 It's been a sort of half-throttle week since I got home from Milwaukee Friday night. I had done little or no shopping, I was groggy from almost a month's worth of travel, and got caught up in the malaise that the dampness and early darkness of the Pacific Northwest solstice. Plus, I had a lot of work to do Monday and Tuesday, so there just wasn't much time to get "into the season". I made a half-hearted sortie down to the University district Saturday, but ended up spending most of the afternoon drinking espresso and reading my new copy of Shroud (see panel at left).
I finally sucked it up yesterday afternoon and drove up to the Northgate mall in a last desperate attempt to at least get everyone SOMETHING to unwrap. I was mostly successful, but I usually do a much better job.
My wife bought a tree last week at the Greenlake Elementary school's treelot, and it sat in a bucket on the front porch until last night. Christmas isn't a religious holiday at our house, as none of us is a believer at this point, but we've accumulated over 30 years' worth of ornaments, and I enjoy the ceremony of taking them out each year, discussing their origins, and hanging them. We even retrieve and save each year the tinsel we first bought 20 years ago at Toys 'R Us. The purple ornament at right was presented to me on my first Christmas. You can still make out the '1949' on it.
Everyone have a great holiday week and enjoy your own traditions and the people you share them with.
6:54:19 AM 
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Perils of Caffeine in the Evening
This one's for 
This contraption has graced the top of our trees for at least 25 years (my wife will correct any rounding errors). It's from an old dime store in Seattle's Chinatown/International District. I believe it commemorates Chinese new year. The pinwheels used to spin festively, but too many packings and unpackings have flattened them and rendered their joints arthritic. Still, over the years it's made odd trees look good and good trees look better.