Merry Christmas!

(original post on livejournal 12/25/2012)
Made it to my parents' house about three, which was my ETA, so yay for that.  Took about an hour, driving in the falling snow, but mostly just careful driving, not problems.  There is much construction, so getting to the right street coming from the east was a tiny bit of fun. 

My stepmother was very nice (which actually makes me uncomfortable) during my whole visit, probably because several members of the extended family were there.   It was weird but good to see my dad.  He looks healthy, which is on the good side, for sure.  I think I might've gotten two minutes of conversation out of him over several hours, so, weird there.

In a concession to others who would likely think I'd lost my mind, I wore sleeves and socks, and brought a jacket.  I was actually too warm in the house, and sought out the cold spots several times, so I could cool off.  I even went outside once and stood on the front porch.  When I was leaving, my sister tried to help me into my jacket, and it was comical to watch her face as I declined, because it would make me too hot.

Food was fantastic, quite as expected, and we girls set the table like a well-oiled machine.  We've had lots of practice.  Because there were eight people, we used the sideboard as a buffet, and only had eating dishes and gravy on the actual table.  Talk was desultory, with recipes and lottery scratch-offs and dogs and cats and work/school as topics of the evening.  Met cousin's husband, and he seems like a really good guy.  He's weird enough to fit right in with the family, and he obviously adores my cousin, so he's a keeper.

I got an unexpected gift from my parents (from stepmother, actually, but she always puts both names on them).  Anyway, it's a gorgeous moonstone pendant, and she insisted I wear it today.  Makes me wonder if it's been cursed or something.  lol  She talked about amethysts and insomnia, because she said she wasn't sure if she should invite me, not knowing what kind of schedule I keep.  I told her my sleep doesn't really let me keep a schedule, because I just never know when or if I'll sleep, or for how long.  Anyway, on to the amethysts, and then later in the conversation, I said that I thought my brain was just fucked up.  She agreed, and that was the meanest thing she said during my visit, and it wasn't even mean.  Anyway.

Stepmother had told me to pack a bag in case the weather got iffy, and she mentioned it again when I got there, but I reminded her I'd lived in Misery for five years, and had delivered pizzas in worse weather than this, so I would be fine to drive home.  Driving home was quite the adventure, though.  Just getting to the actual freeway took nearly ten minutes, because the freeway entrances are not marked until *right there* and so I missed more than one.  I left Bedford about 6:30, and by that time the sun was down and the roads were starting to cool off, so I drove home even more carefully than I'd driven over, and there were LOTS of idiots, both driving too fast and driving too slowly.  People had caromed off into the shoulder, one into a culvert, just sitting there with his lights on, about half a dozen accidents big enough to require professional assistance.  Luckily, because I've driven in Missouri winters, this was nothing, and I made it home just fine.  Took me an hour and fifteen, but I'd rather take my time and be safe than be impatient and end up a statistic.  Had one close call where the guy in front of me slowed down just as we reached a bridge, and I couldn't brake, because the bridge WAS iced over.  I had to change lanes and pray, but it worked beautifully and all was good for the rest of the trip.  The closer I got to Dallas, the less the streets were messed up, though by the time I hit my neighborhood, cars and buildings were covered with snow that had stuck.

Found out one of the cats, my favorite, had died a couple of months ago.  I asked about her after dinner, and my uncle told me that she'd died.  Thank goodness I was talking to him and not asking my stepmother.  She gets very attached to her animals, and that would have been a faux pas, for sure.  Wish someone had told me when it happened, though.

I'm glad to be back in my own little room - trying to determine if I should actually attempt to accomplish something, or just veg for the evening until I fall asleep.  At the moment, I'm voting for anything that takes me closer to sleeping, so things are unlikely to be accomplished.