Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Mom's cat Charmaine has a modeling future

Sunday morning I got up fairly early and did one assignment, which I'd agreed to do to help out my editor. But I was easily done before noon and before anybody else was ready to head out and do anything.

My sister and her fiancé wanted to go to Wal-Mart to pick up supplies to hang the glass painting they'd given to Mom.

The Gryphon and I went along, all riding in their car.

While we were there, we also picked up hand towels, a soap dispenser and a bath mat for Dad to use in the refurbished bathroom he just finished. He's been gradually improving his apartment, a bit at a time.

Then we all went to Mom's, where my sister and her fiancé hung the painting in a diamond-shaped window in the stairwell. I took before and after pictures. Mom had always wanted some sort of stained glass there, so it's a nice addition.

They also hung the other collage/painting they'd given her, placing it above the mantelpiece.

After we finished that, we got Mom started on her new digital camera, a gift from Dad. First, I charged the battery while installing the driver software on her computer. Then we took a break and had some lunch. Mom offered some low calorie soup, a Weight Watchers recipe. It was tasty, with a couple slices of bread.

Once the battery was charged, I showed Mom the basics of taking digital pictures. Meanwhile, The Gryphon installed the software she needed to burn CDs on her computer. This way I could get her into the habit of making copies of all her photos, for backup purposes.

It occurred to me that she still needed a couple things. While my sister showed her how to set up an e-mail account, The Gryphon and I went with my sister's fiancé to the local Staples to buy her some blank CDs and some Sharpies (for writing on them), as well as a camera bag for her new camera. I figured we'd give it to her for an extra Christmas present.

For dinner, we had homemade pizza with a semolina crust. It was delicious. Afterwards, I showed Mom how to upload the pictures onto the computer and The Gryphon showed her how to copy those to CD.

I also signed her up for Ofoto.com, but because of her low connection speed, we had to just set up the upload for her photos and leave. Our day of playing helper elves had to come to a close.

The Gryphon and I returned to my Dad's, packed up the car and headed home, as did my sister and her fiancé. We thought it would be better to leave before I got too tired, since it was a long drive.

We got back and unpacked the car. We had enough time to watch a couple episodes of Angel, which we're borrowing from the Beatlemaniac before hitting the sack.

And the Christmas holiday was officially over.

More from Christmas 2004:

December 27, 2004 - Working Christmas Eve

December 28, 2004 - Artsy Christmas

December 31, 2004 - More Christmas Pics

Copyright 2004 by Alyce Wilson

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