It's a school night and it's time for bed. I really don't know where my week off went. I had such high expectations. With a whole week off, you could write a book, record a CD, visit with family, have a movie marathon, play tournaments of Scrabble, compete in dozens of ping pong games, become a piano, voice, and guitar virtuoso, read three books, and spend hours getting to know all 35 family members that came over for Christmas dinner. That's what was planned anyway.

What actually happened was I got home, helped get ready for the party, finished shopping. When the party arrived, I helped everyone with their jacket and showed them where to park there cars off the street. I'd bring them back from parking in the golf cart. During the party we ate, after which, I took people back to their cars in the golf cart. Seriously, that's just not fair. Here's 35 people from your family - the only group in the world where you are always included - and you can barely get all their girlfriends/boyfriends/new babys name straight before they are heading home.

Then comes Christmas, church, presents, saying goodbye to Rachel and John. Papa came for a visit, but was gone before breakfast. I remember getting some time to finish reading the World According to Garp (remind me not to read anymore Irving). No piano, no guitar, no ping pong. We played one game of Super Scrabble (a game I got for Christmas with 200 letters instead of 100), but no time for a rematch. We might have seen three episodes of the West Wing. We went to the movies twice.

It was fun, warm, family time for a week. We gorged on Christmas dinner night after night. I want to crawl back up into that cocoon and stay there until spring. Home again, I'm pouting tonight much like the school children not yet ready to start a new semester. The only amazing thing is that coming home means getting to spend time in my kitchen. It is still a brand new thing to me, a toy that is special both because of it's usefulness and the because of my pride in the accomplishment.

The kitchen is done!! Well, almost. New appliances are installed, thanks to nice Sears people and Chris' handy dishwasher installation. All that is left is baseboards and painting trim which I have been prograstinating subbornly now that I can actually use the kitchen. Granted, the door is still off of the pantry, but I'm a bachelor, I can live with that.

Today is the big day for the family Christmas party. We expect 35 people at my mom's house for dinner. I brought the ham, and I'm cooking pineapple casserole. we have much to do between now and dinnertime, but we have a good start on everything. The complicated thing is finding chairs, tables, and space for everyone to eat at the same time. It's incredible, really.

I have gotten lots of Christmas cards this year, which makes me happy. Christmas cards are maybe the only reason I can think of for the existance of the USPS. Christina sent a picture of her adorable baby boy. Franklin and Leah sent a photo of their twins. Papa and Oze sent a card. Someone else sent one which I put on the fridge, but I can't remember right this minute. Emily gave me a card and a new piano book for beginners. I love Christmas time and Christmas Cards and Christmas trees.

My grandmother used to wear a pin that said "remember the reason for the season." But I don't forget. It's Advent. Under all the shopping and traffic and noise and travel, it's advent. Literally, the coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important. Whether it's Santa you're awaiting, or dinner with the family, or just time off from work I find it interesting that everyone is caught up in awaiting Christmas (even if they forget why). For unto us a child is born. Like the birth of a child, it's hard not to get impatient as you wait, but it's fun every single time.

I consciously try to avoid writing about writing because it seems so inane. But it's worth noting that today is the fifth year I have been composing semi-weekly and often daily essays published on my little plot of land in cyberspace. In five years I have posted one thousand three hundred and ten times. That's a little over five times a week for five years. So, I realize I have only had time for weekly updates lately, but it's my due.

This blog birthday coincides with my Mom's birthday (Happy Birthday Mom), but the coincidence is unrelated. Oddly, on this fifth anniversary someone contacted me to request purchasing this domain, and he seems nice, and I'm willing to part with it, so I'm sure we can make an arrangement. I only mention that because it may be soon that this space may disappear without any forwarding notification, after which I may take a break for a while, who knows.

I will almost certainly compile a self published printed manuscript collection of essays from the last five years. If you are interested in having a copy, just let me know. Once I know how many I plan to make, I'll let you know the cost, but it will be roughly $25 or $30 (just the cost of low volume printing). I've only just started reviewing all the content and it is massive. All I know is that it must be abridged simply because standard book bindings require 800 pages or less and I'm in excess of that - and I have ideas for bonus material (I hope to include some journal entries... from an actual journal... from 1996).

Hopefully I have time to post the exciting conclusion of the kitchen saga, but if not have a Merry Christmas.

Tonight I did something that was basically invisible. I repainted a white ceiling white. I covered the kitchen in plastic sheeting. The kitchen looks like ET's house. After that the process went pretty fast, and, surprisingly, it was easy to see where I had painted and what was left. Only at the end was I wondering if I got certain spots in the middle. I'm still uncertain, but I suppose that's to be expected.

I also got a month subscription to Consumer Reports, and I feel so much better about making some choices about appliances now. If I find some from HH Gregg then I will try to get them delivered Friday. Then it's painting the walls and installing the baseboards and I'm at the end of phase one!

Finally there is primer on the walls. This is a huge psychological victory for me. It means that I have a floor and walls and ceiling in the kitchen again. And it means that I can see the end of phase one. Steps left in phase one include making a trip to the dump, adding texture to the ceiling, painting the ceiling, replacing the baseboards and trim, and replacing the appliances. So, more to be done? For sure. But there is a forseeable normal future. I always assumed I did not use my kitchen at all. Turns out I use it more than I thought - I can't live without it!

Phase Two will include the counters and backsplash, but that can be done later - after Christmas. Phase two also means painting the outside wall of the kitchen, which unfortunately means... the living room. (scary music plays). I am not sure how much of phase two I will be doing. All of the suddent professionals seem pretty good right now.

When did the kitchen demo start? Years ago? Days ago? I lose track. Everything is going well, it's just taking... time. Also, I keep realizing that this means I need to do that. I was planning on the floors, the wall, the painting. I came to realize that the appliances needed to be updated. I decided after much debate that the counter should match... The counter and backsplash are on hold till I get my kitchen back. Can't get finished this year with that. But I can paint and get the appliances in. Getting carried away. Since it soaks up so much time, I don't have very much to talk about besides whatever I'm doing next nowadays.

We had our big Christmas concert at church. It was fine. I didn't realize it till it was over, but it was long. There wasn't a major work, just lots of nice Christmas music. I enjoyed singing it, but I don't think we did a stellar job. We recorded a CD which is nice enough to listen to once. The first time I sang along with it. The second time I realized that there's a lot of mush - you really need to focus on diction to record in a cathedral type space. It does miracles for blend, but it does a number on diction. Oh well, you know the words to "Joy to the World" anyway. On the title track, Christmastide, "Truth and Love" sounds like "Oooh and Aaah!"... "And hope abide" ("an ohhhhh abye"). Lol. Oh well.

I finished the book I was reading - "The Life of Pi". It's a castaway story in three parts. The first part is all backstory, which I found well written but not compelling. The second part describes the journey, which I found bordered on interesting and insane (fine line). Then there is the Epilogue. That's where this book gets you. That's a weird place for it, but the hook is at the end. I want to go back again and start over now. It is sticking with me. I love that I immediately borrowed a book to read after buying all those interesting ones at the book nook!! I'm really ridiculous. Who knows what will grab me next.

Nothing new added to my photo wall lately. Only renovation pictures. I miss Alan and Beth - they made everything into an event. Some people are impossible to replace. On the flip side, people are finding me on facebook lately, oddly. Some of my old Computer Science friends added me this week. CS friends were not easy to come by, so I really like knowing they are out there in the world making something of themselves.

American Thanksgiving is crazy, because it's a time for so many things to stop here in the United States while virtually nothing stops anywhere else in the world. Even so, it's nice to pause - to carve out a day to sit together with your family. It is not a religious holiday, yet we celebrate with the usual sacraments - enjoying home cooking around a dining room table. Special foods and special silverware, special glasses too. And cloth napkins.

For me it was a time to take a break from renovating my kitchen, from my weekly routine, and of course from work. I spent the last two days with my family - the only place on earth where inclusion is a birthright - to rest. Even when we are supposed to rest one day each week, we don't truly do so. I love my Sundays, but I don't often rest. The pace of everything keeps me in the grind.

I spent all day yesterday indoors and I didn't talk on the my phone once. Mom made supper, we ate it and cleaned up. Rachel, Dad, and I played Scrabble. Dad won, but it was close. We watched countless episodes of the West Wing. For dinner, we just had an extra helping of lunch. Then, rest. I forgot to bring the book I'm reading, so it was even a break from that. Yesterday was a peaceful island - on all sides I could see the hectic pace I brought into the holiday and on and on in all directions I could see choppy waters. But for a while, reprieve.

Tomorrow I go back home. More work to be done in the kitchen, cleaning, working. The weekly grind. Oh, I have my little riparian respites, but nothing quite the same as the food, family, and fellowship we celebrate at thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving everbody.

My church just put on a really great show, "You Can't Take It With You." It's about a girl who wants to marry this rich guy, but just doesn't think his parents will understand his poor, crazy, family. Emily had the starring role and stole the show. Quite often in the show, I forgot she was acting at all she was so convincing. It was a great and funny show.

I got to the play a few minutes late cause I was cutting tile. Thank goodness we are done with that bit. Each bit of progress we make in the kitchen seems like it may in fact take eternity. When scraping wallpaper, it felt never ending. Then the demo work took way longer than we expected. The sheet rock was such a pain and took almost a whole day. Thank goodness for Chris and his genius wiring skills. At least we finished the sheet rock and got to move onto the tile yesterday. Kent was a crazy tile measuring wizard, but cutting the tile was a chore I thought would never end.

So now we've removed the closet, repaired the wall and ceiling, rewired the light switch and phone, removed all the trim, laid out and cut all the tile, and actually gotten mortar behind about half the tile. We still have finish and grout the tile, decide on the countertops, finish with patching the walls, proceed with the backspash, replace appliances, cut and paint new trim, paint the walls, and paint the ceiling. I'm seeing now that my goal of being done by Thanksgiving is going to miss by weeks. I'll be lucky to be done by Christmas.