Christmas Day Retrospective

This morning: Wake to find (by chance) that TimeWarner has chosen to grace us with the Digital Channel known as "Sounds of the Season" as today's "digital preview" on Channel 52. Nice timing, but still not enough to convince me to upgrade. I willl admit, though, it just isn't the same without the faux spotlight effect.

Noon: Call home to Oregon where the family is just arriving for breakfast. It's supposed to reach 50-something degrees that afternoon, and Dad remarks how he's been watching the "Walt Disney World Christmas Special" on ABC, showing our nearly cloudless skies. Of course, it's completely overcast here, but that's the magic of tape-delay. Oh, and I found out his new company has become a dot-com in Oregon from a more physical presence in Kentucky. Go figure.

Head to Downtown Disney to catch a movie, find it's sold out, buy one 3 hours later, and walk over to Rainforest Cafe for Christmas dinner. This is probably the 3rd time in 4 years this has been the site of said meal — please tell me that does not make it tradition. While we're in the Cafe, it starts to rain outside. Dodging between stores headed back toward the theater, I realize how Oregon-in-October it feels — cold and mildly rainy. Somewhat nostalgic moment.

Evening: Watch (finally) Harry Potter. OK film, but too long, IMHO, and glad I went in on comp tix. Amazed at how many people showed up 10-15 minutes after the film (not just the previews) started, including the woman-with-child-old-enough-for-her-own-seat who crawled over us to her seat. After the third threat to "just leave" because the child was misbehaving, Dan and I shifted to make their exit eaiser. She decided not to leave after all, despite encouragement from all around.

Return trip: One of the (few) positives of living in the tourist corridor: Dan realized he had nothing he wanted to eat at home, despite his insistence that no one should be working today (except, apparently, to service him; note the trip to a restaraunt and a theater). We stop at a "Marketplace" (aka Winn-Dixie) to purchase him a frozen pizza. When the demo-CD player near the line launches into Burl Ives' complete "12 Days of Christmas," Dan graciously hits the power button, to polite applause and expressions of gratitude.

Night: Finally delivered loaf of pumpkin bread to neighbors on OTHER side of house (one delivered yesterday to the other neighbor, in return for cookies last week). We were invited in, but Dan had a pizza to cook for his meal. While he cooks, I remove the "holiday wish list from my site, just to have some semblance of appearing timely.

Merry Christmas, everybody.