I celebrated sushidog's birthday at a distance today with C., makyo, and A. Instead of whatever tasty baked goods we missed out on, we had Christmas cake and wonderful mince pies.

Vacation is wonderful. This is the first time in years in which I have spent my days more-or-less guilt-free for not working. I've been devouring novels, sleeping in, chatting, playing Robo Rally, and generally being lazy. The house grows quieter as people leave, approximately one a day. We're staying on a few more days yet. By then, class prep and adventuring will be calling my name again.

How can 2006 be this close to finished? I'm not done with it yet!