Alan had a bad fall on Friday. He had given out puppy treats but Esme rejected hers. After a while, the boys discovered it and had a set-to over who would get the extra nom. Alan came running to the kitchen from his study to separate them, slipped in his socks on the hardwood floor and came down on his elbow. He hurt his shoulder too. I put some horsey liniment on it but it was very swollen for a couple of days. It's better now but bruised and very sore.

Going into the weekend, I had exactly one Christmas present purchased. We went shopping on Friday night, then again yesterday, and now we're almost done. Interspersed with shopping expeditions, I had a nice weekend of sipping wine and wrapping gifts while A Christmas Story played on the television. I love that movie; even though I know every scene and every line, it never gets old for me. Grizzly bears near Pulaski's candy store! Scut Farkus! Fra-jee-lay! Soap poisoning! The tongue on the flagpole, the queen mother of all dirty words, the leg lamp, the bunny suit...I love that movie.

Other highlights: we met some friends for dinner Saturday night at our favorite local Italian restaurant and had a great time. I watched this Christmas movie too and even though I'm not a big fan of Jim Carrey, I think he did a wonderful Scrooge.

Tomorrow after work I need to stop by Target for some shirt boxes and more red bows, in order to conclude this season's gift-wrapping. That's about all from The Hellhole!