Which Day of Christmas is it Today, Anyway?

I'm forever confused about the whole Twelve Days of Christmas thing. Do you count Christmas Day as the first Day of Christmas? One would think so. But then, why is Epiphany when it is? I'm all confused. Some day I'd like to start hosting a yearly Feast of the, but I'd like to a) have a nicer setup here at my house and b) know and understand when one should have a Feast of the, and where it falls in the whole Twelve Days thing.

But enough about that.

I got to the Omaha area on time, and to Logan, IA about 30 minutes late, but it turned out I had the time wrong for some reason that makes no sense (it's all about my stupid brain, mostly), and was actually about 210 minutes late. But at least I got Say a gift she wanted, and one of the three things I got Jordan wasn't something she already had.

I met Carrie's current beau, and was surprised to see Wade & Dane there, because I didn't know they were going to be there--although it is apparently entirely possible I received e-mails explaining they would be there, as I received e-mails saying we were eating at 4:00 at the latest.
Peggy was there, and seemed to be adapting to life in this part of the country, although some of her drawl came with her from whichever Virginia it was she'd been living in. This reminds me, I need to update a lot of people's info on my website. But I digress...

I slept on the floor in the spare bedroom (Dane got the bed), and I now know for sure that I am too old to be sleeping on the floor. I must invest in a good air-mattress (preferably one of those tall ones).

Jordan unwrapped her stuff from Santa the following morning, and our caravan of four vehicles was on the road by 8:00 or so. Wade and Dane took the lead, followed by me, then Leslie & Jordan, then Ruth. Apparently my speedometer is off, so after stopping at a nearby Kum & Go (where I realized I forgot to get Adam and Allison gifts), it was decided I would follow Leslie, keeping up with her.

Wade called several Wal-Marts to see if any were open and on our way to Center, but no such luck. So Adam and Allison received gifts from either a Stuckey's or an analog of Stuckey's. As it turned out, they were good choices, albeit not books, which I prefer to give.

Not far from Macon, Ruth passed us, and Leslie pulled up beside me to try to communicate (yes, I still have no cell phone) that she was stopping at Macon, but Ruth and Wade were not. I didn't know if that meant I was to stop or not, so I opted to keep going.

Luckily, Ruth decided to get behind me. Apparently visions of deadly car accidents danced in her head.

About five miles or so from Center, on Route A, I had a flat tire. Hooray!

I pulled over on a gravel road, and started to change it. Ruth waited with me, and Leslie & Jordan arrived about the time I was jacking up the car.

Leslie decided to drive on, but Jordan wanted to stay with us, as it wasn't going to be long (I just had to change a tire, after all).

Well, surprise of surprises, not all went smoothly. Apparently the tire was FROZEN TO THE... hub, or whatever.

Much wallerin' around under the car to kick at the tire (and risk getting crushed if the jack fell) and several minutes later Ruth drove Jordan and I the rest of the way to Center.

Wade gave me some liquid wrench and a big ol' hammer, and Ruth and I went back to finish the job.

When the tire came off, I got out from under the car, stood up, waving my arms (and the big hammer) in the air, and shouted, "It's a Christmas miracle!"

Anyway, blah blah blah Christmas and good times followed... well, a shower for me followed, then the Christmas and good times.

It's nice to be able to hang out with my family, and my inner child is freaking out that I just typed that.

Leslie, Dane, and I went to see that Narnia movie, then we took Dane to his doctor's appointment, where he was kind enough to hopefully help Dane's mystery swelling go away, but also kind enough to inform Dane (and I) that there might be bad things going on.

But I'm gonna hope for the less bad thing. You can, too.

Anyway, I came back on Wednesday, got some more shopping done, and went to see The Producers last night. Also, I had dinner at Cafe Trio, and I loved it. I especially loved their asparagus. I want to know how they prepared it.

Tonight I bowl. Tomorrow I go to a party (or some parties), and then on Sunday it is the traditional New Year's Day gathering at Patrick & Leighs.

Also, Tricia and I need to discuss my maybe birthday party. Or birthday maybe party, since there is no doubt I'm going to have a birthday... just maybe not a party.

Happy New Year, everyone, in case I don't get to post it before then!