Merry Christmas to All....

and to all a good night.  Now that we've all been able to fill our bellies with more glorious food than we ever needed, I know many of us are seeking out the most comfortable sofa, not to mention looser clothing.

I made a giant batch of cheesy potatoes to take to sister Carol's house for our family gathering today.  I waffled between a double batch and a triple batch and in the end I made a double batch.  Good thing since I brought home about half.  There was soooo much food a single batch would have been plenty.

It was a dreadful day weather-wise -- rained torrents much of the day with a high temperature about 41º -- very atypical for a Michigan Christmas.  On the other hand, though, we would have had many, many inches of snow had it been cold enough, so I'm really not complaining.

We gave my Mom her new camera and she cried.

I'll need to head over to her apartment soon to show her how to use the camera and make prints.

I didn't do a very good job of photographing everyone but here's my Mom with her 4 great grandchildren:

I didn't know what to get my great nieces and  nephews and settled on a Blockbuster gift card and bucket of their ready-to-pop popcorn.  I think they liked them, hard to tell with kids.  I gave my Mom the 6 pack popcorn assortment from Dale & Thomas -- I know she liked her gift.

My sister Carol gave each of her three sisters a really cute lighted holiday display ~~

I've got it on my kitchen table right now, just to see what it looks like lit up.  I'll find a better spot tomorrow.

I gave Holly the chiller pottery set from Jan the Potter and a couple of cookbooks.  Mike's gift was the flannel fish quilt I won at the quilt guild Holiday Bazaar.  They both loved their gifts.

 

I got a Meijer gift card from Holly & Mike, and a Right off the Sheep gift card from Kevin -- perfect!!

My friend Sue and I exchange gifts and here's what I got ~~

I'm such a lucky duck!  Can't wait to start knitting with this beautiful yarn!

I sure wish I had been able to take next week off from work -- I have plenty of things to catch up on.  Tomorrow I'll probably spend the day straightening out my computer.  Oh boy, can hardly wait.  I think I better get a good night's sleep so I'll have loads of patience to tackle the task ahead.

There were many times today when I thought about my Dad and how much I missed him and how different it is with him gone.  But there's a certain relief that comes from knowing that he's no longer suffering from the many things that ailed him over the years.  The lousy weather kept me from visiting his grave today but I'll head over there sometime this weekend.  I know he was with us in spirit today.

I hope everyone had a peaceful day and enjoyed the company of those they love (even if they don't always get along!).