Finally, some rest

As usual, I am glad to see the holiday season winding down. Work has worn me out.

Between extended holiday hours, crowds of shoppers, cranky overextended coworkers, relentless traffic, and my own personal holiday preparations at home, the whole period between Thanksgiving and Christmas seems to go by in a blur of caffeine fueled frenzy. Yesterday I had to go to work at 5am (which meant getting up at 3:30!!) to set the post-holiday sale at the bookstore.  Even though I had to get up at such an ungodly hour, it ended up being kind of pleasant. We didn't open until 8:00, so almost half of my shift was spent in the quiet, peaceful, empty store working on first one task, then another, with no interruptions. Even after we opened I was off working alone, removing holiday signage and consolidating leftover merchandise and re-setting empty tables and endcaps. Then I got to leave at 1:00pm. After swinging by a friend's house to check on his cats (he and his wife are out of town visiting relatives) I went home, ate a big plate of leftover Christmas dinner, and went to bed for a nap.

And what a  nap it was! I slept hard for four hours, and woke up confused and disoriented because it was dark outside and much later than I expected. After some of the grogginess dissipated, GB and I went for our nightly walk with Ginger, then came back and feasted on more holiday food and sweets. We watched Netflix for a couple of hours, then went back to bed. I was afraid that after such a long nap I would be wide awake, but I fell asleep immediately and slept a full eight hours. I must have been more exhausted than I knew. Since yesterday afternoon I've slept more than 12 hours!

Today I am off, and it's wonderful to feel so rested. Our home could use some TLC, but I'm only going to do the most necessary chores. Then I'm going to take Ginger out for a long winter walk, and when I get back I plan to make a homemade pot pie with the last of the leftover turkey. Marco is so very happy today; he got two big new toys in his stocking from Santa! That bird loves new toys as much as a human child.  He's been playing nonstop since we put them in his cage. Ginger got a new leather collar, a large meaty bone, and several smaller doggie treats in her stocking. GB and I also have lots of holiday goodies: movies and books and way too many sweets. There are Godiva chocolates, cookie platters, chocolate covered cherries, peanut butter fudge, and boxes of hard candy taking up room on the dining room table. Far more than we need! But the house still feels festive.

It's going to be a good day to be at home!