Sunday, December 25, 2022

Presents And Cinnamon Rolls And Children's Delight. What Else Is There? Oh Yes. Love


The fruitcake was unwrapped, finally and at last! May and I agreed that it was indeed a very fine year for fruitcake. Just the right amount of rum to cake ratio. Some years I use too much rum-soaked cheesecloth on the cakes before I seal them up in the aluminum foil but I went light on it this year and it was lovely. 


I am happy to report that Mr. Moon seems fully recovered from his traumatic event yesterday. We got up this morning and set about doing last minute Christmas things. Jack was on the dining table because there is a heating vent right below it. I have Florida cats and they are not happy about this cold. Maurice has decided that the warmest place is ON a vent. 


Go ahead and judge me on the filth of my baseboards. I deserve it. 

I baked the bread I made last night and we loaded up the car with gifts and headed over to Lily's house. Poor Lily and Lauren- they had gotten about two hours of sleep after wrapping all the presents after the kids went to bed and then getting up to start cooking. I don't know how they did it. The kids had already unwrapped the presents from their mama and Lauren and were pretty darn excited that more presents were coming. We made them wait so that we could all eat first which which did not make them happy although they tried to suppress their annoyance. Jessie and Vergil showed up with August and Levon who were also a bit frustrated at not being able to open grandparent and aunt and uncle presents right that second. When May and Michael showed up, Maggie said to May in an extremely stern voice, "You are very late!" 
As I told Michael, she is forty-eight years old, that Maggie child. 
Oh well. The grown-ups enjoyed the Christmas morning feast. Lily had made an incredible tart with caramelized onions and asparagus and some fancy muffins. She also had fruit and veggies. She'd cooked a ton of bacon and I scrambled some eggs for all of us. I brought the sausage cheese bread and fruit cake and Jessie brought homemade cinnamon rolls. 
Delicious decadence. 

And finally, it was time to open presents at which point all became chaos.




Eight adults, five kids in one room, everyone yelling, "Here's one for you!" Owen sort of took charge passing them out. There were so many good presents this year. Of course, most of mine have not arrived yet but there was still plenty to go around. 
I had to take many deep breaths. 

There was a time constraint because Owen, Maggie, and Gibson were being taken to their dad's house at noon. After they left, things did calm down some although Levon and August grew bored and were tired, I know. Aunt Lily got them settled down doing some art things. 


Lauren had built a fire and we all sat around, full and cozy and chatted and laughed for awhile. We called Hank and Rachel who are still every much enjoying their beach get-away. Chloe, one of Lauren and Lily's doggies, sat on my lap and I petted her for what seemed like an hour. Lauren said that if I'd let her, she'd sit there all day. Such a sweet baby. 



Here's the picture we got in a frame from all of them wearing the hoodies that Lauren ordered for them. 


I love it so much. 

Finally, we all decided to let Lily and Lauren get some rest and we packed up our cars and got on our way. Mr. Moon and I exchanged gifts when we got home and he thought I was going to be so disappointed in what he got me but actually, I was quite thrilled. 


My very own loppers! And new pruners! These are serious tools,  y'all! I told him that now he has to build me a shed to keep them in. 


So for years I've been joking about getting a Roomba. I do not vacuum because I hate it. I sweep but will admit that a broom doesn't get up everything. But still- a robot vacuum cleaner? 
Part of me says, "Fuck, no! That's weird!"
And another part of me says, "Fuck, yes! That's awesome!"
So. We shall see. We have it charging and I've downloaded the app you need to operate it and theoretically, the Roomba is now connected to my internet and Bluetooth. 
Okay. That's weird but it IS a robot.
I've also watched a video on Youtube done by a very pleasant man named Sidhu who has incredibly shiny floors and demonstrated the basics. I want my floors to look like Sidhu's! 
Perhaps tomorrow I will be brave enough to let the robot out of its charging station so that it can MAP MY HOUSE and begin cleaning. I'm not sure there are enough bags in the world for all the dirt and cat hair this thing is going to suck up. I may have to buy them by the truckload. There is also the issue that this very old house has incredibly uneven thresholds between rooms and hallways. There may be issues. 

This afternoon has been sweet and lovely with my Mr. We seem to be making each other laugh a lot and at the same time, we are being very tender towards each other. I could never have imagined such a thing when I was young. And yet- here we are. 

So it would appear we've survived another Christmas. 

Happy Whatever It Is You Celebrate. I hope it contained light and love because that is what really matters and what it's all about, despite what labels we put on it. 

Love, And Yours In Contentment...Ms. Moon


37 comments:

  1. Oh Mary a friend gave me her old rumba when I moved and I LOVED IT. Unfortunately it finally died but if I could afford the new upgraded version I would 💯 xor

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    1. I am already sort of falling in love with this determined little round robot.

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  2. Happy Everything Ms Moon. I'm excited you got a robot ;)

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  3. I had a first generation Roomba. I loved it--for a month. I hear they are far superior now.
    I think you had a very merry Christmas. I hope all the rest is just as nice.

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    1. Well, it does go recharge itself when it needs to. I love that.

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  4. It will take FOREVER to map, but after that the Roomba goes great.

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  5. good to see your family and to hear of a wonderful day! And new loppers! And a Roomba? Yowza....... any device that could help with cleaning may be a joy! A good friend of ours worked for iRobot when Roomba first developed. We got a test version that was loaned for a few days......was NOT impressed (sorry) but still....any cleaning that *I* don't have to do is a plus! Merry evening to you Moon's! Stay warm! Looks like the cats will!
    Susan M

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    1. Well, this one is a distant, new cousin of the first ones, I take it. We shall see!

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  6. i hate vacuuming so i fantasize about getting a roomba but we have three cats and two dogs who at times indiscriminately shit on the floor so i can't even imagine what that nightmare looks like to clean up, i'll stick to having tony vacuum.... enjoy the peace and light this season brings xxalainaxx

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    1. Oh dear. The pet hair might be okay but the poop would be just too much to bear. For me. Yes. Tony sounds like a far better alternative.

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  7. A lovely post. I wish you success with the Roomba.

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  8. Sounds like a wonderful celebration! We had a great time too and it is really quiet now that everyone has left. Looking forward to sleeping! :)

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  9. Wow! I didn't get a chance to read your Christmas Eve post until now. Nothing is ever straightforward chez Moon, is it?
    Your Christmas Day sounds perfect.
    I would love a roomba but two long haired beasts and two short haired ones who shed constantly would be a challenge even for a roomba. I will stick with my Dyson and my headphones when I vacuum so I can pretend I'm not.
    Stay warm, stay safe and stay happy. Love you to the moon and back.

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    1. I am so glad I do not have dog hair to contend with any more.
      And no- nothing is straightforward here!
      Listening to books and podcasts makes any chore easier.

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  10. Those are some very nice loppers and shears. I got new shears for my birthday and they are amazing.

    And I'm pretty sure you'll love your roomba. Ours is quite loud but it set it to work while I'm not in the house. The amount of dog and cat fur that it gets up is quite disgusting.

    Jack had a very good day today. Santa left a hotwheel garage for him here which he loved and then he went to his other grandma's and had fun.

    I'm glad you had a good day sweetie.

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    1. I'm glad that Jack was in a better frame of mind on Christmas morning. Hotwheels can do the trick!
      I hope that you and the Big Guy were able to get some much needed rest after he left to go to the other grandmother's.

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  11. You'll get no judging from me Mary, besides, I've seen filth and those baseboards are not it.
    I love all the happy faces and those hoodies! Even the dogs have matching ones! I love it.
    And cinnamon buns....mmmm.
    One of my friends had a Roomba several years ago now, I believe it got lost under a bed or somewhere and died from all the odd things it was picking up. Pins, pens, odd earrings.

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    1. Well, I'll be surprised if this Roomba doesn't ingest a few things that it shouldn't.
      Yeah- I agree. The baseboards aren't filthy. Just very dusty. And the dust in Lloyd is so hard to remove. It's got like some sort of adhesive to it.

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  12. What a lovely, chaotic day that looks, and everyone so happy. As for the Roomba (slightly) I thought about getting a "garden Roomba" for my lawn, but couldn't be arsed to go round laying down the necessary wiring (wouldn't want to be mowing the farmer's field)!!! so I got a gardener instead! Merry Christmas Mrs. Moon!

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  13. Sounds like a joyous day. The twins came over for a visit while they are in town. And that's about all that happened.

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  14. All cats are Florida cats. Here up north, we call sunlit patches on the floor-- inevitably graced with a basking cat-- "Florida spots."

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  15. Sounds like a wonderful Christmas to me! So much love and joy in your family!

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    1. We are pretty affectionate. And sort of crazy, too.

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  16. Perfect day! I was skeptical about Rosie, our roomba but it’s great for getting under furniture. They do take a really long time though and seem to repeatedly go over the same spot. I would be ecstatic about new gardening tools! Excellent gift!
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    1. I am excited about both of my presents- the Roomba and the tools! I am going to have a whole lot of stuff to try the pruners and loppers on. Sigh.

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  17. FRESCA here: Does the rhoomba do baseboards ? 😀 (I judge from yours that you have sensible priorities.)

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    1. Haha! No. The Roomba does neither baseboards nor windows. Too bad, right?

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  18. I love the hoodie photo! Especially the dogs! LOL!

    Glad you had a great Christmas and everyone survived the craziness. :)

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  19. 37paddington:
    What a beautiful noisy happy chaotic Christmas morning with the extended family. It’s my dream of the perfect Christmas morning, especially given that you get the quiet part of the day later, when you can go home and chill out and smile at the morning memories and not feel as if you missed anything at all.

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  20. The Dogs and the Kids having matching Hoodies is Adorable!!! The perfect kind of Chaos is a house full of Love and Children at the Holidays.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.