It's a Christmas Miracle

My husband is, as we speak, putting on a new toilet seat. This is the miracle. Because I bought the thing nearly three years ago when one of the feet on the inside of the lid of the old toilet seat disappeared, so you can't sit on the closed toilet seat without feeling like you're about to fall over into the sink, but the new one has been sitting there, in its box, since I got it. First it sat in the hallway outside the Hubs' office room, and then, tidying up, probably for Christmas Eve two years ago, I put it into the bathroom, against the wall next to the toilet. And there it sat, collecting dust. When I was cleaning the bathroom just before -- it is Christmas, after all -- I asked him if he might possibly change the seat today, and he said brightly "You know? I was just thinking about doing that!"

Omigod. Men.

(I can't do it myself, btw, because I no longer have the hand strength to unscrew the plastic bolt that holds it there, and didn't even when I bought the new seat.)

One of the odd things about Christmas Eve dinner is that even though we make the whole thing and eat it here (unlike Thanksgiving), is that it's much less work all the way around. It's just a much easier meal, I guess. The Hubs will have to take out the table later, but he can even wait for the SnL to help him, since he'll be here by five. Last year after dinner, the two of them put it away in a flash. Ahhh. Mothers who have only sons may perhaps dream of a daughter in law to go shopping with, or like that. Mothers of daughters dream of someone who can help their husbands lift heavy objects and therefore avoid untimely death.

There's not much I need to do at this point. K is making a squash sauce for one of the two pasta dishes, and when she's done, I'll make the pie. (I got strawberry pie filling. Actually, if strawberries were in season, I could make this filling easy, because I used to make strawberry pies years ago and it's not that labor-intensive to make.) Anyway, so I need to make the pie, and then there's not much more I can do until later. I've got the tablecloth and napkins in the dryer, not that I didn't wash them last year, but then I left them in the basement, so a freshening up was in order. This year, I'll put them away in a drawer in the living room with the other Christmas stuff. And maybe by next year I'll have a real table that doesn't have to be folded up and stuff, and I'll even invite the new ILs, which is to say, R's new ILs, which is to say the machetunim.

Oh, okay, when I left school yesterday, before I went to the supermarket, I made a quick run to the smaller, emptier Macy's in Paramus:

I don't have a firm plan yet, but I knew it was the red that attracted me, so I started with these few pieces: two pasta bowl sets (since we serve two pastas on Christmas Eve) and a smaller serving bowl, which I'm going to use for garlic bread. (I know it's small for bread, but ain't it pretty?) And the whole thing will look nice on the table with my red napkins and white Corel. Hmm, must remember to gather some mugs beforehand. (I have no coffee cups, just assorted mugs hanging on a rack. I'm going to get Fiesta coffee cups and dessert sets, though, probably in rainbow colors. Remind me to write about my mother's dessert sets, which my sister has now, which is fine.)

Okay, so. My stomach is good today, I don't have my knee brace on since I'm not even leaving the house. Dinner and gifts tonight with our newly expanded nuclear family.

Merry Christmas to all who do that sort of thing, and the most peaceful of days to all.