Peace On Earth, Goodwill Towards Men

It was an unusually peaceful day today. I seem to be one of the only people on the planet who isn't running around, trying to get everything done! I started Jodie's pudding pie this morning and finished this afternoon. I always make Dad's girlfriend Jodie something for her Christmas Eve party for her Christmas present. The pudding pie I made for her son's graduation party last July was such a bit hit, I thought I'd make her another one.

Dad was one of the people running around, trying to get everything done. He was wrapping presents when I went over to his and Uncle Ken's house to do this week's laundry. I got to show off my new camera to Dad, and then Dolores and Uncle Ken when they got home. I even got a really nice shot of Uncle Ken sitting in the couch in the downstairs den area known as "The Eagles' Den," where he keeps all of his Eagles paraphernalia.

I also got to show it to Jodie and Jessa when they came in from shopping and confirm our Christmas Day plans. Sounds like we're going to meet at 10AM and visit various relatives, including Samantha and her family, Karen and Jim, and an aunt of Jodie's.

Rose passed through as I put away my laundry. She, too, was apparently knee-deep in unwrapped presents, but she wanted to pick up my presents (wrapped) to deliver to the family in Cape May County. She'll and her boyfriend Craig will be going down to Erma tomorrow morning and coming back in time for Jodie's party.

I did run into Collingswood to donate the three videos I replaced with DVDs yesterday to the Friends In Deed Thrift Shop. I picked up a few Christmas gifts for myself, four more records and a Peanuts Christmas comic book. The records this time around were a studio cast recording of The King & I featuring Broadway leading lady Barbara Cook, the original Broadway cast recording of Irma La Douce, a double-disc set of Glenn Miller songs, and a set of Leonard Bernstein and the London Philharmonic performing Christmas music.

I spent the rest of a quiet afternoon watching It's A Wonderful Life and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and finishing A Christmas Story (which I started to watch at Uncle Ken's). It's really weird to be finished with everything. The only thing I need to do is deliver my remaining gifts. Everything is wrapped. Everything is baked. Everything is made. There's nothing left to do.

It's really a lovely feeling.