Twas the night

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
Particularly my spouse.

The stockings were laying
On the chair with no care
Waiting for mom to get off her ass
And fill them (with what, air?)

Actually, while this is going to be a slim Christmas, a Christmas, it will be. We won't be seeing anyone but those in this house (the boys, mark and i) because of a huge blizzard, but we're together, and we're warm, and we have food.

Additionally, my mom is doing better every day. For those who don't follow on plurk, my mom had a mini-stroke about a month ago, and while she's taking care of herself adequately, i've had to step in in a few ways. I'm monitoring her medications, and helping with the bills, and coordinating any services for her, such as a physical therapist, and home health nurse. the hard part is she is now considered home-bound, so i have to do her grocery shopping. i'm working with my brother on getting power of attorney for both of us, so that i can take care of business on a more legal level (people give me lots of lattitude because i'm her interpreter, but i really want to be able to show a paper saying that i really CAN speak for her), and figuring things out. (the deal with both of us having POA is for his comfort level, not for necessity's sake)

today, however, was a landmark. i drove over there before the storm got too bad, and helped her set her medication up for the next week. when i got there, there was a big red bow on her door. i'd asked her 2 weeks ago if she wanted to decorate for christmas, and she had said no.
when i came in, she had all kinds of boxes pulled out of her closet, and presents and wrapping paper on her bed. i asked her if she wanted any help, and she said no, she was fine.

also, when she signed a check for a bill, her hand-writing was much more eventhan it has been for the last month.

i did do some holiday knitting this year. liam has a girlfriend who is a knitter (she gave him a scarf), so i knit a cowl in her favorite color for him to give to her (he got a big kiss out of that one). i've also made a sweater vest for sean in lion brand woolease chunky (story behind this one: we were watching tv, and he saw a commercial for oldnavy sweater vests. he turned, looked at me, and said "chicks dig sweater vests. i WANT ONE!" how could i not oblige, lol?), and a zippered cabled cardigan for liam in berocco comfort. the unfortunate part? both are GREY. next project i'm casting on is the brightest socks i can find in my stash!

and, in the inimitable words of that jolly old elf

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!