More Bah Humbug! Friday for lunch we had our "Christmas Dinner" at work. We all went to a local restaurant called AJ's PrimeSirloin. Its a buffett restaurant, fairly cheap, and totally un-healthy greasy Southern fare. But it's close to both plants, and the boss-man was buyin' so who am I to pass up a free lunch? ;-)

While sitting eating however, I suddenly missed having holiday luncheons at the Board of Trade restaurant when I worked at J.D. Edwards in Toronto. They had some really awesome food on their menu I tell ya! The venison was particularly good. And we could linger a couple of hours, relax and enjoy the food and company, and have a glass of wine or beer with our meal. Not so here, no way, uh-uh!

There are a lot of things from back home that I miss, especially at this time of year. Like snow. Apparently Southern Ontario is expecting a record breaking snow accumulation this December, and the best I can hope for here is some cold drizzle. The last decade or so that I lived in Ontario we hardly ever got snow in December, and rarely had a white Christmas. Now that I'm gone, it seems to happen more often than not. *hmph*

I don't miss shovelling it, but I do miss playing in it, and I miss how pretty it is when its newly fallen and still clean and sparkly. I don't expect I'll ever see a significant snowfall here in Morganton. The most I've seen so far since I moved down here is maybe half an inch, which is usually gone by the end of the day. And yet everyone panics and empties the grocery stores of milk, eggs and bread at the sight of the first flakes! *snarf*

We had some really cold miserable rain yesterday, and of course we were out at a handfasting in Hickory. It started out as just a drizzle, but then turned later to pouring rain, just in time to drive home. The house was packed! and of course I'd forgotten my cloak in the car, which then had to be taken down the road to the community centre parking lot, so whenever I was outside to get away from the crush indoors, I froze. Luckily the ritual was indoors, but my it was crowded! There's just sooooooo many people with this bunch all the time, I always feel very overwhelmed and just want to go hide in a corner.

We also had pot-luck Yule feast (I made a punch with vodka, pomegrante juice, and Cranberry Sierra Mist pop, it was very yummy!) and played Dirty Santa game. We used to play this at JDE Christmas parties, but we didn't call it that. I think we called it Secret Santa. Anyhoo, its when everyone brings a wrapped unlabled gift, we all pick numbers and then we can either choose a gift to unwrap or steal someone else's. I got a nice Chinese tea mug, with a dragon on it and a lid, with some loose leaf Jasmine tea, and James got a 2008 Herbal Almanac book. This may come in handy for our garden next planting season.

We got home about 11pm, and the dogs were about desperate to get out to pee! And despite the time and the rain, they really really wanted to go for a walk but we were just too tired and worn out from the party. Maybe they'll get an extra long walk today, if James ever gets out of bed. It sounds really windy out there now though, I may need a toque. The rain has stopped though, and its sunny. Perhaps this is the Winter Winds clearing the way for the Solstice next weekend.

By the way, for James' Yule gift, I adopted him a tiger :-) Check out these links from MSN You can donate money in someone's name, or in honour of, and send that person an e-card or print out a card that tells them a donation has been made. You can choose tigers, lemurs, gorillas, African Savannah, or donate a goat to an impoverished family. I will get James a little stuffed tiger, and put the card with it, and he'll also get the e-card on Yule.

Really, we just have so much "stuff" and not much room for more. Tigers are his totem animal, and they're nearly all gone from the world. I know he'd appreciate to help save them. A few years ago my sister and brother in law adopted a polar bear for me at Christmas, and it was the best gift I ever got! If you've got someone on your list who you just don't what to get, if they're a charitable person, perhaps they'd like something in a warm Orangutan...? ;-)

Just one more week to go, and it'll all be over for another year. Maybe next year we can go home.  ¶ 10:20 AM