The package my parents sent for the holidays arrived this afternoon. When Dave got home from the office, we sat down for Christmas, Part II.
Happily we have tools at the house that allow us to open packages wrapped by my mom. In general, they are hermetically sealed....but even that is no match for the used brain probe.
Yes, that took has actually been in someone's brain. Talk about Christmas spirit!
(Okay, it was still hard, but at least I did not impale myself or the cat while trying to open it)
The box looked familiar...same one I sent to them last year. This time it had different gifts though.
First up are a set of place mats. I'm sure mom made these. Really pretty, reversible, red and gray with birds. They match some tea cups we bought when she was here.
Not sure why Dave looks so surprised in this photo. Must have caught him between silly faces. :)
I got a metal wall-hanging. Need to figure out where to put this. Want some on the outside - Just not sure exactly where this one will go...
A t-shirt for Dave!
Some of the paper mom used to wrap was made of kevlar. Or iron. Or I'm not sure what. It didn't tear and gripped the tape like mad.
A scarf my mom made. Comes in handy on days like this (it's 13 degrees out as I type this). Especially if I go outside.
Dave opened some wrenches and then spent 30 minutes inspecting them, making the moving part work, figuring out how they work and all sorts of other details.
An animal hat. It's mine, but you can see what happened to it.
I also opened a camelback. Dave then spent a lot of time checking it out. Had it taken completely apart. Put it back together. Unzipped and zipped all the zippers. The cat stared impatiently as she hadn't opened her gift yet and she was understanding it'd be a while for her. In the end, the camelback was deemed a winner. :)
I got a hold of it for a photo..
The cat was scratching at her gift this entire time.
Here is my camelback during tear-down. Dave then opened his last gift and got the same camelback!
The cat went next. She was quite interested in the bag and the tissue paper.
Out popped a cat box. She wasted NO time getting right in the box where her favorite tissue now resides.
She rolled and attacked and snorted. Good times.
She looks calm here, but walking by would get you a guaranteed smack from a long leg extending from the box where she is clearly invisible. She loves it! Thanks for all the goodies!!
Free Blog Counter
Though the weather has been unusually mild (except for the few days mom was here) we got a white and cold Christmas in Boulder. It was 11 when we woke up. Hours later, it was still 11! The paper said it is a record snowfall for the day as over 6" fell. It's cold, but it's pretty.
And it's warm inside! You can see our standard holiday decorations - a string of Christmas lights. Yeah, they stay up year around, but they are festive.
As per tradition, we start with a photo of each of us. The cat joins in whether we want her to or not. This year, we also have a Christmas Mallard who sings and dances to "Freebird."
Dave, Pente and Christmas Mallard are ready to start opening packages!
Dave's mom sent a box with lots of useful items. In it was a couple of Christmas ornaments. Given we don't have a tree (and never have) they got added to the collection of ornaments that hang on our blinds (you can see some in the second photo posted). We also got Rudy the Rooster into action with a decoration.
Lots of nice gifts arrived. One was this metal bird from my brother. You can see Christmas Mallard sneaking up from behind...
Doug, Dave's brother, sent a really awesome assortment of tea from Teavana. We drink a lot of tea around here so it's an awesome gift. The mug Dave is holding is also a gift from me...we opened it months ago though. :)
Rachel sent an assortment of goodies. Some of which are shown here. Thanks Rachel!
Rachel sent Dave some dancing water computer speakers. I immediately took them away from Dave and will take them to my office. Dave didn't stand a chance at keeping them. :)
Rachel also sent a roller bag that will be useful for my pack-mule-days to and from the university. This will get a lot of use. The cat will have to stay home though.
Dave opened a gift from me and found some 1942 Don Julio anejo tequila to add to his collection. Beautiful bottle and tasty stuff.
I think cats like gift opening better than anyone. Boxes. Paper. Bags. It's a cat's dream come true.
I gave Dave a second bottle - Milagro reposado tequila. This stuff is in a gorgeous bottle. And it's tasty too. Yum.
Dave got me some playing clothes (climbing pants and headband). Plus, I got some nice hoop earrings and a few other useful pieces.
I also gave Dave some climbing clothes. Not sure what is more fun, watching him open them, or watching him inspecting everything about the garments. These technical pieces are pretty amazing. He eyeballs, stretches, and thoroughly inspects everything! It's pretty fun. I got one winner in terms of fit this year. The other two we'll take back and see if he finds something that fits a bit better. The life of a Marge (Medium/Large) is hard.
Lululemon headband (with new rubber strips - necessary to keep these things from shooting off the back of my head when I have a pony-tail. They shoot off and take out innocent bystanders.) and new earrings from Dave.
And finally, some of Dave's photography framed so I can hang them in my office. Looking forward to getting them up.
This holiday there are some outstanding gifts. Mom's box did not make it yet. And three things I ordered for Dave are back-ordered and won't ship until 4/28/13. So, look for a Part II Christmas blog and a Christmas in May blog. Happy holiday all!
Free Blog Counter
We are enjoying being home for the holidays with no rushed schedule. We decided to have a holiday meal and invited or friends Mark C and Chris S over. The menu was yummy! I made a turkey breast (opened package, put in oven), some green bean casserole (yum), stuffing (yum - though I think it ended up a bit dry - boo). Dave made some yummy mashed potatoes. And I opened (grueling) cans of cranberries.
You've seen Mark in the blog before - he renovated our downstairs bath and entry way while I 'assisted'. :) Plus, he is a great climbing partner and just general awesome person. Mark brought some really delicious dessert bread (devoured) and some sparkling beverages.
Chris S is a former student and all around interesting guy. You may have seen him before as he built a "tiny house" and has made a very cool documentary about it. Really nice to learn he was in town (he lives in Boulder and NYC) so he could join us. Chris brought a still-warm apple pie and some delicious red wine.
We enjoyed a good meal and some fun videos after dinner. Thanks to everyone for making it a really good time!
Free Blog Counter
Dirk and Nancy are in town for the holidays. Dave met up with them a few days ago to climb the Third Flatiron (point over their heads). Don't think Dirk has climbed since the last time he and Dave did so on a previous trip here. Happily, the weather was nice although there was a little bit of snow left from a previous dusting.
Some of the snow (and ice) was on the Third Flatiron making it a wee bit more fun than usual. :) Meanwhile, I'm at home working as usual. Getting a lot done and looking at the over-worked finish line in August 2013...
They chugged to the top while Dave Simul-belayed them.
At the top, Nancy unveiled some holiday cookies. Yum!
Great job!
And a nice photo of Nancy and Dirk with the First Flatiron in the background.
Free Blog Counter
