Yay, amyth! That's great to hear.

Pix, that is awful. I'm sorry you have to deal with that.

msbelle, I'm sorry that things aren't better with Mac. All sorts of ~ma for you.

Public Service Announcement: The chocolate hazelnut cookies from Trader Joes are excellent. You should all get some on your next trip to TJs.

So, Christmas Eve apps. My aunt is bringing cheese and crackers. I'm making some spanikopita-like filo cups. I also have edamame in the freezer. What else could I do that might possibly pull that all together? Just crudite?

Maybe those ready-made mini quiches that come in a variety of flavors?

Crudite and a dip maybe?

Oh yeah, crudite always comes with dip! I think I'll just do that and call it a day. I have to bring some to church for the choir anyway, so two birds/one stone.

That sounds like plenty to me.

Thanks!

Made it to B'ham, 45 minutes late. Briefly got to see the parents for dinner. Odds of getting a plague? High. My brother and the boys are all recovering from some evil fever and throat thing.

PJ is dealing with a major crisis in her district (a baby had an undiagnosed medical crisis in daycare & now isn't expected to survive) so I think a lot of this week will be keeping everyone out of her hair. And it's supposed to rain pretty much every day but tomorrow. But, my parents' hotel is literally across the street from the Y, so I can probably take the boys swimming at least a couple of days. They've always let me before.

I need to go to bed, but still wound up. Which is unfortunate as I won't probably sleep well. My nephew thinks his bed is super comfy, but he's 8 and less than half my size. I'd volunteer to sleep on the couch, but with all the sickies, someone else might need it.

(Also, I'm an asshole guest in that I stay up much later than most. Don't need company for it, just awake. Same at home hosting.)

Hope you have a lovely visit, sarameg

Pix sending good vibes to Wilson, I'm sorry it's been such a cluster

We had a nice brunch at the Sycamore Kitchen and the day ended well, with my kids' first official viewing of The Wizard of Oz. Most of the rest of the day has been awful, with Frances throwing a royal fit over everything about her life, as she has the cruelest parents in the world, we are awful and love her brother more and she never gets anything ever and we don't understand her and ugh! And then Cody has been fuming in response, which is of course the reaction she's hoping to get. And I've been torn between annoyance at both and deep wells of empathy for them. I wish the holidays weren't so stressful.