everyone's a critic (except llyw)

Another round of Christmas cheer. Another round of struggling in and out of our driveway, which has to be the only driveway in the region that is still horrible. Another day of picking up Rubie.

We started off by visiting Grandma in her cozy little home. She has been moved to a home so that people can take proper care of her. It is more like a private residence and it surely isn't an old folks home where no one cares. We sat about and gave her gifts and talked. She keeps moving and moving and moving. Even if we don't have much to talk about, she is still gracious and kind.

The five of us arrived at Pulali after Jeanette & co. There was Jeanette, Liam, Caleb, and Llyw and later Dorothy and Dan came as well.

I got started with my portrait gifts with a picture of Liam. He said he looked like a girl. The eyes were a little disturbing and I fubbed the jaw but people seemed to dig it. I was only able to portrait Liam, Llyw, Celia, Ben, and Averie. I think I was having an off day or something because I was largely unsatisfied with the portraits. People dug them but I could have done better (or been better prepared with my gifts this year).

Brynne, Dan, Averie, and Ben were there. Brynne made heaps of delicious cookies. I received cookies and an awesome cookbook from Brynne, a magnificent cutting board and a cheese slicer from Averie, a sweetie sampler from Jeanette, and Super Munchkin and Meiji from Llyw.

A large group of us struggled with the Munchkin board game rules and eventually gave up when I opened Super Munchkin. We played that instead. Three fourths of the way through, the Stengels went home so Rubie took over for Caleb and Averie took Llyw's spot. We all got to level 9 and it was the Caleb/Rubie character that won outright. Super Munchkin is a fun deck but it has some of the same follies as Munchkin Fu in that it has many ways to make your character powerful and awesome but not so many monsters or ways to block an opponent from winning.

Liam loved his hat (one of the few bought gifts that I had). He ran about. A lot. But he is a wee one, they do that.

The day got dark fast and it seemed really really early when we eventually went home. The house was freezing so I quickly climbed into bed. Dad, Nate, Rubie and I bundled up and watched the first hour of Dark Knight. It was over when mom came out and yelled at us.