My post-Christmas update: Mom laid out quite a yummy spread and we had a wonderful time at her house. One of her presents was this box of candy - Amazon has candy assortments from different decades so we bought her the Fifties Assortment, full of candies from her childhood like candy cigarettes, candy buttons, Zagnut bars...oh, and wax lips! Gotta love the wax lips.

Alan had to work on Boxing Day but after his shift ended, we packed up and headed to Augusta for Christmas with his family. He'd booked us a lovely suite at the Doubletree Hotel - we usually stay at the Partridge Inn when we go to Augusta, but we wanted to take Mister Fusspot with us, both to meet his family and to get him used to car rides, trips, etc. The Partridge Inn, being so old and historical, does not allow pets so we tried the Doubletree instead. It was just wonderful! They had a quite tasty breakfast buffet on regular days, and but a fabulous brunch on Sunday: ahi tuna, smoked salmon, cheeses, pork loin, pastas hot and cold, tomato-and-cucumber salad, cheesecakes, white and dark chocolate fountains - so many good things I can't remember them all. Of course, we had a great time visiting his family, hanging out, talking, exchanging gifts.

Mister Fusspot is both a good and bad traveler. He is great in the car - no carsickness or restlessness; he mostly just sleeps in his little crate. He was sweet to everyone (no bities!) and was a big hit with our little niece Eliza. However, it's pretty clear that he doesn't like disruptions in his routine and isn't thrilled with strange places. Even in the hotel with no one but us around, he took a while to settle down, nor was he eating and drinking as he normally would. I wanted him with us and like I wrote, we want him to get more used to traveling - like Sprocket, to whom everything is a wonderful new adventure, but I was sad to make him so unhappy. Still, the trip was not totally devoid of nice moments for Mister Fusspot.

We don't have big plans for New Year's Eve but I'm very happy with what we do have on the agenda. We are making a lovely prime rib, rosemary/garlic potatoes and salad, and having a yummy dinner at home together, just the two of us. I'm quite content with a low-key evening and looking forward to a long weekend.