Well, I’m home after having a brief supper with Derek, Mike, Mom, Wilton, Anna and some assorted misc. Brazilian pals of mater’s.
It was very nice to see Anna… she’s a nice Swedish lady about my mom’s age, very cool. She made glögg(sp?) (glug?), something I knew nothing about until last year, via my sweet flower. The drink is a mulled wine mixed with vodka, cim-a-nim, some spices and orange peel. fragrant, warming, and delicious. She gave me a very traditional present, a lovely one… cloves stuck in oranges as a sort of potpourri on a beautiful plate with a holiday scene drawn on it.
My brother and I abstained from trading physical gifts this year, instead, we simply wished one another well, and had a good time together.(He did however weave a great little cat-dancer for Newt out of some palm fronds. 🙂 very keen, and Newtieboy really digs it.) I met his roommate Mike and he seems like a stand-up guy.
We got mom a bottle of wine, a little cardinal knickknack, and a card…all of which I imagine she’ll like when she opens them up tomorrow. (no big prezzies until the 25th, that’s the rule.)
supper was nice, broccoli cassarole, potatoes au gratin, rice, aparagus something or another, and there was pork for them that wanted it… and the conversation was ok, some things flowed well, others, no so much. I’m glad that Anna and my Brother were there to lubricate conversation, and aid in the general flow. I got a bit stressed near the end, mostly due to the claustrophobic surroundings, and way too much portuguese and my inability to cleanly translate much of it. Hugs and smiles were given all around when I left, so that’s a boon.
In my stocking there was some lovely loot, the majority of which were toiletries… bath gel, razors, exfoliant for feeties, a new toothbrush, and outside of theme, a swiss-army knife. nice… I’ve been wanting a replacement for my old one, which has been resharpened and weathered to death. The blades on the new one need sharpening, though, especially on the scissors, so I’ll devote some time to that tomorrow… using the whetstone is very soothing, and I’ve not made use of it in a long time. I have no idea how to sharpen the sawblades, though. Oh well. the rest are darn handy.
I’m full, and calm… on a good way to holiday cheer. 🙂