On the last day of Christmas

It's hard to believe that Christmas is over. I hate how, in an effort to get time off after Christmas, I work all the way up to Christmas thereby missing out on the festivities and cheer. I'm going to try to do things differently next year.

It was a very nice Christmas though. I got off work Tues and headed to the homestead to spend the night. Michal was stringing popcorn, Mama was making pies, Peter was chatting to his friends online, and Joy was blessing us with loud Christmas music. Michal made me cry when she lost the thread off of her needle and didn't realize it until she had threaded a small pile of popcorn straight off her needle and onto the floor. She was amazed at how smoothly it was falling down the thread. :-) J got sent on a trip Christmas eve which meant he was able to spend Christmas day with us instead of sitting ready reserve at the airport. We had a nice breakfast around noon when everyone woke up, and then a scrumptious dinner later when we had room in our stomachs again. I missed having Christine, Scott, and Israel with us, but Christine mailed their presents and that's what really matters :-P.

Yesterday I slept as long as I could, then went out into the crowds to shop with the family. I'm not much of a shopper anyway, but after Christmas is a miserable time to be at stores. I've never seen so many people out. I rediscovered that the younger four children have as different of fashion taste as possible. Peter is always dissatisfied with my plain, comfortable choices. I'm shocked by Joy's wild and bright selections. Michal is 12 yrs younger than I am so I don't expect to like the same things as her. This is why I don't buy clothes for anyone.

After surviving that I headed to the TanJoe manor for pizza and hanging out with TanJoe and Jamie. Tanya's foot seems to be healing well, and gives me hope for the future. She has become quite a graceful hopper.

I decided not to leave for South Africa until Sunday. The flight today had space on it, but there were a lot of standbys and it's hard to tell where I fall on the list. There are only a few on standby tomorrow, and after the month I've had an extra day at home is a beautiful thing. I've been feeling apprehensive about the flight all week. I'm not sure why. I dreamed that I couldn't handle being on a plane that long (it'll take 19 hours to get there including the 1.5 hour stop in Dakar). The other thing that worries me is the thought of getting stuck in Dakar. Some people say they take on cargo there and I could get bumped off. This could be an airline myth... I don't want to find out. So in light of my apprehension I have put zero thought into preparation. I remember the first few times I went it seemed like I put weeks into preparation. I'm wondering if that was necessary, or maybe it was just because I was a novice. I guess I'll find out when I start throwing stuff in my bag later today.

I made some coffee just now using the Jones coffee maker for the first time, and I think I made it too strong. I feel like my head could explode. Is that normal? I'm so put out that I have a barista in my family and I still have to make my own coffee ;-).

I've been doing a pretty good job keeping my room neat. A few things have accumulated on the floor, but a load of laundry and putting the wrapping paper should return it to its previous state of neatness. I'm learning to enjoy it, thereby doing whatever necessary to keep it that way.

I'm off to pack. I'll probably be on a plane or in Africa next time I write (that thought actually gave me a little thrill :-D.)