Christmas Eve Day!It was chill for both of us, and we both needed it. Jameson did a little work in the morning but before lunch he was ready to shut his laptop until the new year. He gamed while I wiped my small tenor trombone down and put it back in storage (neither Epic nor Main Street Phil are likely to call again while I'm home) and broke down a bunch of boxes for recycling.
I did a quick dash to Publix for toilet paper, napkins, and apple cider vinegar which I hadn't realized we'd used up. It was 10am and already packed/crazy at the grocery. I was happy to get in and out. I do wish I'd made a plan for dinner because I could've picked up ingredients. But I didn't. Oh well.
After lunch Jameson and I went for our neighborhood walk. It looks like this.
But if you zoom in on one section, it looks like this:
This is because as we were passing a house on the first cul-de-sac, a big brown chocolate lab came bolting out of a house and ran right up to us, play-bowing and bouncing the whole way! His parents were mortified (he had escaped while they were pulling in groceries) and tried to herd him back in the house but of course he was not having it. We ended up sort of zig-zagging up to their door acting as though we were going inside too, to trick the dog into going in. Hence the zig-zags on our map!
The humans screamed a "thank you!" at us as they quickly slammed the door, and we laughed and walked off. Jameson worked at a vet's office when he was young and his family also owned large dogs. And I've worked at two kennels. We were the right people for this activity :D And what a lovely energetic dog!
The rest of the walk was uneventful, we just chatted about what a crazy year it's been and about our plans for early 2026. Jameson will have a lot of work to do for Disney, a lot of upcoming events that will require his skills. I will go back on tour. We both have things we want to buy. We have plans to invest more in the house (new carpet and tile, a new sliding door for the pool deck.) Once I sell my car I want to buy a second large tenor to stay at home so I don't have to worry about my ONLY trigger trombone getting damaged by an airline. Things like that.
Back home we got showers and had a small snack. My Aunt called and we chatted briefly to wish each other Merry Christmas. I bought some last-minute gifts for everyone...it's one of those lame gift card years. And we ordered tacos for dinner.
Cannot believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. As we relaxed in front of the TV (we watched Krampus!) I kept asking myself: do I have everything? Have I missed anyone? Did I do enough? Although that's not what Christmas is about.
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Christmas Day!!I was up at 8 to have coffee and send my lame-o gift cards to family via email.
One of my sisters and my brother and his fiance got flight gift cards, supposedly good for any airline.
The other sister with three kids got a gift card to a nice Italian restaurant, really just for her and her husband and NOT the kids!! They have enough stuff!!
And my third sister got a 5-qt Kitchen Aid mixer, which we all chipped in to get since they're kinda pricey, but we wanted to get her the best one that we could! She was so happy she said she might cry.
When Jameson was up we had cinnamon rolls from a can (sometimes I make them from scratch but not this year....give me a break, guys, I'm a touring trombonist not a 1950s housewife) and exchanged stockings. It was mostly an assortment of candies with a few small toys and gag gifts mixed in. I got Jameson marzipan and Sour Patch Kids because I know he likes those things, and a new Koosh ball (I got him one last year too.) He got me a dark chocolate Terry's orange (I love them!) and some Japanese gummies which, unbeknownst to him, are some of my favorites because they have an amazing texture!
We watched Home Alone 2. Aaah the Twin Towers....and actual phones....and being able to get onto the wrong flight! How things have changed. Then it was time to exchange presents.
Jameson got me three different kinds of sake, some gourmet chocolates (mostly dark, he knows me so well!), and his big gift was gift cards for Uber, Target, and Buc-ee's! I am VERY excited for the Uber gift card since I plan to sell my car.
His parents got me a notebook with a funny saying on the front, a watercolor book and paint set, and this really cool little pottery that is supposed to strip herbs when you run the stems through those tiny holes! If it works with thyme it'll be worth whatever they paid for it.
My sister Kate sent homemade gifts, which is standard for her and which I adore! This year it was homemade granola (delicious, I ate some right away), spiced brown sugar peach butter, vanilla pear butter, and avocado shea body butter. She had made an herb butter spread also but was afraid to send it (I reassured her that this was the right choice as we are still at 80°F (26.6°C) down here.
My sister Raven sent a thrifted shirt, she happened to find a Full Metal Alchemist one for me and a Queen one for Jameson! Good finds!
And Jonah has sent something that hasn't arrived yet.
I never expect or require gifts from anyone, ever...all I truly want is to share a meal with my family members the next time we're together. Everyone was so generous, and I love and appreciate all of these great gifts!
As for Jameson, I got him some bootleg Queen records (he knew these were coming, I bought them for him on tour), a big cast iron griddle pan for the grill, a "
Shart Survival Kit" gag gift, a Mountain Dew mystery gift which turned out to be some hideously corny sunglasses, some TikTok-viral rice krispie treats in a variety of crazy flavors, and his big gift was a 3D-printed LEGO wreath! It is not LEGO-official but looks like the real deal, and it comes with lots of attachments. I'll buy him more attachments for other upcoming holidays (St. Paddy's, Easter, Halloween, etc). It is very cleverly designed.
His parents got him an ergonomic mouse, the Game Boy LEGO kit, a Funko Pop, and
Kevin Malone's chili cookbook. We had weird lunches of leftover half-chewed burritos and stale Christmas cookies, and watched Emmet Otter, then Jameson listened to one of the bootleg records and gamed while I prepped some things for our fancy dinner like the horseradish sauce and the rub for the tenderloin. I also typed up this post, and sorted my MOUNTAIN of candies and treats into my Home Candy Stash Tupperware and my Tour Travel Stash Tupperware. At some point Jameson's parents called and we thanked them for our gifts, and we texted back and forth with our families all afternoon.
In the evening I cooked up our fancy dinner: peppercorn-crusted tenderloin with horseradish sauce, mashed potatoes, lemon zested asparagus, and crescent rolls. It turned out quite good, the beef for once was perfectly cooked and decadent. We are incredibly fortunate to afford a beef tenderloin each Christmas.
And now we have cleaned up the kitchen, put the trash out (fingers crossed that it'll actually get picked up!) and are relaxing with full tummies. I'm so grateful that I got to have Christmas with Jameson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------Friday: Jameson has a rehearsal for a NYE gig in the morning followed by a massage, and I've got Candlelight at night. I'll probably practice and do a little cleaning or something ahead of that.
Saturday: Spending most of it in Fort Lauderdale, we're taking the Brightline train there to see our friend Lea perform in a local production of Frozen!
Sunday: I think we might actually be free, so I will make us chili and cornbread :)
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