Man, my body is wondering what the heck I did to it yesterday.
Therefore, priority numero uno today is to do a full workout: weights, cardio, and a lot of water.
Thankfully I managed the booze well and there's no hangover, so there's that.
Happy Friday.
Fri. Dec. 26, 2025: A Couple of Cozy Days
image courtesy of Alberto Antonio Peguero De Leon via pixabay.comFriday, December 26, 2025
Waxing Moon
Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde
Cloudy and cold
I hope you had a loving, gentle holiday, and I hope you have a fun, restorative weekend planned.
After breakfast on Wednesday, I trundled down to Cumberland Farms at the bottom of the street and got another quart of milk. It was sputtering a few flakes and windy, but nothing major.
Once I got home and unwrapped, I did my marketing for the day. I revised three more chapters of VICIOUS CRITIC. Being so close to the end, it was tempting to push, but I wanted to stay sharp, so I didn’t. Still, it was a good 7K.
I need to figure how to get that pace for the ghostwriting.
I read and played with the cats for a good portion of the day. I kept feeling like I “should” be doing stuff. Some of it is muscle/sense memory, even after all these years, about working shows over the holidays. Some of it is that capitalistic, systemic conditioning that we have to be productive all the time. I’m trying to break myself of some of that, so I keep up a positive work ethic when appropriate and also really take time off when appropriate. It’s less about balance than sanity, and what serves my creative process best.
Hauled myself off the couch in the late afternoon to make the dinner: pork roast, mashed potatoes, red cabbage, green beans with hollandaise sauce. It was yummy. Everything turned out well, and even timed out okay, although my mother wandered into the kitchen, peeled the potatoes, and turned on the stove earlier than I planned. But it all worked out.
And the individual chocolate trifles are good, although quite rich.
After dinner and the dishes, we put on the lights and the candles, put on the tree, put Christmas CDs with songs sung by Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra on, and opened gifts. Everything was so inventive and thoughtful, and we are so grateful. And we have treats to eat for weeks!
Tessa, Charlotte, and Willa had fun with the unwrapping and the ribbon and pouncing on mounds of wrapping paper. Bea fled to the condo. It was too much commotion for her. Last year was Bea’s first indoor Christmas, the tree was in the living room, and sewing room doors were still shut at night, so she didn’t have the full experience. Once we put everything away, she came back down for a cuddle, while we made like Icelanders and read books.
Once my mom went to bed, I did her stocking and put it at her place at the kitchen table.
I slept pretty well, albeit with strange dreams. Much to Tessa’s delight, I was awake without prodding at 5:30 on Christmas Day. I fed everyone (Willa and Bea got the duck and sweet potato that day instead of the usual Sunday). I did the morning yoga, meditation, and writing. Could I have given myself the day off? I did not want to, and I get to do what I want.
We did the stockings (lots of bath and body stuff and more yummy treats). I made scrambled eggs for us to eat with our panettone (a Christmas morning treat).
I went into my office to get a few things done, and Tessa started rummaging (there’s a picture up on Instagram). Sigh. It was funny, but still, she’s Very Busy lately.
I did the revisions on the last couple of chapters of VICIOUS CRITIC, finishing that draft. I put together all the chapters (I work on them in separate files) into one document. Word was awful, changing fonts on me. But I got it into one file, for the final manuscript pass. Chapter 16 had vanished, although I remember revising it a few days ago, and even have the note as to how many words. But it wasn’t anywhere to be found, so I had to redo it and pop it in.
I hate Word. It keeps getting worse and worse. It doesn’t help that my cursor is jumping all over the page, too, instead of, you know, typing in order. Not a fan of Scrivener, either.
But I got everything in the file I want. I worked on the acknowledgement document. I will do another pass this weekend, pop in the author note and the first chapter of BETTING MAN, and get it off to my editor before the end of the year.
I kept thinking yesterday was Sunday instead of Thursday. All turned around.
I did some work on the historical mystery, too. I was about ready to give up on it, but managed to get it back on track.
Then it was time to start the big meal for the Day: Coq Au Vin. The recipe isn’t all that complicated, but the flavors have to be layered specifically, so it needs time and attention. It’s made in the Dutch oven, which is great. And, of course, we had more mashed potatoes!
At one point, I looked up from cooking, and it was snowing like crazy, although not much stuck. So we sort of had a white Christmas.
We ate around 1:30, and enjoyed it. I’ve been making this dish since we moved here, and this time, it came out perfectly. It’s the only time I make it all year, but it’s worth it.
We had the other set of individual trifles for dessert, after we did the dishes and put them away.
I spent the afternoon on the couch with the cats, reading. We had the tree and the lights on (Tessa was delighted), and Christmas music on the CD player. I kept feeling I “should” be doing something, but ignored it.
Slept well, and slept in until after 6. Originally, I planned to haul things to the laundromat, but when I saw it was going to be 5 degrees this morning, nope. Instead, I slept in. Yes, 6 AM is “sleeping in” in this house!
I don’t remember the details of my dreams, just that they were around something-something creative, and I woke up feeling good about it, not disturbed. So I guess January will be creative, which is a good thing.
The dreams over the Twelve Days of Christmas supposedly connect to the coming months. So last night’s dream is January, tonight’s dream is February, tomorrow’s is March, and so forth.
Morning routine went well. I will do a light grocery shop later and run a couple of other errands. I want to get them done early, since we are supposed to get 4 inches of snow between tonight and tomorrow, and then an ice storm coming in on Sunday.
Even there’s not a lot of natural light, I will work on the textile piece today. I think I can finish it, and then polish the text portion over the weekend.
Have a good one!
#cats #Christmas #cooking #family #holidays #life #NinaBellMysteries #shortStories #writing
> The joy of leftovers – what to cook in the calm after Christmas
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/dec/23/what-to-cook-in-the-calm-after-christmas
Hey, I am all about leftovers, but who are those freaks who still have cheese left over? 🧀
Today Kwanzaa Begins. It's also National Candy Cane Day, National Thank-You Note Day, National Whiner’s Day, National Stuart Day, & Boxing Day.
https://www.listobsession.com/interesting-holidays/december/
Christmas Day*, secularly known as "Unboxing Day". 🎁📦
"Eve where presents are opened the evening before
Wer hat’s auch gern warm, wenn’s draußen glitzert? 🎄☃️💙🤍🎄😏 #lazy #snow #christmas #cozy #holidays
Wer hat’s auch gern warm, wenn’s draußen glitzert? 🎄☃️💙🤍🎄😏 #lazy #snow #christmas #cozy #holidays
The epitome of a cinematic payoff, tbh.
#TheMuppetChristmasCarol #MuppetChristmasCarol #Movies #Cinemastodon #FilmMastodon #Christmas #Xmas #Holidays #Muppets
How very true, Lynn! Happy holidays of all sorts to everyone!
Sunday December 21, 2025 - FBorFW Strip Fix
https://www.fborfw.com/strip_fix/sunday-december-21-2025/
> Lynn's Comments: I’ve often thought: if it wasn’t for women, there would be no Christmas or Easter or Thanksgiving celebrations. We take the cake!
🧵 Holiday greetings artwork, 7/x
My 2023 Holiday greeting card, modeled using NURBS in MoI 3D, rendered with Blender's Cycles
#xmas #christmas #snowman #shopping #CharacterDesign #design #artwork #sculpture #3DArt #3DModeling #3DArtist #illustration #illustrator #fun #cute #cartoon #picture #digital #art #artist #arts #arte #designer #GraphicDesign #3D #3DRendering #CGI #holidays #B3D #blender #DigitalArt #OriginalArt #ArtLovers #MastoArt #FediArt #MastodonArt #CreativeToots #ArtistsOnMastodon
Cookie Launcher Makes You Catch Your Own Snack https://hackaday.com/2025/12/25/cookie-launcher-makes-you-catch-your-own-snack/
#HolidayHacks #3dprinted #Cookie #Holidays #Launcher
Please enjoy this cute mini cake that I treated myself with on Christmas. It was a rainbow of flavors. Had my first proper dessert in like 3 months 🎂🍰🎄
#cake #dessert #baking #cooking #holidays #holiday #xmas #santa #food #newyear #depression #adhd
My party favor company is on a short hiatus, but I put together a treat box design for those I missed before Christmas. Filled with individually wrapped Lifesaver mints that are both practical and delicious. The gift bag is a great finishing touch!
The New Year is coming
📷 Olympus XA
🎞 Ilford pan 400
#photography #photo #fotografie #analogphotography #filmphotography #believeinfilm #35mm #darktable #gimp #blackandwhite #monochrome #minimalism #homedecor #home #holidays #newyear
