When I peel Christmas oranges I usually manage to get a half or a third of the skin off in one piece. I have, as long as I can remember, then tidily stacked the smaller bits within the larger curve, and then set about eating the orange. It has never struck me as an odd thing to do, but I just discovered my husband finds it charming and funny, because it’s so very tidy, and I’m not usually. So now I’m amused by it too.
I have just been informed I am a homewrecker:
Deborah says “Oh. You are a threat to the marriages of other people.”
Deborah says “But not in the usual way, you homewrecker, you.”Kit is?
Deborah says “You are.”
Deborah says “The fudge came today.”
Deborah says “While Rob was at work.”Kit LAUGHS. uh oh.
Deborah says “I permitted myself a piece of the brittle.”
Kit says “toffee, actually :)”
Deborah says “Now. I am normally not at all a fan of brittle. Toffee. Whatever that was.”
Deborah says “But it was REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD.”
Deborah says “So good I could not resist a second piece.”
Deborah says “And then I forced myself to put it down becuse if I did not, there would be No More Brittle/Toffee/Whatever That Cocaine Is Called.”
Deborah says “Rob came home.”
Deborah says “And I had to force myself to fess up and tell him that the fudge was here.”
Deborah says “This consisted of *reminding myself of nice things he has done recently*.”
Deborah says “You homewrecker.”
Deborah says “Rob looked at me.”
Deborah says “I had made fists with my hands, apparently, and was staring at him with fierce determination.”Kit laughs and laughs
Deborah says “Rob said, “I love you.” I said, “I will even tell you where it is.” Rob said, “That is very sweet. You do not have to love me that much.” I said, “Oh thank god.””
I made seven and a half pounds of fudge today (seriously), nearly all of which has been packed up to bring into Dublin tomorrow. Mom made more toffee (Deborah is right: the stuff is like crack cocaine, and Mom’s better at making it than I am, so it was hers that got sent out, so maybe it’s Mom who’s the homewrecker?) and a bunch of the best kinds of cookies, also for Dublin. And we bought a bunch of CDs of Christmas carols, because we had none and I was feeling the lack, and we put up the Christmas tree, discovering as we did so that we’d acquired too many ornaments for our wee little tree. Tonight Ted made the Traditional Christmas Eve Dinner of pizza (we did end up explaining to him that the reason it was traditional was because it could be ordered in and therefore nobody had to cook, but we hope it’s ingrained in him to cook it by now, because his homemade pizzas are *so good*), and we did a present exchange with Mom and Dad this evening rather than haul everything to Dublin in the morning. Everybody seemed *extremely* pleased with their gifts (I am actually childishly happy with mine), so that was really nice.
When Mom and Dad were gone Ted and I looked at each other and decided the Amazon boxes things had come in were good enough wrapping paper, and had a really rather good time opening our gifts and being delighted with them without going through the last-minute stress of trying to get them wrapped as we got increasingly tired. I got exactly what I asked for and wanted, plus some surprises, and Ted has been totally engrossed in his various books for the last couple hours, so I think overall we done good.
And then there was an email from Jason, my colorist for Chance, who’d gotten his copy and who says it’s the most gorgeous thing he’s ever had in print. So that was a really nice cap to an unexpectedly nice day, and now I’m going to bed, the better to be charmed by my nephews on the morrow.
Merry Christmas, Kit!!!