Finally: A Breather

Today is a break day, a chance to recuperate between the whirling festivities. SodaBoy’s parents left early this morning to drive to his sister B’s house for the next stop on their northeastern holiday tour. B and her husband have three delightful kids, so naturally they will be more fun on Christmas than us. And we need this downtime to catch up. The only gifts I’ve wrapped so far were those we gave to SodaBoy’s parents last night.

We ran a few errands earlier, including a last minute trip to the liquor store so SodaBoy could pick up a bottle of wine to bring for D tomorrow. It is a long standing tradition he likes to act out each Christmas: bringing an extra gift for the hostess. We went to the mega store, where there are acres of booze stretching out in every direction. Sometimes I wished I liked drinking more, because the bottles can be so attractive, and I can definitely appreciate the artisanal aspect to the whole fermenting, brewing and distilling processes.

Booze central was so busy they had a uniformed man out directing traffic. He motioned me into a handicap-designated parking spot, which made me distinctly uncomfortable. What if a customer arrived who actually needed the door-side parking? SodaBoy eased my guilty conscious by making a rapid selection, and we were quickly on our way.

Now that we’re home, SodaBoy is vacuuming madly, putting the shiny new Dyson to work. Our last vacuum died shortly after we moved in, and let me just tell you, masking tape is a very shoddy substitute for the real thing. The throw rug under the coffee table is a completely different color now that it’s clean again.

We’ve had bad luck with other vacuums in the past, but the Dyson uses a completely different technology than traditional vacuums, so hopefully it will hold up better. The five year warranty is longer than any of our previous models have lasted, so there is reason for hope. One definite plus is that so far there is none of that nasty burnt dust smell I hate so much about vacuuming.

I have two loads of laundry running in the basement. Next on my list is watering the tree, folding the laundry, and don’t forget the looming marathon of present wrapping. Ah, the relaxation.