Not bad for a Christmas Day, especially when compared to three others I readily recall in their horribleness via cold snaps and two were also in the southern portion of the US. The record holder remains 1993 because my grandmother’s house was poorly insulated. Sure it was disappointing for 1983 and 1988 yet I blame myself for having my hopes up too high; those years redeemed themselves for recovering sooner than the Midwest or Great Plains ever will.
As I write this, the Arctic Front is pretty over for Central Texas. We still have two days with overnight temperatures dipping below 0° C but -2° C is not very serious, it’s expected at least once every Winter.
We had a pretty good, brief celebration at Castella di Maggi with Jennifer’s family. Her mom, her adult children, her brother and all the significant others they have. The food food food! Looking forward to the leftovers I’m taking to work since the cafeteria is closed. Gifts were exchanged too. I made out well! The biggest thrill was a new gym bag. See how I tied this all to the food‽ Now that I’m over 40 (by a lot), I can see how adults are stoked to receive gifts I thought were lame when I was a kid and young adult. Obviously I could go out to Academy or Dick’s Sporting Goods, find one to fit the bill. It’s just cooler when Jennifer picks one out and gives it to me as a gift! Hell, she found something I’d never find in a decade! Plus it’s orange. The supplemental stuff I scored her was successful which makes me happy. Jennifer’s main gift was wireless/BlueTooth Beats, the earbud kind. They just weren’t a surprise, we cooperated on figuring them out: price, where to get them, etc. This year I wanted to throw in extra stuff due to her always spoiling me with little stocking stuffers.
The cats were also well-behaved whenever they escaped from the master bedroom. All but Isis were “locked up” because you know how creatures this small will get stepped on and worse, Metztli and Nubby will jump into others’ laps, hoping for a bite of people food. After the big meal, they were permitted to hang and receive cuddles though.
I hope you all had a great celebration regardless of what the official holiday was. We’re at the doorstep of 2023 and my favorite, New Year’s Eve/Day. Time to start the first draft of what I want to actually achieve versus what I will continue to kick down the road. Given KAL having a direct flight from Austin to Amsterdam (weird right?), I’m confident the badgering I’ll get from Jeremy will be amplified.