Yes, I am watching the Highlander marathon on SciFi. Yes, it's cheesy. But, it's Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod! I'll take my cheese with a side of beefcake, thank you very much. *g*

***

I got out of work at about 2:45 on Wednesday, and hit the trail for parts east. I thought I'd surprise mom at work, but it turned out that she had just left, so I called Willow to alert her that my arrival was imminent, and headed over. We had pizza for supper, as is our tradition, and hung out for a while until Willow's dad came to pick her up. It's still hard to believe that she's sixteen and almost grown up. I hope she reads the books I gave her (Charles de Lint), and likes the nail colors and lip gloss. :)

Mum went to bed early (as usual), so I watched some TV (of course we had to watch A Christmas Story) and read for a while, then headed off to dreamland. Oh, and I took a stroll around her neighborhood and took pix of the lights; I haven't looked at them yet to see if they came out.

We had banana pancakes for breakfast yesterday, which were very yummy. Mum works at a Hallmark store, so she gave me the Star Trek ornament for xmas (this year it's the U.S.S. Reliant from The Wrath of Khan). It was a Star Trek day: we watched the Next Generation marathon on SciFi for a while, then I headed down to East Bridgewater to hang out with the gang there for the Yankee Swap.

Not a large crowd this year, but that's OK because I got to spend more time with individual folks. Oh! And I got to play Guitar Hero for the first time ever, thanks to ned_gasket, who gave up his spot for me. I played with Justin, who said I was "pretty good." We played the Police's "Message in a Bottle," on which I played bass, then guitar. That was fun. I can see how it can become addictive.

I ended up with a Bananagrams game, which came with a gift receipt from Barnes & Noble, so I can exchange it for some booky goodness. Yay! Yankee Swap FTW.

My most unique gift came from spinningwheels: a piece of 5,000 year old wood that had been buried in a volcanic mud flow. I love the story as much as the wood!

The crowd dispersed fairly early, but some of us stayed up much too late engrossed in fascinating discussion before succumbing to yawns and heading off to bed.

Of course, of course I was awake at the literal crack of dawn this morning, and since I was cold and awake, I bundled up and hit the road after scraping thick frost off the car windows. I'm just not good at waiting for everyone else to get up; sorry guys! I had a lovely time, thanks for the hospitality. I got a nice warm, fuzzy send-off from Misia, who was the only other creature stirring at that early hour.

At least the traffic is light at that time of day, so I made good time coming home, and have now had that hot chocolate that ami_1 promised me. The sun is shining, but it's pretty cold so I'm happy to be home and indoors. It's so nice not to be at work! I don't have any particular place to be until Wednesday evening. That feels pretty good.

I had a lovely time this evening at the annual Yankee Swap party, but things started breaking up before ten, and I was feeling a bit homesick for my own bed after spending two nights in two different places, so I headed out into the rain and drove home. The traffic was light, and the rain wasn't too bad; I made it home in under two hours. Of course, now I'm wide awake, so I'm watching X-Files and catching up on what you all have been up to for the past two days. It's been quiet around here! Thanks to ghoti72 for transcribing my voice posts! Where were you tonight? You were missed, as were several others. Small crowd this year! Only 30 for the swap; usually there are close to 50. I ended up with a Bruins calendar, which I will foist off on a coworker. There are a few hockey fans around the office. Hey, at least I knew which sport they play!

The movie today (Night at the Museum) was a lot of fun; we all enjoyed it. I definitely recommend it. The theatre was crowded! Lots of folks had the same idea.

My brother sent us Monty Python plush toys for xmas; I got a talking Tim the Enchanter, while my sis got a talking Spanish Inquisitor and Willow got the killer rabbit, whose eyes glow red when you squeeze its paw. She didn't know what it was. We must initiate her into the mysteries of the Holy Grail! Tim will sit next to the Wild Thing plush toy that bro gave me a few years ago. Oy, now I'm going to have to find something equally silly to send him! This should be fun. *g*

I think I will attempt to sleep now. Nighty night, LJ!