boxing day

I've updated my Christmas Blathering with text and photos.

My father's taking Jeff, me, Ruth, Kaarel, Sara and Annie out for lunch at a Thai restaurant today. Jeff and I will probably spend the rest of the day napping and reading and napping and eating and napping.

There are a bunch of movies on my "hope to see during the holidays" list; perhaps we'll see one this afternoon. Or maybe I'll use the gift certificate that I won earlier this month to see a movie on my own.

Movies I want to see soon:

Nemesis - I've heard the bad reviews but I still want to see this!

The Two Towers - Yes, again.

Chicago - REALLY want to see this, but I don't think it opens until tomorrow (?).

Might go see (in decreasing order of interest):

Treasure Planet - Allison really liked this, so I'd like to go see it.

Catch Me If You Can - Somewhat curious about this. I like Tom Hanks.

Two Weeks' Notice - I confess I'm a Sandra Bullock and (sometimes) a Hugh Grant fan. (Stop gagging, Jeff and Parki!)

Maid in Manhattan - Okay, so the trailer looks cliched and predictable and it has Jennifer Lopez. I still might see this because I'm a sucker for romance.

Have absolutely zero interest in seeing:

Gangs of New York - looks too dark and violent for my tastes.

The Hot Chick - ick.

Any other interesting movies out there?





Links/News:

Post your New Year's Resolutions here.

Post your predictions for 2003 here.





Today's Blatherpics:

From last night at my sister's place. The first two are of Ruth and Annie drawing together. The third is of Jeff doing a craft with Sara. One of our gifts to Sara was a "make your own world" kit; we had picked up a bunch of world-making things at George's Trains, including miniature people and trees and landscaping materials.

merry christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! The photo above is of me holding my 8-day-old nephew, Jeffrey. I held him a lot when Jeff and I were in Orangeville. I find it incredibly relaxing holding a sleeping infant. Plus their heads smell WONDERFUL. Jeffrey seems to spend most of his time sleeping, though his parents tell me he's much more active during the night.

While I was holding him, he would occasionally wake up for brief periods and stare up at me with his big, serious eyes with a remarkably world-wise expression. I cuddled him and smelled his head and marvelled at his tiny fingers and toes, stroked his incredibly soft hair, speculated about his future, kissed him on his nose.

Then he got stinky and I gave him back to his parents.

:-)





The photo above is of a Christmas Eve ritual in the Ridpath household, when JBR reads The Night Before Christmas to the kids. I've seen photos of him reading to Jeff, Larkin and Case when they were toddlers; it's great that the ritual has continued through another generation.

After present-opening at Ginny's on Christmas morning, we headed off to visit with Larkin and Rick and the family, then drove home for a short break before going to my sister's place for dinner with my dad. Annie was still in her pajamas when they opened our presents:





After dinner, Annie and Sara organized a Christmas carol sing, taking turns playing carols on the piano. Then we played games and did crafts until it was bedtime, and Jeff read The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, which made me cry.

Hope you're all having a great Christmas/holiday, everyone!

(The photo below is of the Christmas tree that Annie and Sara set up for their guinea pigs, and a gift of "Raviolos" they bought for them from the pet store.)





Links/News:

Post your New Year's Resolutions here.

Post your predictions for 2003 here.

my life in a nutshell

Off to do family Christmas stuff. Happy holidays, everyone! 2003 Resolutions (be brave and post some!) 2003 Predictions (what will happen in 2003?) Today's Blatherpics: From My Life In A Nutshell.

new year's resolutions

(In case I don't get a chance to Blather again until after Christmas...HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON, EVERYONE! I'll catch up later.)

Very lazy day yesterday. Slept lots. Took a bath. Read Son of Shadows by Juliet Marillier. One of my favourite activities in the whole world is to read an entire novel in one day, just for the sheer pleasure of it. After I finished the Marillier book, I started Heir to the Shadows by Annie Bishop. Starting writing some new songs, too, as well as continuing to work on a collaboration with Allison.

If you're interested in posting your New Year's Resolutions for 2003, please post here. I didn't quite fulfill my resolutions for 2002, but did find that posting them in the list was good motivation. I haven't submitted two manuscripts to my agent yet, but DO have the first drafts of both finished. I did meet my resolution of being more organized in my finances and work records. I also met my goal of writing five new songs in 2002: Library Boy, Saxophone In Spring (co-written with Andrea), Waiting For Frodo, Larkin and Rick (song for my sister-in-law and her new husband), I'm The First Again (for GAfilk songbook). I learned the harp well enough to play songs at my sister-in-law's wedding.

So be brave! Post your New Year's Resolutions for 2003 here. You can change and edit during the year. I kept adding the songs I had written, for example. No one's going to check up on you, and I promise not to nag you. The purpose of posting your resolutions publicly is solely for your own motivation. Reminds me somewhat of the whole idea behind NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), really.

Here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2003 so far:

-- To complete and submit to my agent: one new novel, one early reader chapter book and proposal for a series.

-- To write five new songs.

-- To learn how to use Logic Audio well enough to make a simple recording.

Anyone who posts at least one serious resolution in this board by the end of this year will get a SPECIAL PRIZE by snailmail! I have no idea what this prize will be yet, but it will be exciting, I'm sure. :-) If you post, please do send me your snailmail address so I can mail you your prize in the new year.

Also feel free to make predictions for 2003!

Links/News:

Three years ago, I killed a poinsettia.

Four years ago, Sara explained skating to me.

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Today's Blatherpic:

A very old Christmas doll at my mom-in-law's.

moments

During the Christmas season, I find it all too easy to get disgruntled by the hectic chaos, the inconvenience of crowds, my spirits dragged down by sad memories. Some days, you might as well write bah humbug in a big cartoon thought balloon over my head.

Rather than let myself keep sliding down this slippery slope, I try very hard to focus on what's important, and to appreciate the moment, reminding myself that you never know when fate will step in and turn your world upside-down.

Most of all, I try to stop mourning what could have been and focus on appreciating what I have already, to not take things for granted. It's tough sometimes, especially around holiday seasons like Christmas.





Had a good time with our friend Andrew yesterday. Lunch at Milestones, then Jeff and Andrew and I visited Gametrek, a great games store on Front Street under the Royal York hotel.

Took the subway to Bakka, the best sf bookstore in the world, to pick up our autographed copy of The Bakka Anthology, a new publication commemorating the store's thirtieth anniversary. It contains nine original stories by current and former staff, including Tanya Huff, Fiona Patton, Michelle Sagara West, Nalo Hopkinson, Robert J. Sawyer, and Cory Doctorow. If you're interested in buying your own copy, contact John Rose (owner), phone Bakka at 416-963-9993, or visit the store at 598 Yonge St. Cost: CAN$30. Supplies are limited, so you should definitely call if you want to reserve a copy.

Went to my cousins' Christmas party in the evening. It's ironic that I feel closer to my cousins now than I did back when I was a kid, even though we only see each other at the Christmas party, weddings, and funerals. Watching the cousin's kids running around and playing together, I sometimes get a weird feeling of deja vu; instead of being one of the little kids running around while our aunts and uncles and grandparents looked on with amusement, I'm one of the grown-ups now. :-)





Links/News:

A favourite Cheer For Shane e-mail:
From Martijn in the Netherlands - "I went to the early afternoon viewing last Saturday, to a small theatre in the Hague (in the Netherlands), so there weren't many people watching anyway, and especially not by the time Shane's credits came up though. Imagine my surprise when I heard someone else clap & cheer in the back of the room at the same time I did! Unfortunately I haven't been able to find that person... :-\"

One year ago, I posted a silly Christmas card graphic.

Three years ago, I wrote about my holiday pet peeves.

Four years ago, I just finished my Christmas shopping.

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Today's Blatherpics:

	Sara and Jeff play a game of chess at the Christmas party last night. Photo by my dad.
	John Rose and Michelle Sagara West at Bakka yesterday.
	My cousins' kids opening their presents.