A Clampit Christmas

Or was it a Clark Griswold Christmas.

We spent our Saturday in the country, where folks burn there cedar tree brush and the dinner scraps are thrown to the critters of the woods and the lake glistens through naked trees under the winter moon and the crisp winter air. It's a place where if you string lights on your house for Christmas you have invite company over to see them because the house sits to far from the road and not many inhabit the surroundings.

Yes, it was Christmas at the father-in-law's. Avery Christmas.

We had a great time assembling with the cousins. Regardless of age those darn boy cousins are still trying to find ways to harass my young...so I stayed close to protect them. I heard murmurs of don't fall asleep tonight because we just might.... I guess all those beverages sipped while bellied up to the basement bar just gave way to peaked imagination (that never came to fruition). We played our new Scene It game, where my team dominated but lost in the end due to a tie breaker-- where no one had the talent (or guts) to throw it down with a "best impersonation" of "Jack Nicholson" required by the game. When you have a relative who is in radio, who has plaques hanging on his walls signifying his talent for voice impersonations, is on the opposing team, you just thrown in the towel. I believe we congratulated there comeback with a unison chorus of hand covered cough that barked out "bull-shit." No sore sports or sorry losers here.

We had the traditional gifting of shit-you-don't-know-what-the-hell-to-do-with. There was no fighting as in years past but I still managed to leave, yet again, with the one thing of value--a hurricane candle holder. Which I have already found a nice place to work it into my decor.

The best part of the weekend had to be when my father-in-law invited us all out to see his Christmas lights. My sister-in-law and her husband arrived on Friday night at 630pm to what they described as a pitch dark scene. Then at 730pm the house's light display goes on and by connection to timer goes off at 830pm. So when my father-in-law summoned us all to admire the beauty of his holiday handy work (and he truly did have a nice Christmas lights display on his house) I gathered the relatives from the outside "smoking area" adding "time is of the essence here" and Uncle Al smiled [what was his biggest smile of the weekend]. I grabbed my coat, opened the front door and couldn't help but to laugh. There stood my daughters, King Ralph, his niece and his father in a straight line, shoulder to shoulder, silent, starring in admiration at the lights on the house. It was a comedy scene that looked like it came right from movie Christmas Vacation. Before you knew the timer turned, the lights went off and the house was lit only by the winter moon above.

Then we all went to bed. (The guest bedrooms mattresses are a story for another day, as is the scary doll bedroom).

Now, resuming my Christmas. Bake. I must bake today!