1. I'm able to post this at this semi-sane hour because they for once sent us all home after eight hours sortin yer pakujes, instead of the usual 11.5-12. Maybe Christmas actually means something?
Nah, they just didn't have that much mail to do. Still, yay actual sleep.
2. My grandfather died last night, not unexpectedly. God keep his soul.
My uncle *did* make it there before Grandpa departed, though since the latter was apparently under a lot of morphine at the time (ouuucchhh...) he presumably didn't know who was holding his hand when.
Mom was less broken up than I'd expected; I gather because one of the things that had been preying on her was the uncertainty of the whole business; and now at last she knows. (That said, she did thoroughly vent/talk my brother's ear off when she called this morning; I guess I should have accepted his offer of being the one to actually pick up the phone.(See #3 and #4 below for explanations.)
The funeral is going to be held in North Andover, date t.b.d. but probably the second week in January. My brother and I may also see about going down for a visit with Grandma (and my Mom) beforehand. There is a possibility, however, that after that Grandpa will end up being buried in Arlington National Cemetery; if so, I may at least look into the feasibility of going down to represent the family.
3. OK, a couple of my brother's friends were just killed in a car crash? Fuckin' hell. December 2014, that's beyond fail-ly, that's ... just plain LOW.
4. I heard about all this because I actually did SOMETHING to celebrate Christmas, in the form of going over to my brother's for a Christmas brunch for the two of us before I went to work. (Incidentally, don't tell him I said this, but I think my adaptation of Bettina's recipe for biscuits produces a superior result to whatever he was using. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tree_and_leaf, feel free to disown me now.) But yeah, tasty, and we talked about whiskey and computer games, and made each other laugh, which we both really did need.
[I also gave him his Christmas present, in the form of tea, some of which we sampled over the second round of scones. He gave me my gift from Mom, in the form of Benjamins,* and also loaded me down with some extra Christmas desserts, which were also very welcome as I haven't managed to do any baking these past weeks. Well, except for baking a Stollen for the PO Xmas party, and I think I finished that at work today.]
5. Anyway, I should sleep, assuming the instant coffee will let me. Yeesh, yeah, it's like 2260 hours. And work out logistics for Christmas shopping, Peter pickup, etc.
* Inevitably leading to a conversation about whether a proper gangsta would carry his around in a wallet; the likelihood of Macklemore doing a rap about opening a bank account; irony; and what the heck the children of hipsters are going to be able to do to rebel. Oh, and R. Kelly.
Nah, they just didn't have that much mail to do. Still, yay actual sleep.
2. My grandfather died last night, not unexpectedly. God keep his soul.
My uncle *did* make it there before Grandpa departed, though since the latter was apparently under a lot of morphine at the time (ouuucchhh...) he presumably didn't know who was holding his hand when.
Mom was less broken up than I'd expected; I gather because one of the things that had been preying on her was the uncertainty of the whole business; and now at last she knows. (That said, she did thoroughly vent/talk my brother's ear off when she called this morning; I guess I should have accepted his offer of being the one to actually pick up the phone.(See #3 and #4 below for explanations.)
The funeral is going to be held in North Andover, date t.b.d. but probably the second week in January. My brother and I may also see about going down for a visit with Grandma (and my Mom) beforehand. There is a possibility, however, that after that Grandpa will end up being buried in Arlington National Cemetery; if so, I may at least look into the feasibility of going down to represent the family.
3. OK, a couple of my brother's friends were just killed in a car crash? Fuckin' hell. December 2014, that's beyond fail-ly, that's ... just plain LOW.
4. I heard about all this because I actually did SOMETHING to celebrate Christmas, in the form of going over to my brother's for a Christmas brunch for the two of us before I went to work. (Incidentally, don't tell him I said this, but I think my adaptation of Bettina's recipe for biscuits produces a superior result to whatever he was using. (
tree_and_leaf, feel free to disown me now.) But yeah, tasty, and we talked about whiskey and computer games, and made each other laugh, which we both really did need.[I also gave him his Christmas present, in the form of tea, some of which we sampled over the second round of scones. He gave me my gift from Mom, in the form of Benjamins,* and also loaded me down with some extra Christmas desserts, which were also very welcome as I haven't managed to do any baking these past weeks. Well, except for baking a Stollen for the PO Xmas party, and I think I finished that at work today.]
5. Anyway, I should sleep, assuming the instant coffee will let me. Yeesh, yeah, it's like 2260 hours. And work out logistics for Christmas shopping, Peter pickup, etc.
* Inevitably leading to a conversation about whether a proper gangsta would carry his around in a wallet; the likelihood of Macklemore doing a rap about opening a bank account; irony; and what the heck the children of hipsters are going to be able to do to rebel. Oh, and R. Kelly.
