A couple of blogs I have frequented in the past few days (such as
here and
here, thanks to
here, in case you need some reading) have an 8 Random Things meme. I was inspired to do the next set of 100 things, and it is the holiday season. The 'we' refers to various combinations of family members.
31. The Christmas CD I have listened to over and over and over again this year is Sarah McLaughlin's Wintersong. It has a lot of classics, a few new songs, and I like her voice.
32. When we moved to VT, the house's previous owners had planted about 20 Christmas trees in the backyard. After a couple of years, they were big enough that we would walk out in the backyard, pick one out, cut it down, and have it in water within 30 minutes. Talk about a fresh Christmas tree!
33. Growing up, my Mom always made homemade pizza the day we decorated the tree. The crust would rise while we decorated, all the toppings would be laid out, we'd top the pizzas, then we would get to eat in the living room and look at the tree.
34. For many years we had a routine during this holiday season. Thanksgiving was at our house and my Mom's parents (and grandmother for a long time) came. Christmas Eve my Dad's mom and her sister would come up, Christmas morning was quiet, and then the onslaught of relatives
started around noon (in a good way). New Year's Eve, my parents would take us out to a nice dinner.
35. My sister and I got a new music box every year. It is the only present I remember being from my parents, and not Santa. When we turned 18, we got the last one and it was a Father Christmas.
36. My parents had their first date, dance, and kiss on New Year's Eve. They always got a little sappy and we pretended to be disgusted.
37. The first year my parents told us we could stay up until Midnight on New Year's, I totally fell asleep in a chair and they had to wake me up for the apple to drop.
38. On New Year's Eve, my family always played the new games we got at Christmas.
39. Even though my sister has been married for nearly 10 years, I was the first child in my family to miss a Christmas when I lived in China. Luckily, I got to spend it with two college friends (KHC & Molly).
40. In high school, I played in the bell choir and recorder ensemble at my church. The recorder ensemble had soprano, alto, tenor and bass recorders and played at a tree farm before Christmas. If the only recorder experience you have is from elementary school, you are really missing out. The sound of all those recorders was amazing (if I do say so myself).
My Dad chose lobster for his birthday dinner (Dec 24th). Those who didn't want shellfish got bacon-wrapped filet mignon. I was not actually told I had a choice beforehand, but had I been asked, I would have had a hard time deciding.
My nephew and Dad made sure to put a chimney-cleaning thing in the wood stove on the 24th, and it worked! Santa fit down the chimney and out the wood stove to bring gifts. Amazing.
Not only did Santa fill all the stockings, but he also remembered to put some presents under the tree with all the family gifts.
Now that I've unpacked, done laundry, watched the Patriots game (YAY!), stopped by lab, reviewed proofs of my first paper to be published, and checked on the lab animals, I need to post this, and go pack for New Year's. I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year!
