Boxing Day? Already?

We spend all that time stressing and planning and getting ready for Christmas and then it is over!  Hope all of you had a lovely festive time and are on the road to recovery today.  I had a real Boxing Day experience this morning.  I wonder if you know that Boxing Day was the day that well off people gave "boxes" or gifts to the people who served them over the course of the year, like the milkman or the butcher or the garbage man or the gardener.  Goodness, we don't even have milkmen any more (at least that I know of) and I imagine very few of us have our own butcher or gardener either.

Anyhow, I had taken Daisy out early (her digestive clock still wants a walk at 5:30 a.m. to "answer the call of nature") and came home, made coffee and sprawled out on the couch to read (Songs for the Cold of Heart by Eric Dupont -- just a wonderful, rich read -- I highly recommend it) when I heard the unmistakable sound of the recycling truck lumbering down the street.   I looked out and what to my wandering eyes should appear, but a gigantic vehicle (and no tiny reindeer)!  Oh no, I hadn't put out the bins!  I threw on my new Christmas slippers and ran out with my recycling!  The man was very pleasant and helped me move out the bins (for our sixplex we have three recycling bins, one compost bin and one for glass) and explained that "yes, Virginia, we do recycling on Boxing Day"!  (So many Xmas references here - how many can you count?)  I said, "I should give you a box of treats for helping me out all year!"  I'm not sure if he understood my reference to Boxing Day, but he laughed anyway (humouring an old woman, perhaps) and hopped into his truck and off into the day he went.

This evening we are going to my sister-in-law's for a "leftover" dinner. (Everyone brings leftovers from their Christmas dinner.)  I made my famous sweet potato dish (everyone loves it) and will also bring leftover gingerbread and shortbread (made my me) and we will likely have a few laughs and uncomfortable moments and perhaps even some arguments and then the boys and I will wish everyone "happy holidays" and come home.  As long as we don't have to talk about Donald Trump, I'll be happy.

I took a quiz in the Guardian this morning on how much I know about Donald Trump and I scored 11/12!  The verdict from the Guardian is that I know too much about him and should wean myself from my excessive interest.  I couldn't agree more!  There's a New Year's resolution for me.

Thank you to all of you for a great 2018 and for the nice cards and presents and kind thoughts and warm wishes and for trying to do your best always.  I hope you have a nice holiday from school and that you get outside in the weather and get rosy cheeks and deep breaths of fresh air and that you eat lots of good food and laugh and read a book you can't put down (the aforementioned Songs for the Cold of Heart is like that) and that you greet 2019 with optimism and positivity!