Updates to this blog may come fewer and farther between in the next two weeks. Tomorrow, we're expecting a visit from Erin's mother and step-father, Rosemarie and Michael. Hopefully, they'll be bringing Erin's sister, Wendy and her husband Lars.
This will be the first time since 1998 that Erin and I will have spent Christmas home in Kitchener. Last year, we had a great trip to Omaha and Lincoln, where Rosemarie gave me the nicest present I've ever received: a copy of the Children's Writer's Market, a pad of paper and a set of gel pens. The year before that, we were in Omaha as well, and the year before that, we were in Florida. These were all fun trips, but it's nice to host the occassion occassionally.
This will also be my first paid holiday since leaving Mortice Kern Systems back in 1999. My last day at work is tomorrow, and I'll be off until January 2, 2003. I'm looking forward to this most of all.
Tonight, we're going to go looking for a Christmas tree and tomorrow, once the guests have arrived, we're going to decorate it. I've bought eggnog and nutmeg for the occassion. We may see the new Lord of the Rings movie this weekend or on Monday, assuming we want to, and the area theatres aren't completely sold out. There will be midnight mass and a Christmas dinner at my parents.
When the in-laws depart, we will play host to our friends, Wayne, Marguerite and Teri, coming in from New York and Omaha respectively. We have our traditional New Year's Eve party planned, and again, we're looking forward to hosting the occasion. I've also booked a couple of days in Toronto for a hotel visit, and we intend to see The Conjuror on the night of Sunday, December 29.
It's going to be a festive holiday, and I'm looking forward to it, even if it means that I'll be busy, and my writing and my work on the Trenchcoat Farewell Project will languish. But, hey, priorities! You've got to know the priorities of the season.
Things will be back to normal on January 6, 2003, and then we settle in for the long, lingering winter...
P.S. I've learned that the Buffy Season 3 DVD set is scheduled to come available on January 7. I'm marking that date on the calendar. I'm surprised that it wasn't released a little earlier, though, so it could go on people's Christmas lists...