We had done some picking up the night before, clearing off a lot of kitchen counter space. Stacey had some Costco Egg Bites that I was eating for breakfast, but this morning I realized that both the microwave and coffee maker had been relocated to the guest room last night. So a quick run to Starbucks later, I’m back a the house looking for something to do to help.
It was a little touch and go, but we got the thing in my car! It had just started to rain when we got here, and I honestly gave us a 50/50 chance of it fitting or us needing to run back to the entrance.
Group photo! Another masterclass in how to balance a phone precariously, for 10 seconds.
Closer to midnight. We opted to stay in, instead of going out to midnight service at St. John’s. I miss the ritual and tradition of it (and the singing), but welcomed time with my family… just hanging out.
My parents had brought over some champagne a day or two ago, which may have been for mimosas. But we ended up opening the bottle tonight. My dad wanted a toast, and wanted a family photo… so with a slight bit of balancing on the fireplace mantle, he got his Christmas wish.
Another lazy day today, not much to show. Putzed around the house and mostly relaxed. I’m sure there was a lot of TV watching. Perhaps a nap or two.
We did have one big family activity, but it took place much later in the day. We had a late evening (7PM) escape room booked, at Escape Room USA.
It was cold out, but we all braved the temps to seek out mulled wine and raclettes.
The Hutte family was in town for a big event: sending Jasmine off to college.
It’s incredible to me, mind boggling really… that Jasmine is now going to be off on her own. To me, it wasn’t that long ago that we were hanging out for the first time. It feels like she had just met Harmony the cat a bit ago. And that she just recently figured out how to eat a birthday cake.
As a testament to the ongoing march of time, I’m amazed… and awestruck to find that my niece, Jasmine, is graduating high school. And is due to head to college next year. Today, Liz and I headed to Indy to join in celebrating this big milestone for her… and for the next big milestones to come.
My brain has great difficulty understanding that my niece, Jasmine, is looking at colleges. But more than that… that she’s considering which college to attend, and that Loyola is on the list.
Jahnu, showing off the custom socks he got (featuring a photo of Kaya on the socks).
Note to self: next year, take this photo and print them on a new pair of socks. Repeat for the next 30 years.
I have vague memories of playing as a kid. And the sound of Mahjong tiles clacking together is something I hear, when imagining my grandmother’s house on the South Side of Indy. But while I think I know the rules, I never learned them officially.
One prompt in particular stands out. It was: “Politely tell your kidnapper that you need to go to the bathroom.” I forget who gave this answer, but the phrase “juice break” came up. And for the rest of the night (and the rest of our visit), that became a kind of in-joke that we kept going.
I wasn’t quite expecting the maze-like interior, but we got taken downstairs and to some far back room. Because there were eight of us, we got seated in a room off the main area… and though some other folks sat at the nearby tables, it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.
I learned there was a bit of activity going on at their house. Stacey was saying that Jahnu was really excited, to the point of crying, and she couldn’t really figure out what was going on.
My sister didn’t remember it at first, but she recognized this photo. She kept saying “Who is that?” but couldn’t quite place where she recognized him from.
As I played the video, she started to remember bits and pieces. And it was hilarious, watching her remember all the various characters from this film.
