80 degrees in December

There are some things I need to learn about living in Houston. One of the important lessons is: Don't count on cool weather for the holidays.

I love Christmas, and, paradoxically, I hate snow. But I don't mind it for that one day of the year. However, I would be satisfied with coolish weather (below 60, below 50 even) for this time of year. Instead, we are in the middle of a heat wave of sorts. It is near 80 these days. Yesterday we went Xmas shopping, all wearing capri pants and shorts. Weird. The windows are open, which hampers the operation of the newly repaired Weihnachtspyramid, which relies on heat from the candles in order to rotate; apparently, the breeze from the open windows interferes.

Yet it sill looks like Christmas, with the decorations and what not. I can still play the music, I'm just not drinking hot chocolate. But rest assured, the forecast is changing here shortly.

I blew off church today; I have a cold, cruddy eyes, congestion. So the warning is out around here, no sharing of beverages. One of the many advantages of being a UU is that skipping the Sunday service is no reason for guilt. One of the many reasons being a UU makes me happy. Gary took Alison and Sylvia; after the service the youth have a YRUU phone conference with a district rep to discuss an issue of great importance. I admire the way they're handling their complaint. So Gary will take Sylvia to lunch and to see the Christmas trees at the science museum. Next week we'll all go. Maddie stayed home with me, and I will take her to an afternoon meeting for a school group. She is not liking this church; she needs to make a friend. She will, in time. In the interim, I figured she could have a week off.

The raclette party was fun. No one had ever had it before, and it went well. The tiramisu was wonderful. The decorated cookies looked ... interesting. I can't really bring myself to eat any of them. But the kids had fun and were remarkably well behaved. I had planned to wear a sweater; instead, I wore sandals. Who knew?

Looked at my calendar yesterday at 1 p.m.; Girl Scout cookie training was at 10 a.m. Eeek. However, my co-chair went, so she is happy to be the front-woman, as it were, and I can work stealthily behind the scenes. I'm afraid to cross those Girl Scout people; the sort of scare me.

Alison told me her finals schedule for the week, which includes staying home til noon tomorrow. This thwarts my Christmas shopping plans. Curses.

Happy day, all!