Winter 2009...

New Year's Day
There were occasional calls from New Year's well-wishers. I didn't hear from Josh during Christmas, but, he did mange to leave a quick message on New Year's day. New Year's day was itself, quite subdued -- as indicated by Charlie. I spent most of the day working though some issues on the various web sites that I manage. The weather wasn't all that good -- windy and cold. The Mummers parade didn't start until around 10:00am and even though it was only supposed to be six hours this year (due to bugdet cutbacks), it still managed to drag on and on and on and on... I'm not really a fan of Mummers, but, I had the parade on for a bit. Charlie spent most of the day napping.

Christmas
As Christmas day approaches, the fake tree was decorated and piled high with boxes and bags. Despite the reports of doom and gloom in the economy, we've still managed to put together an impressive-looking pile of goodies for the upcoming holiday. The tree is a fairly inexpensive model from our local Wal-Mart. Instead of being relegated to a corner, this year, the tree has a place of prominence next to the TV. I didn't have a lot of gifts to get -- just the immediate family and a few others. I hate crowds and the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, so, every year, I try to have all of my shopping done before Black Friday.

I made up a list of who was going to get what and went out on a marathon two-day shopping spree and got nearly everything on my list. This year, the family has more than a few reasons to count its blessings -- we made it through another year and against all odds, almost all of us are still around. Sadly, my grandfather, Rafael, passed away last April. This'll be our first Christmas without him -- sort of. Rafael wanted his ashes scattered at sea, but, after the extraordinary cost involved in the funeral, I couldn't afford the trip to Virginia to actually scatter his ashes. His ashes are still in the house awaiting the trip to Virginia.

This year, as in previous years, there will be feasting on Christmas day. The Christmas menu will include various salads -- potato, macaroni and the more traditional variety. The menu will also include roast pork, chicken, lasagna, stuffing and a variety of deserts. As in previous years, I expect that my brother and his family will spend Christmas morning at their house and wander over for free eats and gifts around noon.

Thanksgiving
This is the first Thanksgiving holiday without my grandfather, Rafael. It was a low key event -- just family and a handful of friends. Some of the people that would have stopped by for a visit, decided to have other plans this year. Tony and his family showed up, as well as Christina and her son. This year, the spread included three fruit pies, two pumpkin pies (one with cheese cake filling), a raspberry cheesecake, turkey, ham, roast pork, meat balls, potato salad, macaroni salad, baked sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, and greens.

Charlie, my 26-pound kitty, decided to find a relatively quiet spot away from people under the dining room table. Although Charlie is a well-mannered kitty, he doesn't really like to be around people. He likes it when his house is quiet. Every year, the success of Thanksgiving is determined by how much leftovers are left. This year, it pleases me to report that there was very little left for the next day.

On an unrelated tangent, all of my Christmas shopping is done. I made a special effort to ensure that my shopping was completed before Thanksgiving. For some people, Black Friday is the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, but, for me, it marks the end of my holiday shopping.