We’ve been enjoying the holidays a great deal, in spite of not getting enough rest. Kathy’s mystery present to me turned out to be a lovely burgundy recliner. (“Feeling middle aged yet?” [Chris->] asked when I told him about it.) My old recliner stayed with the Denton house when we sold it two and a half years ago, so I’m enjoying having a “Daddy Chair” again. (It seems that one of the kids are in it more often than not, though!) I gave Kathy a cave adventure tour at Natural Bridge Caverns, which she seemed excited about.

We got some great visiting in with [Chris->], who had come in from Georgia along with Amy, the woman he’s been dating now for about nine months. We’d gotten to meet Amy briefly on our trip to Virginia earlier in the year, and very much enjoyed getting to have some more protracted and less hurried time with the two of them. [Ross->] and Johanna, his girlfriend of two years, were also in town. It’s always a treat to see them, though it seemed a bit rushed this year due to everyone’s busy schedules. We also enjoyed a fair bit of excellent time with the usual local suspects, which left us both happier and heavier than before the season started.