Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas Eve in the Morning

The first sweet words of the day came from Maria. Her eyes barely open, she spoke... "Merry Christmas eve in the morning."


Hello Ferris. Merry Christmas eve in the morning.
Ferris is either wide awake and completely full steam ahead... or he is...


out!
This is how he greeted guests when they arrived for the big screening of the original "Tron." We had a holiday Geek-stacular festival, and the house was full of friends and family... a mini robotics reunion. Evidently finding DVD copies of Tron is not easy. Disney has them vaulted. We've had our copy since way back, because... well, because we are Geeks. Gosh, why would Disney want to hold back such a *ahem* "classic?" (*warning: colorful language link)


Speaking of colorful language and other sentence enhancers, I have been remarkably civil-tongued about a certain large appliance in our kitchen. The oven is still a bust!

Arggghhh!!! Mmmffwharbles! Snargggflat! Gnashwhackers!

A second part came, the 42 ton oven was hauled out, and nothing.
No oven wide enough for cookie sheets.
No oven deep enough for the big goose.
It was the wrong part.
Again.

And my poor mom, with six pies assembled and waiting, had to bake until the wee hours in the mini-side oven. Hopes are dashed. Cookie dreams are crushed. These are the domestic trials we endure. And still, we have refrained from truly ugly language.

Sorry. I just had to get that off my chest.


Life can be rough. It's enough to make you curl-up, cover your eyes, and take another nap.

Or have another party!

Ferris opted for another nap. We opted for an early Christmas celebration, with a turkey, big salad, lots of tamales and beans, smashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, cranberries, and those pies! And to enjoy the feast: Eunice and Becky, Julie and Adrian, Hans and Gretchen, Delia, and us...


My cousin Julie and her sweetheart, Adrian.


Maria knows when her aunt Gretchen is around, there is bound to be some glamor-time! They go way back with this tradition.* Maria loves her aunt Gretchen, and the quality time they spend together!

*editing this link, I discover yet another time I retained my composure under duress. lol


We had a little gift exchange. Hans and Gretchen are opening a skunk gag... they have such a skunk problem! My brother is about to resort to the use of special forces to rid themselves once and for all, so hopefully this Zhu-Zhu will be the the last skunk they have to contend with from now on.


This was the best gift of the night. Gretchen ordered puzzles made from our own family pictures. This 99 piece set is of Maria at the petting corral. A second one is a group shot from the same day in the country.

This is such a fun gift! Hold on a sec... I am going to get a link... Portrait Puzzles! Oh, and they are in Wisconsin... so they must be good!

Hans says the next one will have more pieces, because Maria and Gretchen finished this one so quickly! Maria and Gretchen just have sweet skills, and work well together.

Oh! Gosh! It's already ten. It is still Christmas Eve in the morning, but before it gets any later, I had better get off the computer and prepare for more fun!

15 comments:

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Merry Christmas from my house to yours! I just did a little catching up on your recent posts....your family members are very elegant dressed in their holiday finery walking the busy city sidewalks!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Merry Christmas Sara!
It's so sweet to see them in their finery... they have fun dressing up!

Anonymous said...

At first, I thought, "How did you get that shot of Winston in the box?" Then I realized it was FERRIS! Merry Christmas Eve in the morning (afternoon now) to you, Natalie. Sorry about the oven, but y'all are going to have the best time even if the oven doesn't work right.

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas Natalie to you and your family x

tea time and roses said...

Merry Christmas to you and your dear family Natalie!

Smiles♥

Beverly

Amanda at 32˙North said...

Merry Christmas, Natalie! Well, the workshop is nearly wrapped up for the season and now we can take a breather and relax. Just a few minutes ago, I finished the last few stitches on the last thing I had left to make. Now to wrap things and look forward to the morning! Have a wonderful, wonderful day tomorrow. I treasure our meeting! Amanda xoxo

Sabine said...

Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas. We spent ours watching Toy Story 3 with the children (me trying to hide my tears at the end..) and eating a bit too much, like every year.
And yes please, I want the original Tron on DVD too! Because my son hasn't seen it yet, and we're going to watch Tron 2 next week. Ah, geeks, you get them all over the world, I guess :-)

Alison said...

Just stopping by to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas. I'm sure it will be filled with loved ones, warmth, laughter and some really good food--STOOPID OVEN notwithstanding.

Enjoy!

Golden West said...

All best wishes at Christmas and for a new year of health and happiness! I'll be by often to read what's new!

Oiyi said...

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Golden West said...

We found a new movie this year you might really like - made in Finland in 2007, called Christmas Story, about a young orphan boy who finds happiness at Christmas by giving to others - beautifully filmed, heart warming - possibly the perfect Christmas movie.

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Golden West... we watched "The Snowman" on Christmas Eve... so lovely and soothing. I am going to find "Christmas Story." Thank you. I look forward to the new year ahead, and more visits to the Golden West!

Flartus... we have been having good times... even without the big o-v-e-n. Merry Christmas to you, and may you enjoy a new year with functioning appliances and good health!

Sabine... I had no idea how fortunate we are. Although, there is some debate about whether watching the original TRON is actually a sign of good fortune! lol... it is fun to see it in a nostalgic way. And Toy Story III... oh, yes, the tears! Remarkable story telling. Merry Christmas to us Geeks, all over the world!

Amanda... what a relief to know you can take a break. Does your workshop shut down for a long while? I am so glad we met... such a small world. Hope your Christmas is as magical as you make ours!

Beverly... you are such a dear. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Lusks... your white Christmas looked so lovely and quaint. I hope all is peaceful and bright in your part of the world!

Nikkipolani... I could have sealed the box and sent Ferris to visit all of you at Nikkipolani-Cat-Camp. He was not the least bit disturbed by any activity around his chosen nest. Merry Christmas to you and Roomie and all of those furry-purry-sooty kitties!

Random said...

Oh, my goodness! Your Christmas looks like it was wonderful. Especially the Tron part. The geekier the Christmas, the better!
I didn't know they were withholding the DVDs. That's immensely annoying - especially since they're not going to give us a new DVD, just the BluRay (and not all of us can play those). Thank goodness I have an HD copy on file.

Tron aside, though, I'm glad you got to spend the day having fun with family. Have a good rest of the holiday season!

Unknown said...

Hi Natalie. Catching up on your posts as I haven't had much computer access since Christmas. Had such a lovely Christmas-Eve-Eve with everyone. Merry Christmas, happy new year, and hope to see y'all soon. BTW, Uncle Pepe's brother came into our house last night while I was SITTING ON THE COUCH!! THE NERVE! They are so brazen!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Oy! Those skunks. You have had such a ridiculous battle waging!