I begin this blog on Christmas night 2005. Actually its about 2 am, so Christmas is officially over. I have over-indulged in sappy made-for-TV Christmas movies. Right now, flickering across the tv screen is Olivia Newton-John stranded with some goof in a snow storm.

I will begin to dismantle the Christmas decorations tomorrow. The plan is to be on the road by January 1st or 2nd. The departure date for the cruise to the Carribbean is January 9th. We are not sure of road conditions going south from Central Illinois, and we don't want to rush the driving, so we are allowing plenty of time for the journey south.

Christmas was a bit sad this year. Grandma Ziaja was missed. She loved Christmas almost as much as me, and that is saying a lot! We dug out all the various tapes from Christmases past, and I shed quite a few tears, not just for Catherine, but for the simple fact that my little guy Zack is now an adult, and worse, I am growing older. I look back at all those blurry and shakey images of Christmas pagents, Christmas mornings and family dinners, and the memories come flooding back. *Sigh*. Geesh, I sound like Scrooge after he meets his future! Enough already!

The picture above is of the tree that I took about 1 am Christmas morning...I'll be posting more pictures soon, I promise...

Well, I'm off to bed. More tomorrow