A Quiet Christmas

Well our Christmas didn’t look anything like the photo above. We had rain and spring like temperatures but it was still quiet. One link to the past was breakfast. As we got older and didn’t spend Christmas morning eating candy, Mom would sometimes make a breakfast thing – kind of a savory bread pudding layered with cheese and breakfast meats. It was something she could assemble the day before and then just pop in the oven for us to have whenever there was a break.

I tossed one together a few years ago and it was a hit and we’ve kept doing it even though, with just two of us, it makes way too much. Plus, since I’m typically out of bed at least an hour or so before my wife, I can have it ready for her when she gets up. After breakfast and coffee, we attacked the presents.

And there was a steady stream of Christmas music for background noise. Our tastes run towards instrumentals so, like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, there is no singing. Her preference is for piano music while I’ve got a thing for Celtic music and Mannheim Steamroller.

There were some quick text messages and photos with the siblings during the day as well. If a present struck a particular chord (my brother’s odd food choices being an example), it merited a photo for all to enjoy.

Had a nice dinner and then, when the rain broke, we managed to take a walk to enjoy the non-winter weather. It was near sundown by the time we got out but there were several other people in the park who had the same idea.

Our owl was in its normal tree perch and, with the rain, it stood out against the dark grey trunk. We don’t know if it can really see us but there are certainly times it looks like it is looking right at us. When I go out to add food to the bird feeders, it clearly locks on to me even though the tree is a safe distance from the house.

We did our grocery shopping today and saw the sad remains of the Christmas aisles. Almost picked clean and anything left at a deep discount. Got to clear it out and get ready for the next thing. Life moves too fast at times so having a nice quiet day is always welcome.