Christmas Roundup

Michelle and I knew that we did not want to spend the holidays separated this year, so she spent Thanksgiving with me last month and we spent most of our Christmas break with her parents up in Longville. You can find her account of the weekend here.

We started on Saturday with a holiday party in the northern suburbs with some of her extended family. Before going there, she made spiced apple cider (first time recipe) and it was insanely good. I think I drank most of it at the party. The party was fun - good food and fun people to talk to.

We waited for the slush to turn to ice before leaving the party and starting the two-wheel-drive journey to Longville. The early going was rough - driving out a 65 mph road (169) at speeds ranging from 25-60 ... but mostly closer to 25 for the first 50 miles. Woof.

There were no cars by the side of the road, but that is because the slush had only recently turned to pure, frictionless ice. We fish-tailed back and forth a number of times as I barely moved the steering wheel - no over-steering here! But then we hit Zimmerman and hardly saw any more ice for the next 2.5 hours!

As we got into the less traveled roads, they tended to be dry, which was nice. After a brief stop to wash the windshield and headlights, we finished the trip and got in before 11:00pm.

Sunday was a lot of fun - starting with breakfast. Mary always makes great breakfasts for us, so we ate and read for a bit. I always try to catch up on reading up there because it is so nice and peaceful. Michelle and I trudged through some deep snow (at times up to my knee) with Pokey, a bagel (Bassett-Beagle), following. We hiked out to the lake while Jim shoveled off a small pond by their house.

The rest of the day consisted of some penny poker (no comment on how Michelle did), a great dinner, and Muppet Christmas Carol. I should mention that we also watched the Cary Grant movie "Bringing Up Baby." I love Cary Grant's movies (mostly) and Therneau had recommended it previously, so I was excited. What a waste. It was possibly the worst CG movie I have ever seen. I feel terrible for subjecting others to it.

Monday morning started off clear and sunny, so Michelle and Mary went ice skating after breakfast. After another big dinner, we celebrated Christmas Eve. Michelle, as she has long done per family tradition, read the poem "The Night Before Christmas." We then exchanged presents (which was especially exciting for Michelle who appeared to have been thinking about nothing else for the previous 360 days or so).

Michelle and I both later agreed that our parents definitely spoil us with great gifts. Before too long, we put two of our gifts to use (super comfortable pillows with memory-foam) and dreamt our way to Christmas. After Christmas stockings and waffles, we packed up the car (and I mean it was packed) and headed out.

The 1-2 inches of snow predicted for the Twin Cities turned into 4-5 with drifts of 12 inches in places in the city. Once again, roads were messy and clogged only as we approached the metro area. Nevertheless, we made it (with frequent comments about the insane stupidity of those who tailgate snow plows). The driveway was totally clogged, so I shoveled while Michelle unpacked.

As the sun set, we headed out to Farmington for the Mitchell Christmas dinner. Kimmi was supportive and understanding at our slow pace due to the snow but did encourage us to make haste. Just after 5, I slid into the driveway sideways - my favorite approach in slick conditions.

We also exchanged gifts (along with insults, as is our tradition) but the best gift was clearly one I gave my mom. A die-hard Favre hater, I photoshopped her face onto a photo of his and put a photo of her gift (some Yoga thingamajig) in his hands. Classic.

For the third night in a row, we had a large, delicious dinner. Turkey that night, followin beef and ham the previous two. I love variety! After dinner, we concluded the gift giving and again hit the road.

I have to echo Michelle's sentiments - this was a great Christmas. I wish we had more time to spend with both families - but what we had was certainly fun.