(no subject)

I was up until 3 AM last night making hats and mittens. I'm totally a fucking elf. I should take pictures -- I'm pretty proud! I made two weird fleecy hats: one a squarish affair with tassels and fake leopard fur earflaps, the other a big blue stocking cap with fluffy white bits. These are for my one-year-old nephew, Stuart, and for Rob and Diane's other upcoming baby who's due on the 26th.

The mittens were for brother Paul (shown here with Stuart, last Christmas). They're deliberately a bit stranger. I don't dare describe them without photos. I think he'll be amused, at least.

Tonight, David and I are off to Rob and Diane's new place in Michigan. We'll be back Saturday. I can't imagine wanting people to descend on me during the holiday frenzy while also being hugely pregnant and having a frantic 14-month-old waddling about, but those seem to be Diane's wishes, so hey.

I find that I can't muster up any real resentment or bitterness about Christmas this year. I don't have a TV and I don't hang out at the mall, so I seem to have missed all of the annoying muzak-carols and Christmas sale circulars. I get to go see my nephew, who is old enough to interact with the world. If I'm lucky, it'll snow at their place and we can take out the snowmobiles. Brother Paul's decided to come along, and even spend voluntary extra family time with us. My boss moved hell and earth to get me a couple of vacation days despite the turmoil around this place. I have a house that's a home, I have the best life partner in crime that I could ever have hoped for, and we finally get to be the relatives who drop in and give our siblings' children noisy toys and then leave. I can't wait until they're old enough to receive subversive books as gifts.

It's kind of neat. The world is kind of neat, today, and I'm pleased.