Something something Christmas Eve

I did warn you yesterday that I was out of pointless photos of snow for the moment. Here's an old picture of Snow in Summer to make up for it, though.

Now then. On to the post which, as you can probably tell by the title, I don't actually have a clue about just yet. My life, thankfully, has been a lot less interesting so far this morning than yesterday was. I'm sort of hoping it'll stay that way.

Not so good for the blather, though.

Well... I suppose since I put it in the post title I could talk a little bit about Christmas Eve. Probably just a little, but we'll give it a try.

My Christmas Eve when I was a kid was probably a little different than the average North American WASP's Christmas Eve generally is, because it involved presents. Every Christmas Eve we would head over to my paternal grandmother's house (usually making a detour along the way to drive up to the local mental hospital's grounds to see the decorated trees -- not as weird as it sounds, honestly -- while listening to the NORAD Santa report on the car radio. You can find it here now, but I'm old enough to have listened to it on the radio instead) to open gifts with grandma and my two uncles.

Right about now some of you might be wondering whether I have German ancestry or something like that. I'm not in the mood to do the research (you can, if you like), but it seems to me that I remember hearing something about the English royal family always opening their gifts on Christmas Eve because the tradition started with Queen Victoria (herself largely of German descent) and her German consort Albert. Well, I'm not German. As far as I know, anyway.

What I didn't know until comparatively recently is the why of our Christmas Eves. A couple of years ago my father and I were talking about... you know, I can't remember what at the moment, but he mentioned waiting every Christmas Eve for his father to get home after closing the bar so that they could open presents. My grandfather was the bartender/manager at the local Legion, you see, and because of that generally worked on Christmas Day. That's why his family had their Christmas the night before.

Um, I guess. I hope I'm remembering this story right. I know it was something like that, anyway.

Funny to think that my growing-up Christmas Eves were shaped by the job of someone who died long before I was even born, though.

Today? Well, nowadays presents happen on Christmas Day like most people's, and I don't even know if the hospital still decorates their trees. I guess it was a pretty short-lived family tradition in the end, but it's still kind of neat to think about.

Happy Christmas Eve, everyone.






Oh shoot. I was going to talk about my father's tissue-paper-filled gift bag, wasn't I? Ah well. Maybe tomorrow.

Hey, I should blog

And I suppose I should take some more snow pictures tomorrow. This is the last of the current batch.

Gee, pictures of snow. That reeeally sounds like fun...

Anyway. I should blather. I should. I'm not sure what to blather about, though, since the day turned out to be more eventful than I had expected. Unfortunately, not with events that I feel like elaborating on except to say to EVERYONE that driving while talking on the cell phone is a bad, bad thing. Don't do it. Ever.

Um... Now I have to elaborate at least a little, right? Well, let me just say that witnessing someone's accident through someone else's phone conversation can be pretty scary. Especially when the someone on the other end of the line suddenly doesn't answer. Everyone's ok, thank goodness. But please. Everyone. Driving should be driving. Period. Not EVER driving and whatever else you think you can manage at the same time.

I think that's all I feel like managing today, although the above was just one facet of my too-interesting day. I think I prefer boring, to be honest.

See you tomorrow.







When, if you're lucky, I'll tell you why my father's getting a gift bag full of tissue paper for Christmas.

I'm trying, I really am

To not be as snitty as I was yesterday, that is.

Honestly, I am.

It's just... winter, you know? Winter just brings out so many things that I hate.

Like cold. And snow. I simply can't understand anyone's wanting snow (other than for skiing on, I guess. But then, Gimpy the Wonder Klutz here can't really understand the need for skiing either). It's so... part of me wants to say snowy, but I suppose I should avoid being the Department of Redundancy Department today... let's go with inconvenient, then. Snow means digging out the car (and me having to dress like a polar explorer just to dig out the damned car). Snow means that the roads will probably be crap, and that the drivers who haven't figured out that the roads are crap will be scary.

Speaking of which, and in part 1342 of the continuing series I Hate Your Truck, why is it that the STDOTDs (that'd be Stupid Truck Driver of the Day, for those of you who don't follow my personal acronyms religiously. Or at all) who drive the biggest, baddest four-wheel drive wondermobiles can't seem to figure out that it should probably be them who move over into the deeper snow on narrow roads? I drive a freaking Saturn, for Whomever's sake. If I get stuck I'm liable to stay that way. And it's not like the STOTDs are going to offer help when it happens, right?

Um, anyway. Idiots in trucks bug me even when the roads are fine, so I should probably leave that topic for another day.

And besides, I did actually get more than a couple of hours of sleep last night and I'm honestly in a better state than I was yesterday and the day before, so I really should try to be more pleasant. 'Tis the season, after all.

Stupid snow, wrecking my mood.

I just now typed another whingy snow paragraph, but I've deleted it. Somehow I think I've more than made my point today.

Now if it would only stop snowing long enough for me to feel like doing my Christmas shopping.






Um... yeah. Sad but true statement there. I did mention that some of you will have to be planning to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas this year, right? By then I may actually have bought you something...

Yes, there's been a shortage of posts.

Wanna make something of it?

I'm working on a severe lack of sleep here, so I'm quite willing to slap you silly.

Just so you know.

Ok, the mood's obviously great. Add that to the yet more snow we're getting (and yes, I know it's nothing compared to what the east got. Any snow is bad for my general anti-snowness, though) and the lack of sleep (and did I mention the lack of sleep?) and I just don't quite know how I can fake a happy post.

So maybe I won't bother.

I will try to write a few actual wordy-type posts over Christmas to make up for this snittery, I promise. Emphasis on the try part, however. We'll see what happens.

And another snow photo

And another I need to get back to work so this is all you're getting post.

They're exciting, aren't they?

Later, all.

Pointless snow photo of the day:

Because snow is the ultimate pointlessness, as far as I'm concerned.

That's it for today. I've got to go take a walk.

In the snow.

But at least it's melting, so I think I'll survive.

The traditional Christmas Tree post

What? Everyone has their Christmas traditions, right? One of mine happens to be decorating the tree and then taking a streaky, flashless picture of it. I do it every year, so it must be a tradition.

All right, all, right. See below for a non-streaky flashless picture.

But bonus points on the top photo if you can tell where the incandescent lights end and the LED string starts. I get a kick out of that effect, but then I'm easily amused.

Anyway.

Big day for me today, I guess, since I actually went outside about a half hour ago and didn't feel like my nose was about to snap off. Yes, boys and girls, it is not -30C outside. It's not even -20C.

I may fall down in a faint.

I may also have no excuse to not be on the highway today as well. Ok, let's revisit that sentence. I have no excuse to skip another day of work, so I'll be heading home in a little while.

This means, amongst other things, that you can look for the next few blog posts to go back to the "I'm busy, here's a photo" variety. No doubt I will be busy. Good thing it's the slow time of year for what I usually do, or I'd be unimaginably busy.

And what is it that I do, exactly?

Let me know if you find out, ok?

Anyway, I should go get my stuff packed and think about heading out before things get too warm and too slippery.

Who've thought I'd be saying that a few days ago, eh?

Catch you later.