2005 Christmas What an action-packed holiday. So much to do at work before the long break. Thought I might spend NYE in SoCal too but they needed me back at work so I'm glad I got a nice little holiday in there, even if it was cut short.

Catching Up With Friends

The week before Christmas, my pal Jess was in town doing a bit of holiday shopping. Glad I had the rental car for my SoCal trip because it enabled me to drive down to Pacifica to spend time with her and our pal Tregger and his family. So amazing that we're all still alive and still friends after all these years. It was a great way to kick-off my Holiday Weekend!

Xmas in Laguna

As much as I tried to get an early start, I didn't leave the Bay Area until almost noon - I did make it to LA in time to have dinner with my pal JR then down to Newport Beach to spend Christmas Eve with my sister and her husband. We've always opened presents on Christmas Eve and this year was no exception. The next morning, we had more presents to open down in Laguna Beach at our adopted parent's house for Kelly & Michelle's big holiday party. There were about 40 people with kids and puppies adding to the holiday exuberance. They really go all out to make everyone feel welcome with holiday stockings filled to the brim with trinkets and treasures. I'm told Michelle's "Please-ers" are a much covetted part of the tradition, but I'm morally opposed to like 99% of the ingredients so I didn't venture to that side of the buffet table.

Around 2 o'clock everyone had gone and we put the Lakers/Heat game on. It felt so nice to sit back and relax after all the excitement and the game was just going to go back and forth until the very end. I thought I could just "rest my eyes" a bit and ended up totally passing out - guess the afternoon nap is another Christmas tradition that hasn't died out yet...

A Boyd Family Christmas Dinner

By the time dinner rolled around, we were ready to re-group at Cindy's place. It's an amazing little bungalow built in the '20s in a Cotswold style that was trendy after troops returned from WW1. Even with a head cold, Cindy was a warm and generous host - and birthday girl! It was a lovely way to end a really great day and I won't soon forget the love and blessings expressed.