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Mrs Guy is behind already, but she's been busy. Here's a review of 2019:
Great Stuff
- I got the baby in the King Cake at Mardi Gras
- Our lime tree started producing like crazy
- We had the kickoff meeting for my book
- I had some truly cozy times with the mama
- mrguy and I discovered that we really like Maui (more on that later)
- My sumo friend and I watched at least one match of every basho together this year, while drinking sake and eating snacks.
- My favorite Christmas Cactus bloomed
- I did a presentation at a fan fest
- I got to spend much quality time working in the archives with the founder of the forklift company
- I acquired a taxidermed armadillo that's wearing a cowboy hat and gun holsters
Bad Health
- A cousin, a workmate and an ex-workmate are all dealing with super nasty cancers
- We lost our sweet boy, Nose. On the other hand we had him for 23 amazing years
- I have reflux and it is super painful
- mrguy has a nickel allergy, of all things, and the diet is bad for him but clears up his skin eruptions
Good Health
- Ears does not have cancer
- Eyes has been given a (relatively) clean bill of health by her cardiologist, in large part due to the tender ministrations of mrguy
- I got invisalign. Is that good health or just maintenance?
Current Obsessions
- Are we related to our family or not?
- Grafting. Ask me about grafting citrus and camellias
- Sewing. I have only gotten as far as mending things, but that is a start
New Faves
- Rust Valley Restorers
- Repair Shop
- The new Mexican restaurant nearby
- My Tahitian uke
- Discovering that even on Maui we can have fun doing genealogy
Things To Look Forward To
- Germany in September
- Maui in October
- Next generation family gathering which hopefully will be a) going on without me or b) will have a different format entirely
We Finished / Are Going To Finish
- Suits (and mrguy just bought a box set of dvds)
- The Good Place
Best White Elephant Gift
- Dvds of Iz and Ferris Bueller, a VHS of H.R. Pufnstuf and an ipu
Best Christmas Stocking Stuffer of the Season
- Foldable mini cat-eye magnifying lorgnettes
Poopy Stuff
- Irish Citizenship Office rejected my application and keeps saying they'll refund my money and they don't.
- All that health stuff above
We truly had some highlights this year in stockings / presents:
- I received a pair of tiny folding lorgnettes
- Our brother-in-law received a very special present. Three years ago at the lake, his catch included a very old Sperry topsider, which he threw in the trash when he got back to the marina. Oldest neph retrieved it and this year put it under the tree for his uncle.
- Our sister-in-law had a special piece of jewelry repaired for my bro -- the ring that my dad and my mom's dad both wore. It's onyx and gold, with a center diamond. The diamond was used as a partial down payment on a car, back in the day, and grandaddy must have had the ring designed around it. I always liked the way that the sides resembled fenders.
In the lead-up to this year's Christmas middlesis was getting stressed. It turns out that she hates all the fancy stuff (crystal, linen, etc.) that makes for more work. This is the stuff that I lovingly held onto because I thought that's what the family likes, and change is difficult for some. Sis said she wasn't coming out for Christmas if something didn't change. She's the only one that can make change, because she has the strongest opinions. So she consulted with the rest of us, and we agreed to change. It all worked out.
Some of the ideas seemed like more work, and I spoke up for once. I asserted that I wanted my own style of Christmas. Colorful, fun, sparkly. And when I told the mama, she riffed on a bunch of random stuff but stuck to the idea of it being fun and we should dress down, not up. She called it our "Christmas Special." Well, ok!
At one point I wanted it to be influenced by RuPaul, but suddenly that seemed too difficult. What did manifest was tables covered in crazy fabrics from the thrift stores of our fair city and Stockholm, accessorized with granny's epergnes and, pink and purple candles from a recent estate sale. Oldest neph made a decoupage unicorn, and there were granny's jade fruit and unicorn drops from CVS.
The biggest change was asking the nephs and their families to make dinner. They rocked it. Youngest neph had caught the limit on the opening of crab season, so he made crab and artichoke dip, and brought dinner rolls. Oldest neph made the salmon. His wife and our niece made cookies, and middle neph and his family made salad, stuffed potatoes and beans. They all had a good time coming together and all of us were more relaxed. It rocked in every way.
We've decided that next year's decorative theme will be unicorns. And the nephs will do dinner from now on.
