christmas day

Christmas Day was much better than I had anticipated. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, because I always expect the worst and am surprised when it doesn’t happen.

Because we did the family deal last Wednesday, there was no pressure to do anything or go anywhere. I woke up fairly early, and finished fixing the new mail system. The only thing remaining there is to integrate mailman, which should take a couple hours. It’s pretty slick, I must say.

I met up with dad and Sue for breakfast out in Kanata. While I passed on the mimosas, I did enjoy some of dad’s fresh fruit salad and pulla. It’s the traditional Needham Christmas breakfast, going back as far as I can remember. After breakfast I headed back home and watched a bit of ball, the Canadian juniors preview, and then it was off to Matt’s mom’s place for dinner.

We watched the Canadian Juniors dominate the Slovaks, get a little shaky in the second, then come back to lay the hammer down 7-3. Dinner was fantastic, with an incredibly moist bird (Mrs. Kealey says the secret is to cook it for the first hour at 425, then dial it down to 325), heaps of mash, a killer gravy prepared by my sister, and a yummy salad provided by Sue.

I got a little time to catch up with Matt while cleaning dishes, and chatted with Angie while everyone else was eating dessert. Kieran is a cute kid, and eats like a horse. I think he’s a lot like Matt.

There weren’t quite as many jokes flying across the table at dinner as we’re accustomed to, but the eve was awesome. Very enjoyable, and a great way to finish the day.