Chapter 115: Merry Christmas to All!

Like most folks I've talked to, Christmas kinda snuck up and sprung at us from behind. We never really were prepared this year.

So the first week of December Bob and Nitro get the tree out of the window seat and set it up. This helped me get into the spirit and starting to think about what I needed to get done for the holidays.

 One of the things I needed to do was to make was a sock monkey for Eleanor, Eileen and Ben's newborn daughter. "Why a sock monkey?" you say. Really, I don't know. Why do I do half the things I do??? After a fruitless search of stores for "monkey socks" raw materials, and Sears being my last hope, I had an epiphany that I needed to change my plan. Quickly. I ordered the socks online right then while waiting for my friend to finish her shopping. I remember when Bob used to buy these socks at JC Penny and other local stores for work and I really figured they'd be easier to find. The socks arrived on the 19th and a couple of hours later I had turned a pair of them into one of the ugliest creations mankind ever devised and was on it's way to California the next day. I hope this thing doesn't scare Eleanor too much!

One of the other projects I got done was making some homemade mustard. I've always been fascinated by it although I am not exactly a mustard-lover myself. It was a fun project to do and much easier than I had anticipated. Fresh mustard is very strong but gets milder with time, so I hope my friends and family like a bit of "zip" in their mustard. If nothing else, it was fun to make and I learned a lot about the process. Below are my mustards all labeled, decorated, and ready for new homes.

Meanwhile, out in the living room Nitro has continued to be fascinated by the new climbing apparatus he's found in his living room. Obviously Mr. Innocence had nothing to do with the side of the tree being collapsed and a lot of ornaments on the floor underneath. If he could only talk, I'm sure he'd tell me who did this to my tree! 

Christmas Eve Kyanne and Ryan hosted their first family gathering at her new place. It was great they  finally had room for all of us to gather and swap stories. Our dinner was awesome, as expected. Thanks to everyone for bringing their special touches to dinner and to Grampa for all his shopping for our presents. :-)

A special shout out goesto Harry and Logo for giving up their furniture for the evening...

...although Logo did not go easily. A statement about this unecessary situation obviously needed to be made before she retired to a (comfy) bed on the floor. 

Chris and Kyanne watching the goings-on on the sofa...along with Logo. 

Meanwhile, while Harry and Logo unwillingly gave up their furniture, Bear did the same with his dignity. 

Is Bear waiting for Santa or dreaming of a quick getaway from those crazy people who have imprisoned him? 

Christmas morning breakfast provided by Carissa and Chris. 

More humiliation for Bear. He's just so darn cooperative it's hard not to see what we can get away with. 

 Chris looks very happy to be home with his dawg and wife. Texas is clearly not his "thang".

 Christmas Even Richard and Chelsea spent the night since Richard works only a few minutes from here. That way, they could get a jump start on their trip to Spokane and not have to start out from Buckley the next morning.

I was rounding up Nitro before bed so that he didn't disturb the sleeping living room tenants.  Richard pointed out that he was "up there", as in partway up the Christmas tree...again with the tree. All our other cats just hung out underneath the tree pretending they were out in the jungle somewhere, not in the tree in that very same jungle.

Bob fixed an amazing smoked turkey for our Christmas dinner. We had a great dinner followed by beer tasting and a night of games. 

We had a great couple of days, but we were ready to gather up our toys and have a good rest after all that fun. We hope you had as much fun as we did and can get rested up before next year!

Bob's beer update: The fermenting beer wort was transferred to a clean container for it's "secondary fermentation" stage. This should last a few days until there are no more bubbles coming from the air gap on the top (under the party cup).