Lost: A Sense of Proportion

Somewhat belated merry Christmas all around! I've been enjoying seeing all your Christmas posts, even if I haven't been doing a ton of replying.

Christmas was a bit low-key around here, due to Mom having the flu (which then promptly hit me yesterday... kinda cannot brain now). Really not fair when you get both the flu shot and the flu itself, but I had heard they did a particularly bad job this year of predicting which strains to protect against.

It was mostly good, though. Lots of hanging around together, watching Netfix, 'n such. And I got some great presents! Lots of books (not all of which have arrived yet), music, and tea-themed stuff. Turns out, Earl Grey Tea lip balm is amaaaaaazing. I also got a "Sherlock's Study" scented candle, which is hilarious and awesome.

Since Eric's got some post-Christmas time during his winter break, Dad took some time off work. So... Jan. 1st - if we're not all hacking up a lung at that point XP - we're planning on draving south to New Orleans for about a week. Eric and Dad are hoping it'll be warm enough for them to bike a lot (winters in Minnesota are loooong, and as into it as they've been this year they're feeling deprived now), while Nef, Mom, and I... probably hang out at coffee shops and find interesting food to eat, mostly. I've never been there before, so it should be fun. ^^

Or: A cautionary Christmas tale for editors and graphic designers alike. Because I am in a silly mood, and happy to have a functioning computer again. XD

Once upon a time in the frozen north, there was a chain of grocery stores. One day, as the weather grew yet colder than usual and the consciousness that Christmastime was fast approaching began to dawn in the hearts of people everywhere, certain mysterious and shadowy Powers That Be within the company decided that it would be a Good Thing to order some festive holiday-themed paper grocery bags for all of their many stores. 

And so down from on high came the order to Make It So. And behold, it was Very Good... in theory. 

Those orders trickled down to some equally mysterious person or persons, much lower in authority and powers of delegation, but no less capable of creative thought and Good Ideas. And so the person upon whom the task fell went out in quest of the perfect design for Holiday Paper Grocery Bags. It was decided that this design ought to be simple, and cheerful, with a certain flavor of old-fashioned classic elegance. 

And so in the fullness of time, behold, a design was brought forth, most likely derived primarily from selections of Free Clip Art. Nonetheless, it was sufficiently pleasing to the eye and appropriate to the season, and all who beheld it declared that it was Just Right and would do fine for this year. And besides, they had to hurry up and get it to the printer, if the bags were going to be delivered to all the stores in time. 

Sadly, upon all who beheld that design prior to printing, a certain selective blindness fell. For, while the design was indeed attractive as a whole, in point of fact it contained a number of Errors.

Who can say exactly how it came to pass? Perhaps those tasked with the undertaking were unfamiliar with the conventions of Filler Text. Perhaps they knew no Latin, and so assumed the words to be a festive message of holiday cheer. Perhaps they were simply in a hurry, and decided that It Looks Good Anyway, And It's Not Like Anyone Will Notice. The details are now lost to the mists of time. All we know for sure is that, when those bags made their grand debut in the stores to which they were sent, they were liberally decorated with images such as these:


( Do You See What I See? )

God. Is. Amazing.

It seems that of late December is destined to be the month of craziness for my family.

Two years ago we had our Christmas tree fall over - twice - breaking a number of our glass ornaments. Then we found out our new house wasn't as well sealed as we'd thought and with the cold mice had come inside. Then Dad's truck slipped in the snow on an incline, rolled over on its side, and slid into the creek. And then our internet kept going out for days at a time. And then on Christmas morning, our sump pump broke, flooding our basement - where the bedroom Nef and I share just happens to be located.

Last year, Mom caught pneumonia, so Nef and I wound up handling a lot of Christmas preparations on our own. We've been doing more and more as we've gotten older, of course, but she was so wiped out we had to pretty much take care of everything, in addition to keeping the housework up and helping take care of Mom.

This last week, we've already had lots of overall stressful craziness going on. And every time we try to get together with our niece for Christmas baking something comes up and it has to be canceled. And then yesterday we were in a car accident. Aside from general soreness everyone's alright, but it looks like the van may be totaled, and at the very least is going to be in the repair shop for some time.

BUT God is good, regardless.

Two years ago: when Dad's truck rolled over, he wasn't hurt and damage was minimal; when our basement flooded, it was with clean water, not sewage, and we caught it before any major damage was done (Nef and I were still sleeping on the floor then, but our mattresses weren't wet, and there were boxes of books and such on the floor right in the water - but only the cardboard was wet, it hadn't soaked through enough to get anything inside them wet).

Last year: we actually did very well, kept things going, and Mom got better soon enough to at least enjoy the celebrations with us.

And this year: the craziness seems to be much easing off, and as I said, everyone's alright, and the accident was clearly the other woman's fault, so her insurance has to pay for everything, including a rental car for us in the meantime, and a new vehicle of equal value should we need to replace the van entirely.

So, all that to say - I'm very sorry for pretty much disappearing off the face of the earth for the last week here, and I hope to be back posting and responding to things (including your stories, Niro and Polly!)  very soon. My absence hasn't been for lack of interest or desire to respond :)