Christmas Season: Part II

A few belated Christmas photos as of the last night before the oh-so-desperately-awaited Solstice. We have, happily, finished our Christmas-related outings, not including Christmas day, of course. Last night was the Seattle Choral Company's presentation of "On Christmas Night," a somewhat eclectic collection of songs organized around a theme of Dark (first half) and Light (second half). Scott felt that a lot of the songs were similar in tone, causing them to blur into each other. Possibly a stressful week and an extra bit of margarita at dinner (at the always excellent Oaxaca, this time the one on Capitol Hill) just made me particularly tired but, one way or another, I had trouble staying awake in a way that hasn't been an issue previously. I actually liked the focus on light/dark; this year, more than most, I've been aware of the need for holiday lights and the like in the darkness. But not enough to reconcile me to this year's choral program.

 Today we devoted the morning to taking Gradka to the vet ("ideal" was the word the vet used to describe her apparent physical condition, much to my conditional relief: I'm waiting for the blood and urine test results to completely let go of my Gradka-related anxiety). This afternoon was mostly given over to wrapping Christmas gifts. I'm giving people in my family pretty much the same (very desirable and useful!) gifts this year which made the wrapping a little on the repetitious side but at least I had a variety of wrapping papers to choose from--and the tree is a little more photogenic than it was a few days ago, what with having gifts beneath it now.

Of the tree I can only point out that the wall behind it is green, not yellow; adjust your colors accordingly.

The most exciting Christmas-related news is that this year's box of cookies has arrived and been opened at the Thornton house, meaning I can now post a photo of the box as it looked before it was entrusted to UPS. One might note that the frosting is smudged on the iced cookies. Quality was maybe not Job 1 in Madame Gradka's Cookie Factory this year.

2014 edition of the Thornton cookie box

Not included in the box was this cookie that I sort of feel embodies the Christmas season:

Though, in truth, an aviation (or two) while watching It's A Wonderful Life almost turns that frown upside down, even if it didn't restore the lost leg.