Busy, busy morning, not much time for blogging, gotta straighten up my messy house before the cuz arrives. The Christmas tree needs refreshing. Mick plays in it every night after we go to bed, so every morning there are ornaments on the floor including at least one of the cardinals. He loves the idea that these birds don't fly away, so he can actually capture them and bring them down out of the tree. That the tree is still standing is a miracle.

Last night's party was fun, delicious food and wine, beautiful decorations, and some of my favorite people in the whole world. (Pictures are posted on my FLICKR site, just click on My Pictures in the sidebar.) Amazing how free I feel without my ball and chain. I really need to start attending the Weds. night suppers after rehearsals, but Mike always protests, or wants to tag along, and he's such a wet blanket, I'd rather just skip it. David gave us CD's of our performances on Nov. 26, Solemn Mass, and Lessons and Carols on Dec. 10. Our choir never sounded better. He definitely knows how to get the best from us.

I'm not sure how the evening with Skip will go. Mike is insisting on drinking wine if we do, and we always do. I learned last night that Sutter Home makes a great non-alcoholic Champagne. I may try to find some of that today and see if we can't just stick to that. He's missing his drinks, but I'm not missing Mr. Hyde, who always shows up with the alcohol. I know I can't keep him "on the wagon," but I also don't need to make it easy for him to fall off. Another day, another dilemma...