Today’s words: adroit, adept and deft.

Today’s epiphany: God is snapping his fingers, trying to create a companion, and we, the entirety of the universe are merely the sparks of failure.

Today’s accomplishment: Peanut butter and milk chocolate chip cookies.

Today’s movie: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Today’s bedtime: Any minute now.

Seven people were injured on Thursday when Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows in a dispute over how to clean the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Following the Christmas celebrations, Greek Orthodox priests set up ladders to clean the walls and ceilings of their part of the church, which is built over the site where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born.

But the ladders encroached on space controlled by Armenian priests, according to photographers who said angry words ensued and blows quickly followed.

Well, Happy Birthday, Jesus! Mind if we brawl at your birthplace?

Are there any true Christians out there anywhere?! Any true followers of Christ at all? I am beginning to seriously doubt it. Priests brawling at the Church of the Nativity, because a ladder went over “the line” … which begs the question: how exactly do you split a church right down the middle anyway? It’s just insane and sad.

Lin is off to the used computer store to buy himself a new (used) computer with the spare change he had laying around the house is various boxes and coffee cans. You are probably wondering just how much spare change we have laying around our house! No one knows for certain. It’s a habit we got into when we had no money at all. Throw your change into a can or box and forget about it. There have been times when that money was the difference between eating and not eating. Now though, it’s mostly used for mad money … like buying a computer that was selling for $3000 a few years ago for $189.

While he is out converting change into cash and buying his newish PC, I thought I’d take the opportunity to post photos from Xmas. I was going to use these few moments of peace and serenity to gripe about having Lin home 24/7, but we are only three days into an 11 day vacation. I’m sure there will be even more to gripe about in a few more days. Though I have to tell you, it’s been educational for Lin. He may finally be realizing I do more around the house than sit at the computer waiting for him to come home so I can make dinner. Yeah … no kidding.

Anyway, let’s kick this off with a photo of Lin!

Next up, from right to left … Kristi, Gerty, Patsy, and Rodney.

Finishing off the yearly family photos, from right to left, Inez and Mom.

And now Lin is back with his newish Windows XP box, so I best go ooh and aah over it a bit. Maybe it will keep him busy all afternoon and I can squeeze in some video game time on the big screen TV … or at least watch something other than military shows and stupid movies.

Had a good day with the family. Lots of eating and talking. It went well!

I did come home with a problem to solve for a family member, and it’s a big one. I think I can make something happen that needs to happen. I might have to ask the masses for help on this one though. More on this after I have done some more research and worked out a plan. I think I can help make something happen that will change someone’s life, and I at least want to try.

More tomorrow, and probably some photos. Too tired now. It’s time for a cocktail and lounging on the couch.

Hoe everyone who’s celebrating today has a happy and safe holiday!

Ceramic Santa painted by my super-creative mom!

I got everything done today I needed to get done. I don’t even feel especially tired. I want to watch some TV, since Lin has been in control all day and his choices sometime make me crazy. Hell, just having the TV on all day makes me crazy. I don’t turn it on at all during the day, unless it’s for yoga (or the occasional video game). Well, there just isn’t anything on TV.

Let me rephrase that: I want to watch TV, and there aren’t any Godzilla or Godzilla-like movies on TV, and I can’t bring myself to watch Destroy All Monsters for the ten thousandth time. I really need to get some more old monster and sci-fi movies on DVD for those times when the plethora of cable TV channels we have can’t provide me with a single stupid old movie to watch. I do love a good monster movie before bed.

Now that I am sitting here under the heat vent though, I am finding myself getting a little sleepy. I think I’ll go put on my pajamas and consider going to bed. We don’t have to be up too early in the morning, but some extra sleep might be nice. Extra sleep is always nice.

I can’t believe tomorrow is Christmas Day, and I am feeling so relaxed. Generally, when I am this relaxed about a major family social event, that means some kind of hell will break out the next day … some new and horrifying hell never before imagined. I’m trying not to be too paranoid. It is always possible that I am going to end up having a perfect Family Christmas Gathering for the first time in ages. I’m not holding my breath, but it could happen.

There it is … six hours of bread baking. The most amazing thing? I had so much fun. It wasn’t like work at all! I could have done more!

The kitchen isn’t closed just yet. The beans for dinner tonight are bubbling on the stove, and I still need to make the crab dip and stuff the large loaf of bread with it. Then all I have to do yet is eat dinner, finish the laundry, package the bread, and take a shower. I am literally covered head to toe with flour and olive oil. Though it’s been something of a long and busy day, I feel totally energized! Good thing since I still have a number of things to do.

It feels strange sitting here on Christmas Eve and not stressing out over something, like presents, but I am not stressing out about anything at all. Yippee!

After the beer and booze kicked in and he settled in with the bag of pecans and the Military Channel, I didn’t hear so much as a peep out of the mostly naked man in my living room. Even the cats have been well-behaved today, and my mom didn’t call ten thousand times like she usually does. My goodness, I had a productive, busy and great day today. That’s rare enough when it isn’t a holiday, but on a holiday, it’s virtually unheard of.

I hope everyone else is having a great day too!

Oh the beans are smelling so good. It’s still an hour until they are done, but I want to eat them NOW! I am sooooo hungry!

I am pleased to inform you that there is nothing more entertaining than having a mostly naked man in your living room narrating everything happening on the TV screen for you while you work in the kitchen. Yes, everyone must have this experience just once, and then they will demand their own mostly naked TV-narrating man.

It is also quite amusing to have a mostly naked man roaming around the kitchen seeking lunch. I informed him there was a slice of pizza for him for lunch today, and I would eat my leftovers from the other night when I got a chance to do so. He wasn’t pleased with the two-day old pizza, so he’s having a liquid lunch of beer, Irish Cream, and peppermint schnapps while he watches The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (again). Well, at least the narrating has stopped for now.

So, anyway … while I am waiting for the first batch of bread to get through its first rising, after which I will be busy, busy, busy with the bread production until I am done, I might as well babble about the party the other night.

I had a blast! No, really … a BLAST! Of course, I was completely nervous about meeting Lin’s boss and his wife. You only get one chance to make a positive first impression, and since I know they like Lin so much, I didn’t want them thinking he was married to some sort of artist-hippie-geek-freak from another planet, even though that may be slightly true. The pressure was especially on, because Lin said they were both really looking forward to meeting me. Eek! As it turns out, I was worried about nothing. Joe and his wife are incredibly cool people! It didn’t take long for me to realize I could totally be myself, and they would totally be OK with me being me just the way I am. That’s very refreshing, let me tell you. I was at ease moments after meeting them, and then the fun began!

After a few cocktails at the bar, where I got to meet the crew members I hadn’t met before, we all headed to the dining room to chow down. I was seriously tempted by some of the specials of the day, but I had my heart set on having the venison. I was so glad I stuck to that. It’s been a long time since I had venison, I have never had it made my anyone but myself, and I certainly have never had it in a nice restaurant. Wow. It was really, really good. The Lingonberry sauce was perfect on it too. Not so sweet as to take away from the strong venison flavor, it was just sweet enough to offset that, and the horseradish potatoes made the whole meal perfect. I was thrilled with my choice. Lin gave me a bite of his fillet mignon. It was wonderful too. We also had a fabulous wine, the brand of which I have already forgotten. It was classified a Super Tuscan and was some sort of blended wine. Very, very tasty. It had the same woody taste of a Merlot, but it was lighter and fresher tasting. I loved it!

[break to mix up second batch of dough]

After dinner, we all sat around the table talking and having a cocktail. So much fun! The conversation was lively and interesting, and you know I love to talk about all manner of stuff. But then the evening was over, so we took some photos, stood around in the lobby saying goodbye to everyone, and then finally Joe, Teresa, Lin and I went home as well. I was ever so glad I wore the velvet dress and my heavy wool coat. It got COLD while we were in there hanging out! Really cold!

When we got home, Lin and I thought we needed one more cocktail, but we really didn’t. He fell sleep without even touching his, and so I drank most of both the screwdrivers I made. That led to me passing out shortly thereafter and sleeping like a baby all night and most of the next day. Yes, I had me a bit of a hangover on Sunday. Small price to pay for having had such a good time on Saturday night.

Ugh. Well, the mostly naked man is now demanding a bag of pecans, a bowl, and something to put the shells into. There’s also a timer going off in the kitchen. Must be time to get back to the grind of baking bread and dealing with a vacationing hubby.

[10:00 am — in bed]

Lin: So what’s the standard procedure around here? Do we sleep all day?

Orb: Noooooo.

[11:00 am — in living room]

Lin: So what am I supposed to do?

Orb: What did you plan to do today?

Lin: I plan at work. I don’t have anything planned for today.

Orb: You’re the one on vacation. I guess you can do anything you want to do.

Lin: Anything?

Orb: Anything that doesn’t involve me. It’s Monday and the day before Xmas. I’m a little busy today.

Lin: Oh.

He’s already driving me insane.

Any moment now I will be starting on the Great Bread Baking Day. I need six small loaves of bread, one large loaf, and one round loaf for the crab dip. Then I have to make the crab dip, do some laundry, get together the stuff that is going with us tomorrow, and make myself look human (again). Yup, I am about to be very, very busy. In fact, I better get back to it. I also need to do the usual housework too, though that is actually taking second place to getting the bread done. My house can look a mess tomorrow, since no one will be seeing it. The bread, it has to be done.

A 50-strong gang of rampaging drunken Santas ransacked a cinema frightening customers, damaging property and swearing.

Ho, ho, ho! Merry Xmas! Reality is always more entertaining than fiction. I swear I couldn’t come up with anything like gangs of rampaging Santas on my own.