Dec. 26, 2004 - 21:13 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Best Of Times

Its hard to try to compare Christmas in Denver with Christmas in Eugene with daughter and her family as against Christmas with our Denver bunch.

In Denver we have a multitude, what with in-laws, out-laws, friends and et cetera.

Here we have a daughter, her husband, a grandson, a granddaughter and Cyrano the Super Poodle. All in a big house on Spencer's Butte. Spending almost two weeks with our family here, in the same house is a thing of wonder for me. All accompllished without snits, snots or displays of displeasure.

Yesterday we woke up, had a leisurely breakfast, watched a video, "The Passion Of The Christ," it was. All I can say is that to my mind it accurately depicted the treaatment visited on people on the losing end of things. Things that happen yet today in terms of cruelty and maltreatment. To my mind it was a powerful movie, one I needed to watch to show me how things were in those days so long ago.

The achievement enabled, folks (all women of course)dug up things to eat to tide us over until four o'clock dinner thence we were banished to the living room while good things were being concocted for dinner by the women.

Daughter's hubby went and picked up a bachelor friend of his froms the university, a man a bit over two years older than I. Whenever we are here for Christmas he and I have a good visit. We were having something of each person's choice to drink when the mother of our granddaughter's friend came by, she graciously had a glass of white wine and traded as good as she got in the way of conversation. Much merriment all around.

Then dinner was served. It is beyond my description, really. Thick rich soup of a flavor one would dream of, meats both hot and cold, cranberry salad and a tray of goodies such as pickled mushrooms, archives, calamata olives and peppers. When it became obvious we were stuffed, the girls cleared the table and a multiplicity of cookies, candies and goodies beyond description were served along with hot coffee or tea. We lingered at table, talking and noshing sipping our beverages of choice. Remarkable it was that all members at the table took part in the conversation.

Finally we adjourned to the living room in front of the TV where I slipped into dreamland all laid back on the sofa. Grandson received an IPOD for Christmas and granddaughter got a soccer CD, both of them had been waiting impatiently to use the computer, one to load her game and the other to fight the computer on an effort to get his IPOD loaded up. Their dad finally went in and worked for some hours to get it to work.

Finally he came out and said, "Can you hold off until tomorrow to make an entry, the computer will be running on the IPOD stuff for some hours ?"

There is no possible way that I would attempt to interfere with their Christmas pleasures. Heather and I finally toddled off to bed for a good nights sleep.

When I awoke this morning it was about ten o'clock and grandson was just finishing his breakfast, his dad somewhere in the house and the women ? Why shopping of course, what else on the day after Christmas.

After they reluctantly left shopping to others, the women returned and corralled the men, giving me up as a lost cause, they all went to church. I spent some time trying to make an entry containing some sense, and when I was satisfied with the topic and got it entered, it seems that the entry is a duplicate, I would edit one and then the other but the same faults appeared no matter what I did. Later I will try to go back and edit that down to something sensible. In discarding one of them perhaps both will disappear as they are the same Diaryland html number. Maybe there will remain only this entry ? If so that is the "Mop Flopping while crumbling cookies," you know.

But spending time living with our Oregon family brings about a closeness that I feel cannot be duplicated in any way. These seasons we spend here are the Best Of Times . . . . . . . .

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