Christmas

I had a really fine Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we were invited to two neighbors' Christmas Eve parties. It was hard to stop eating at the first party to save room for the even better second party, but I did practice restraint. And, the evening was astonishingly warm.

On Christmas day, we opened gifts. Since I do all the cooking in the house, I was given a new CrockPot (on sale for 50% off, plus additional savings). But, I also got a new electric razor, two flannel shirts, Godiva chocolates, a restaurant gift card, and seven DVDs (Bourne Identity, Casino Royale [with the delicious Daniel Craig], Mamma Mia! [hot damn!], Elizabeth, The Hard Nut [Mark Morris' wonderful, irreverent take on The Nutcracker], Hot Fuzz [great comedy], and Notting Hill [great all-around film]).

In the afternoon, we went for a walk at a local state park. On our way to the park, we pulled up to an intersection and stopped at a traffic signal. Off to my left, I saw a man walking up to a convenience store with his son. I only saw the man from the back, but that was enough. He was wearing tight, stonewashed bluejeans, tan leather work boots, a dark insulated jacket cinched tight at the waist. And, best of all, he was a redhead (my weakness). This guy was to die for. Hell, the tight bluejeans with a great ass would have been enough, but this guy (at least from the back) had a hell of a lot more, too. The things fantasies are made of...

After the walk, for dinner, I made pork tenderloins with a rich cranberry sauce, wild rice and cranberry pilaf, and asparagus. A great day all around.