christmas wrap

I should have been like my cousin Rob, and brought my laptop along so I could hide out upstairs. Even with the saw and hammer noises of my cousin, uncle and grandfather, it would have been nice. But in my confused, sleep deprived and mildly panicked state, I forgot not only my laptop but also my cell phone charger, the marshmallows I made and bags of cinnamon baking chips I promised my aunt. Alas. There was lots of food, and my grandmother showed me the secrets of baking the cake with the caramel icing. This is a legendary family recipe, and it's pretty much all I've asked of my grandmother inheritance wise. (Aside from the two beautiful Arthur Rackham illustrations which are from the novel Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. They hung in the hallway of the house on Wagon Run, and are now in the hall near the dining room and are part of my strongest memories of that place.) My grandfather also gave me a priceless gift, a tweed-ish fedora gifted to him by my great-grandmother Love. She liked to watch football, and they were very good friends. HE told me many tales of the hat, of his days with the Air National Guard out of Louisiana and the amazing hijinks and pranks of pilots. Apparently, all pilots are born to make mischief.

Overall it was a good Christmas. My baby cousin Trevor received more toys than he could pay attention to in one morning. I was gratified to see he also received many beautiful and charming books. There was the story of Puff the Magic Dragon, as well as some Richard Scarry books I remember from my own childhood.

The drive home today was tiring. I had to pull over and slam two Red Bulls before I felt okay to drive. I was falling asleep at the wheel, which is generally dangerous.

More later, after a nap and a long bath.