Merry Hanukkah

Saturday, December 24, 2011
In which the first Christmas is attended in all good cheer…

The chickens shared cookies for breakfast.
What the heck; it was Christmas Eve.

Over at the Silverspoon’s, Gloria was shopping, while the boys gathered around Theodore to discuss social media. And a brief discussion of St. Nicholas with Puck…
“Is Santa bringing you presents?” Curly asked him.
“No,” Puck replied, yet again… “He’s dead.”
“Assassinated by my realism,” OLeif shook his head. “Octavian Puck Theodore Silverspoon. Dream assassinator.”
Christmas flowers, including red roses and pale green lilies, were more or less arranged in a glass pitcher by OLeif as a belated birthday greeting to Gloria.
Paninis.
Potato Chips.
Chocolate Cake with two candles for Collette, Target gift card.
And the first time Collette had enjoyed a glass of juice in ten months… Probably not the best idea…

Shortly before three o’clock, they departed for Florissant and the Combs house where the fifteen others were already present, including Uncle Larry and Uncle Bobs and Aunt Day, who had moved back from Sydney.
World War II footage, in color, was on the television in the living room. Explosions were rampant.
“What?” Linus declared, joining the crowd. “This is Christmas. I don’t want to see this now!”
Linus took a seat.
“Excuse me!” Puck called from the kitchen, where Mila the dog was busy eying his plate of food. “But your underwear is showing!”
Linus laughed and adjusted his trousers in the back. Leave it to the four year-old with The Emperor’s New Clothes…
Then Linus presented Grandma a photograph of Mila that he had taken in photography class at school.
“What grade did you get on that?” Joe asked.
“I don’t know. I got an A in the class. My professor’s such a hippie. He doesn’t give grades. He lived in Venezuela for six years just to take pictures of stuff.”
“So he probably gave you a check plus?” OLeif asked.
“Check plus plus.”
“Smiley faces,” said Carrie.
“I give this a… blue,” said OLeif. “No. A green.”
Grandma was eager to begin the opening of the gifts, probably about as much as Puck. She had good reason. The cream of the evening was in the form of an authentic Conservative white satin yarmulke for OLeif. “Merry Christmas, Rabbi” the note said. And didn’t he just look like the real thing. For OLeif, who had always wanted his own yarmulke, was very pleased. Maybe as pleased as Puck was, wide-eyed, over the disc-flinging robot (which arrived with instructions in seventeen languages), also from Grandma Combs.
There was coal for Lucia from Joe (and Starbuck’s gift card), parachute bracelets for Carrie and Joe from Grandma, jeweled make-up brushes for Linnea from Grandma, M’nM socks in blue, yellow, red, green, etc. for the kids and a pair of matching pajama pants for Rose (also all from Grandma), and a 30 year-old copy of The Spirit of St. Louis written by Charles Lindbergh for Grandma from Linus. When she began choking up a little.
“I win!” Linus declared.
There was also an enormous box of snack foods for Francis from Carrie, including little league-sized boxes of Sun Chips, pretzels, beef sticks, and Oreo Cakesters. Generous bills from Grandma to everyone. And for OLeif and Collette, with some green mixed in, a coupon from Francis, including photograph of him snoozing attached…

Good for 1 year’s services from: LAZY FRANCIS LAWN CARE
~ I’ll mow your grass. Right after I take a nap.

Services:

• Grass cutting by Francis (or maybe Creole)
• Mole hill stomping
• Complementary Gatorade drinking
• Complaining and arguing
• Mower engine tinkering and disablement*

Powered by egg sandwiches

*Reassembling not guaranteed. Additional egg sandwiches may be required.

“Well, he dropped the first one down the toilet,” Carrie explained. “So he had to make a photo copy of it instead. And now that the copier is no longer in commission…”
There was a little catching up on the week. Francis had been held captive for about an hour at work while one of his fellow employees discussed the play he had written about Indians and zombies. Lucia had walked out on her job, due to extensive corruption of management. And some lengthy discussion was being had in the kitchen about the Civil War between all the parents. Uncle Bobs with his pleasant accent, asking Puck what he was going to do with his ‘fifty bucks’ and slapping him a high five.
A spread of make-it-yourself dollar sandwiches and various dishes was presented in the buffet following the eclectic Christmasy appetizers.

When they returned shortly before 8:30, Puck went down immediately with a snore, and OLeif completed the magic of the Christmas tree, wrapping Puck’s little gifts to put under the tree.