Looks like I'll have a quiet couple of days here at work before Christmas to give me a chance to catch up a little...

As I said earlier ... when its good ... its very good!

While no ILY's just yet last week I did get a "I know I'm a pain and I want to thank you for loving me."

... and altho its that time of year that marks the start of CAW's winter blues and she still continues to sound like Scrooge, it seems to be only lip service. Most of the time she's upbeat and even perky at times and is being very warm and affectionate.

She bought a gingerbread house (something she said she always wanted to do) and we all had a hand in putting it together over the weekend.

... and altho a month ago she said she wasn't gonna do any Christmas shopping this year, Friday nite she asked if she could go out on her own Saturday to shop. By her mannerism, I still sense she has a hard time asking to go out on her own. I've been trying to make it easier and this time took another step futher in saying great and it gives me a chance to go over to D18's and haul that chair she wanted me to and I called. Well, D18 never called back, so Saturday morning I told CAW I would take D10 out shopping too, but don't worry we won't cross paths. I wasn't gonna go to the local mall, but D10 had something in mind to buy for Mom that only could be purchased at this one particular store in the mall. So we went. While waiting in line for the cashier, I got a call on the cell. It was CAW asking, "Where are you?" I said at the mall. So was she but at the other end and wanted us to know that OCC was displaying their custom choppers there (of Discovery Channel fame - "American Chopper" TV series). She said come on down ... she'll wait for us. That was very cool and CAW seem to be more excited than me, then I got a nice kiss when we parted to do more shopping and D10 & I managed to get enough to fill a Santa's bag for Mom. Quite by coincidence, there was a booth in the mall selling those herbal pillows as PnB described.

Tonite, her D23 flies in to stay 'til Christmas. Her flight back is on Christmas afternoon at 3 , so it doesn't give us much time for festivities, but we'll make due. It's better than D23 not being able to come at all, but for some reason CAW seems very low key about the visit.

I started this thread with a question in hopes of understand where I'm at in this M and thru out this thread, it still has swung to extremes. This thread doesn't have much more to it and I'm wonder if I can stretch it out until I arrive at the answer?

Well enough about me now ... time to catch up on my friends here ...

Happy Holidays wishes from me to you all here on this bb.

'til later,
KAW