(no subject)

It's Christmas morning, there's and orange and white cat my lap, trying to lick my fingers as I type. Jacks is right, he is much more important than the laptop. His eyes are a cinnamon color I've never seen before. Such a long tail he has too. (he jumped off after my sister long enough for me to fix all the typos in this entry)

A large chunk of my next chapter is written, but I'm taking the time to polish it a little, flesh it out with some flourishes and swirls. But by tonight it should be up.

Merry Christmas livejournal land.

silver, coffee and cranes are for luck

Once we roused my sister, Christmas was nice. Lots of paper, and my mother bought the cats and entire box of toy mice. I hadn't noticed that my father left us presents, and it was sweet. He bought my mother these wonderful Cabela's slippers she likes, and gave my sister and I cookies with cash inside. It was awkward with my sister, hopw she won't speak to Dad.

I gave my mother a book on growing her new favorite flowers, and a set of soap and lotion to my sister. My mother gave me some lovely little pieces of silver jewelry, bracelets and earrings, a necklace and some rings that stack together. It is nice to have something to wear that makes me feel pretty. She also gave me a lovely print of cranes, and a perfect black leather case for my laptop. It's got lots of pockets and a shoulder strap. So shocked to see it, I squeaked. I wasn't expecting anything like that.

My most shocking Christmas gift came from Debra last night at Midnight Mass. She leaned over the pew to tell me that she was behind on the letters, but that I was recieving $2,000 in scholarship money for next semester. $2,000? I whispered. That's far more than I expected, twice what I recieved last year. She was grinning like a child, so delighted. I hugged her and tried not to cry in relief and thanks.

Mass was beautiful. The choir sang a piece of music I don't know the name to even though I played it often enough in band ages ago. Ukrainian Christmas Carol or something like that. It's used often enough in movies and comercials, and I could point it out to you if I heard it. Just beautiful, layers of voices ringing out into the white stone over the heads of the crowd. The Christ on the crucifix hanging over the altar seemed almost to be smiling at us.

I did not want to leave this afternoon. We made fudge, and played with the dogs, and watched Gene WIlder movies, and Miracle on 34th Street, because I love the scenes in Macy's.

I have a candle that smells like coffee. My windows are open onto this bright day. The kind of Christmas day I would ride my bike around, with books and drinks in my backpack, under the brilliant white sun in the crisp air. Get warm and pull off my sweater, ride bare armed in the chill. The scent of leaves, and fires, and Christmas lights on the bushes out front.

elf

Ahh, there's just something about this one. I wanted to be an elf so much as a child. Partially for the immortality, partially for Legolas, and partially because I thought I would look awesome with pointed ears.
I should go see that movie again, for a lot of reasons.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to keep my characters from killing or kissing each other. They can't make up their minds, and it's giving me a headache.

to bed with me

After finishing yet another chapter, and reading the most wonderful, sexy writing of a delightful friend, I should take myself off to bed. Perhaps to dream of certain professors, and elves, and all manner of things fabulous and magical.