Monday, December 26, 2011

After the Christmas Rush

Christmas came and went yesterday, and it was lovely.  Both sets of parents joined us for the day and dinner, which was nice - it was an easygoing day.   The presents and the company were wonderful.  


But today was even better.  Aside from kitchen cleanup, which continued into today, and some laundry, we've done exactly...nothing.  Except read, eat when the mood strikes, and the adorable one and I both took naps.    


I really like the day after Christmas.  After all the rushing and wrapping, all the preparations are finished, and in our house the next big event (the adorable one's 3rd birthday) is almost two months away.  There are leftovers in the fridge, which means there's no need to cook.  There's no rush to take decorations down - they can stay for a few days, or weeks at this point, until the tree starts to shed needles at an alarming rate.  We can take our time finding homes for the presents.  All the holiday-preparatory house projects - this year painting the entryway and setting up a wall gallery of family photos up the stairs - are complete.  


The only thing pending is the furnace replacement in a little less than 2 weeks.  It's still working partially, and the wood stove is supplementing, so we haven't had to rush,  which is a relief.   My brother in law, who does that sort of thing for a living, a friend of his, and my husband will replace the furnace while the adorable one spend an early January weekend with my in-laws.  It should save us about half the cost of paying someone to do it.  


And I'm mostly on vacation, so more days like this are on the docket.   We'll do a few day trips - to the Aquarium, and Old Sturbridge Village, and probably to the local zoo, but otherwise, we've got no plans.  Which is the way it should be.   


I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.