
    Merry Christmas Reds! We're enjoying a clear sunny day, blue skies, and temps going from the 40s to the 60s today.

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  19. A good day to you all. Merry Christmas. It's supposed to rain here in the San Francisco Bay area. As long has the burn scars don't slip, I'll take it. A special gift memory doesn't come to mind. A gift I'm enjoying this is a snowflake necklace. It's not small, bit larger than a 25 cent piece and has pale blue and aura-borealis crystals.

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    1. And now I've dropped the pendent down the side of my chair. Anyone have long, skinny magnet?

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    2. Hope you were able to retrieve it - sounds lovely!

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    3. Unfortunately it did not rain the the Bay Area. Sunny and mid seventies here in the South Bay. Apparently, the same for the next few days.

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  20. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate Christmas and wishing everyone a peaceful, happy, healthy season.

    Diana

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  21. Breaking away before dinner (rib roast for the meat-eaters and quiche for our vegetarian) to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Hoping that next year, we can meet with all our loved ones in person.

    As to gifts, I made the most successful one of the morning with a heated vest for Youngest, who is perpetually cold. She was thrilled, and said it felt like taking her electric blanket everywhere with her.

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    1. Julia, my son-in-law got heated socks to wear at the deer lease. He was thrilled!!

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  22. Checking in late here to say Merry Christmas, everyone! We had a lovely day so far. After miserable cold, high winds yesterday, it was still and clear this morning, if a wee bit nippy. We were able to have socially distanced Christmas in our driveway with the kids, opening gifts and watching Wren ride her new unicorn scooter. So that couple of hours was a gift I wasn't expecting. Now I'm going to start preparing Christmas dinner just for the two of us, prime rib with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach, but we may try to Zoom of Facetime with them while we eat in separate households. We have our Christmas crackers to pop, and silly hats to wear! Wishing you all quiet and peaceful day.

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    1. If you see this, Debs, I'd LOVE a recipe for creamed spinach.

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    2. Hallie is gathering recipes for next year when we all go to her house for the holidays!

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  23. Still raining! Raining and raining and raining... wishing you all the loveliest of evenings. Last night I made a gorgeous beef stew, and opened a big red wine, and we watched The Man Who Came to Dinner, which is SO dated, but still great. Today I am editing editing editing, which I look at as a gift to myself for how happy I am when I finish! (and during, too.) My younger grandson got a Pikachu onesie (he's 11, and I guess it's a cool thing, who knew) and revealed it with great joy on our Christmas morning zoom. Jonathan and I hardly ever get gifts for each other on Christmas--it's weird. And this year, certainly, we have all we need. Wishing you all good health and love and all good things and only good surprises.
    (And Karen, NO WIGS.)
    Love love love

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  24. LOL! I gave those to my nephews one year. My SIL got payback when I had boys of my own! The best!

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