Ye Olde Staging Point

From the stygian depths of Christmas vacation I have returned. (Actually, technically, I'm in between vacations at the moment--Christmas vacation is over, and New Year's vacation kicks in in a day or two.) It's been a wonderful Christmas--for me and Michele, it was a pleasantly quiet holiday and an excellent excuse to hole up in the apartment amidst the mountains of books we each brought with us into our marriage. I hope that your holidays were as filled with joy as was ours. And those of you who had a difficult holiday are constantly in our prayers.

Among my Christmas highlights:

• ...watching Return of the King, of course. I have little to add to what others have said already about this film, so I'll state simply that I loved it. Not even the Tolkien purist within me, who so bristled at the discrepencies in the Fellowship and Two Towers films, could muster the will to protest this one. It was just too good.

  I do, however, have a special message for the Lord-of-the-Rings-movie-viewing public. That's right, just lean a bit closer and I shall whisper it in your ear: ENOUGH WITH THE PIPEWEED JOKES! By all that is holy, if I hear one more neanderthal in the movie theater burst into a fit of snorting junior-high giggles when "pipeweed" (sometimes hilariously shortened to "weed"--just like marijuana!) is mentioned, I will be forced to start dispensing a bit of indiscriminate justice. By the Valar, this ranks up there on the Things That Annoy Andy chart slightly above people who refer to Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as "Star Wars 2" and "Star Wars 3."

• Er, ahem. Anyway, another Christmas highlight was the hefty amount of visiting with friends that occurred. I learned how to play the Settlers of Catan boardgame, ran a really fun D&D game, and enjoyed other such social diversions. One of the perks of visiting with friends this December was the fact that it was often accompanied by delicious meals prepared by Michele, who outdid herself this Christmas by serving, among other things, Nebraska steaks and teriyaki shrimp. Tasty!

• It seems we're finally settling in on a church home, as well--Beckwith Hills CRC, located not too from from the Leonard/96 junction. It was a blessing to have something like a stable place of worship, especially during the holidays.

• Christmas loot is always a highlight as well. Suffice it to say I've got plenty of reading and gaming material to last well into the New Year. Michele surprised me with Wolves of the Calla, Stephen King's latest Dark Tower novel; it'll be fun to dive back into that series. Between Jonathan and me, you will probably be hearing all about that book in the near future.

But of course the biggest highlight of this Christmas was being able to spend it with Michele--our first Christmas together. A merry Christmas to all. May the New Year bring you peace and happiness.