So, it’s the new year. Happy 2014, everyone!
And yes, I know – I haven’t updated since the end of November. There are a few reasons for this.
New Year: 2014
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Category Archives: Friends
Very Happy Birthday To Me! Plus SaR
Yes, it’s my birthday today. And I’ve had a wonderful one. My parents and I went out to the Classic Cafe East this morning for breakfast, then came home and I got my presents. {Hugs Mom & Dad!}
I then spent most of the rest of the morning and the beginning of the afternoon relaxing with Imber, and reading fanfic. (Specifically Vathara‘s story Embers, which though currently in progress [finally starting to near the end!], is a wonderful Avatar: TLA fic – especially for those who like Zuko, Iroh and Toph, and hard, realistic choices.) Then I went out to coffee with a friend, and finally came home and had dinner with my parents, my friend, and my brother, sister-in-law, and niece.
It was a really nice, quiet day, and I think it was exactly what I needed. So I’m both happy and content. (As well as tired. Didn’t sleep well last night due to writing high-induced insomnia.)
As well, for those who are interested, I managed to get a full 2 pages written on the re-write of Chapter 8 of Search and Rescue last night. I doubt I’ll write any tonight, but I’m back in writing mode! 🙂
‘Later, all!
😉 tag0
Weekly Update: Friday Sept. 30/11
So, it turns out that Tony and Anna had a couch-surfer from New Zealand this past weekend, so on Friday night, we looked after Julia while they took him downtown to be Screeched In. I slept well Friday night – I even slept in! – and woke up to Julia and Mom in the morning.
Had a good, relaxing Saturday. Not much happened; I read a bit, relaxed, read fic… and in the evening, went to see “Dying Hard”, my cousin Mikaela’s show.
Gods. I sent out the link to my review on Sunday, but… man. The show was intense. I really enjoyed it.
Sunday was mostly quiet, but I ended up meeting the guy from the Asperger’s group that I clicked with. (It turned out I’d been waiting for him to contact me, and he’d been waiting for me to contact him – but he had my phone number, and only Daphne had his info.) We met up at Tim Horton’s at 3:30, and before we knew it, it was 6:30! Had to call Mom and Dad as we were leaving to let them know I hadn’t disappeared. The two of us just have so many similar experiences and manifestations….
Monday morning, I discovered that the cocker, Quixote, had peed behind Imber’s litter box. (It was definitely a dog, and Sancho won’t walk on the laminate that is the floor of my “main suite”.) Turns out he’s also done some peeing on the floor of the den, which he knew he wasn’t allowed to do – and it wasn’t kidney problems, he was choosing to do it. As a result, Monday afternoon, Mom and Dad went to the vet and had Don Quixote de la Rancho put down. Sancho and the parents miss him, but they’re adjusting.
Had an issue at the end of work that upset me Monday evening, but was able to talk it out with Mom and Dad. However, I was really upset and crying, and I woke up Tuesday morning with a sore throat.
Aside from getting 96% on the weekly assessment test on Tuesday, nothing much happened Tuesday and Wednesday. Just went to work, came home, and crashed early because I wasn’t feeling too well. Took a few cups of hot lemon and honey Wednesday and Thursday.
Yesterday (Thursday) I was feeling even worse (still just the sore throat, luckily), so grabbed some Strepsils, and took a drink of cranberry cocktail to help with the throat. It’s still sore today, but much better than it was yesterday morning.
Yesterday I also had coffee/tea (well, hot chocolate) at Timmy’s with the guy from the Asperger’s group again – though this time I set my watch alarm so I wouldn’t be late for dinner – and he’s coming over tonight for dinner. *shrugs* We’ve just clicked so well….
Today was fine – somewhat warm and muggy, though. Work went fairly well, and going to have Oriental Chicken and Cashews with rice (and without cashews) for dinner and chat some more. Watch us still be chatting when Mom and Dad get home from dinner out!
NaNoWriMo 2010: Overnight Writing Session
Okay, the Toronto NaNoWriMo Overnight Writing Session has just finished less than an hour ago (it went from 10pm yesterday to 8am this morning), and I’m sitting in the Second Cup across Yonge from the location where it was.
I had a great time there. I’ve been making more friends/acquaintances from among the Toronto NaNo community over the past two Friday nights, and one of them chose to sit at the same table I was at, so I had companionship from more than just the people a table or two away from where I was. (Not to mention Errol… so we just won’t mention him. ;))
As always, the upper room was the Loud Room (aka All Right, Where Did They Get The Elephants From?!), and the lower room was the Quiet Room (though there was definitely some talking there). I always tend to stay in the Quiet Room, because I come to the OWS to actually write, not just socialize (though I managed to do a bit of that as well). So I was in the Quiet Room all night.
And I managed to write a total of almost 11,000 words throughout the night (I finished the last 300 words of those 11K here at the Second Cup)! I’ve written a bit more since then; so far my word count going from midnight is 8,873 words (I wrote 2,998 words between 10pm and midnight). And my total word count at the moment is a whopping 66,018.
Yes, you read that right, people; I’ve currently got over 66,000 words written on my novel, all since November 4th (which is when I finally got started writing this thing, as opposed to my original story idea).
My current goal for today is to reach 70,000 words, which would put me exactly on goal for reaching 100K words for November 30th. (I want to get more – I think the story is demanding more, though I’m coming up on the climax of the first part – but we’ll see what happens.) Meaning I’ve got to get 4,000 more words today. I’ll be back to working on it when I finish this post, and I’ll update again tonight with the results.
Oh, and my Word War team, the Book Wyrms, is currently in the lead by about 100,000 words. Even over the Overachievers Team (though that will change once more of us hit 100,000, because at that point, our totals will be added to their team as well as count for our own… but the Overachievers Team is doing something different from the rest – see my two previous posts). This is a wonderful thing. Especially wonderful because it’s fun.
Other than that… there were a few laughs and giggles down with us, and there was an issue with one of the kettles (it only worked if you actually held the kettle down, and then that stopped working), but things went wonderfully in my opinion – and I have 11 little stars (well, shaped stickers) for each of the 1,000 words I managed to write during the Session.
I’m happy. It’s been a good OWS. I’m also tired, but that has to wait until I get home. *shrugs* Another 1-1/2 hours here, then up to Y&E to have brunch with the aunts. Then I can crash. After I get another 1,000 or so more words written here, and more on the way up to brunch, and on the way home. *grins*
‘Later, all!
😉 tag0
Merry Christmas!
Just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas, or whatever mid-winter holiday you celebrate. Hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday season, and a very happy New Year.
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Happy New Year!
Happy New Year
to All my Friends and Readers
Get those stories finished!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
From St. John’s, Newfoundland
From St. John’s, Newfoundland
Hope everyone’s having a wonderful day!
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New Family Member (& General Update)
Whoa! Been a while….
First I got distracted, then I got sick, then I got busy (and distracted), and then I ended up with the November blahs. Yeah, it’s been a long few months. (Though the “busy” part was fun – I had one of my best friends over from Scotland for a week, and we had a blast!)
Getting over the blahs now, and I have a wonderful announcement!
I now have a brand new first cousin-once-removed; my cousin Alain and his wife Claudia had Kaleb James one week ago today! The second of the new generation of O’Dea-Judds (actually, that was my place for our generation…) – my niece Zoe – whose first birthday was on the 9th – being the oldest. (Though we Ontario family members only found out about him on Sunday….) I have even more reasons to look forward to my short XMas visit to St. John’s now!
So, welcome to the family, Kaleb!
Back to general update…. While Loui (the aforementioned Scottish friend) was here, she got me hooked on Supernatural. *sigh* So, now I have another new fandom – and another one I’m writing stories for!
Yes, I have two Supernatural stories underway. One will (most likely) be published in Blackfly Presses Chinook Vol. 7 (debuting at MediaWest*Con 2007), and the other will be ‘net published. More details to follow….
Now, I’ve got to catch up on everything from… what? August?! Yeesh! I know what I’m doing this weekend (aside from the CPR/AED refresher course on Saturday…).
Later, all!
😉 tag0
Apologies & General Update
Jeez, it’s been over a month since I’ve posted anything! (*checks date of last post*) Yep – a month and a week, in fact. *sighs*
First of all, my apologies – other things have kept me distracted.
First there was finishing my Airwolf story (yes, the one mentioned in the previous two posts) and submitting it to my fellow Blackflies. It’s been accepted, so will definitely be appearing in our zine Horizontal Mosaic: Vol. 12, debuting Sept. 29th. Just waiting for the edits to come back so it gets finalized (while doing my own edits for all the other submissions – we’re popular!).
Then Toronto decided to have a week of tropical – or, at the very least, near-tropical – summer. The humidex that Tuesday reached 47°C (116.6°F)! ARGH! Have I mentioned how much I hate Toronto summers? I’m sure I have…. (The good news is that for the past week, the evenings/overnights have been reasonably mild to cool, and since that’s when I work, I’m happy.)
Then, I spent the next week trying to recover from that week – and the week after that recovering from the weekend between them, when I couldn’t get more than 4-5 hours of sleep at a stretch – at most. Fairly unpleasant one, that. At least last weekend was better.
In other words, I haven’t written anything since I finished the Airwolf story (Something to Live For, Stringfellow Hawke/Michael Archangel, by Bardd).
But there was some good news in there.
One of my best friends (Loui, with whom I form the TwinTorment team of Mischief and Mayhem) is coming for a visit in October! Her flights are all booked (let’s just hope some of this mess regarding carry-on baggage gets dealt with before then, given she’s coming from the UK), and we’re starting to make our plans… I am so looking forward to it!
And just before I sign off – I will be posting (finally) Part 4.3 of RuroBatt/Edge of the Blade by tomorrow morning at the latest.
Later, all!
😉 tag0
Wonderful Weekend!
Well, I had an absolutely wonderful weekend! Not just Friday, but the rest of it as well….
Saturday, I spent most of the day with my parents; we went and got my countertop dishwasher (gods, I’m so glad I’ve got that now!), and then that evening I went and got my present from my brother – an Obus-Forme body pillow! I slept quite well Saturday night….
Sunday, we had our family brunch, and then I went off to hethos‘s for the get-together with my friends; we had a great time. hethos told us about her trip to Japan, and we chatted about a bunch of different stuff, and I got even more pressies! Including (ready?) the Stargate SG-1: Season 4 DVD Box Set!
So all in all, I had a really great weekend; it seemed almost as though my birthday lasted the entire three days!
Well, given that I’m heading off to dinner with the rest of Blackfly Presses tonight, I’ve got to head to bed (and my nice, comfy body pillow).
TTYL!
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It’s My Birthday And I’ll Laugh If I Want To…
Laugh (with delight) if I want to,
Laugh (with delight) if I want to…
It’s my birthday and I’ll laugh (with delight) if I want to;
You would laugh (with delight) too if it happened to you….
I had an absolutely marvelous day today! A gorgeous e-card plus LJ entry mention from mickeyk started off the day (around midnight at work – or it might have been just before going to work, actually…) very pleasantly. Then two of the teachers who come in by me every morning before I go off shift brought me presents – a gorgeous miniature rose (Parade Rose) bush from one, and a delightful wooden pinwheel with a bead that makes a neat noise when it spins, that I’m sure will provide myself and the cats with hours of entertainment from the other…
Then I went to breakfast with most of the family here in T.O. (my youngest sister, my parents, my aunt, and one of my adopted aunts), and found out that my parents are getting me a countertop dishwasher for my apartment! I mean, I put an apartment-size dishwasher on my wish list, but it was more one of those “I’m hoping I’ll get it someday” things…. But I’m going with Mom to pick it up tomorrow morning! (Which does mean that I’ve got to do a bit of cleaning up of my apartment tonight/tomorrow morning, admittedly….)
Then I came home and slept for a while, and then went out to dinner with all of the above plus the other adopted aunt (who’s a teacher, so she couldn’t be at breakfast). And I got roses, sheets for my bed that actually fit (being so tall, I have an extra-long bed, which is a nuisance when you only have regular twin sheets), and a gorgeous sweater/cloak with a lovely cat pin. (As well as much needed funds and gift certificates!)
I’ll be posting pictures of the miniature rosebush, the sweater/cloak, and me in my birthday finery when I get them (I’ll edit and add a link to the gallery in this post).
All in all, I had a wonderful birthday, so I’m (as it says under “Mood”) ecstatic! And I’ve still got the get-together with hethos and our other friends on Sunday to look forward to!
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More Rambles…
Well, there’s another week gone. We now have one more person working with us, so we’re only short one person at work now…
My birthday is in… actually, one week! (Plus 5 hrs. and 40 mins. from the time noted of posting…) My parents will be in town (and my sister is currently in town), so the four of us plus my aunts will be going out to dinner at the Summit Grill (nice, reasonably good/well-priced restaurant that’s close enough to everyone). Then, on Sunday (the 7th) I’ll be getting together with hethos and our group of friends, something that I’m really looking forward to – I haven’t seen most of them since last October, and that’s way too long a time!
The cats are doing well, the family’s doing well (as far as I’m aware) – my brother’s even picked out his house – and I’m feeling reasonably good. (Except I’m ready to shoot my knee – it might make it feel better – but we won’t talk about that.)
Now, I just need to get to work on writing – the beginning of the week wasn’t the best (I got 4 hours of sleep – at most – both Sunday and Monday, so Tuesday I spent pretty much the entire day, between finishing my breakfast at 0815 hrs. and getting dinner around 2140 hrs. sound asleep…), and I haven’t been doing that much since then, either. *sigh* I’m working on it…
And once FFNet lets me log in, I’m going to post the Rurouni Kenshin haiku Wolf and Dragon that I wrote about 8 months ago…
Later, all!
😉 tag0
Cats & Rambles
This is what is called posting for the sake of posting. Well, mostly, anyway…
Regarding Cats: Mitzy (see entry pic) is an adorable little Burmese cat. And I do mean “adorable”, despite the fact that some of her habits (like trying to lie on my face when I’m attempting to sleep, and sucking on stuffed animals, electric blankets, etc., and licking the sides of the plastic laundry hampers, for example) drive me crazy.
Unfortunately, over the past two or three weeks she has developed yet another habit that drives me nuts.
I’m used to Burmese lying across my shoulders – that was one of Brightspot’s favourite perches, as it happens. And Mitzy generally liked to be lifted up to hang over one shoulder facing behind me. But lately, she’s been climbing onto my shoulders while I’m sitting in my chair, and draping her forepaws and the front part of her torso over my chest, for all the world as if she’s reading what’s on my computer screen. And it’s driving me bonkers! *sigh*
Of course, Mitzy’s bonkers anyway… Sweet-tempered, but definitely “not all there” at times…
As for other things:
First of all, a belated Happy 23rd to my sister Daphne…
Secondly, a belated Happy B-Day to stormheller!
Thirdly… hoping to have another chapter/part of either RuroBatt/Edge of the Blade or RuroSen: A Strange Partnership to post soon…
Fourth – anyone know any good ways to deal with headaches without taking drugs? (Currently having the occasional dose of Tylenol Migraine, since it seems to help, and I can’t have anything with aspirin due to the medication I take for my TMJ/osteoarthritis.) Other than sleep, that is. I’ve had a fairly good winter so far with respect to headaches, but lately… *sigh*
Fifth: I’m leaving for Costa Rica for just over two weeks on Monday the 20th. Will probably upload the occasional update (or maybe more frequent – I like Costa Rica, and I generally tend to relax there)… I’m really looking forward to it. And I may even get slightly warmer weather than last year, given that this year, I’m going down about 2 weeks later… (And will hopefully not come back to a nasty snowstorm here in T.O., given it will be into the second week of March by that time…)
Okay, that’s about it for now…
Talk to you soon!
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To My LJ Friends
Merry Christmas to All…
Merry Christmas, everyone! And Happy Chanukah!
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Trick Or Treating…
Things are going reasonably well in tag0-land… Will probably post a ramble or two tomorrow or Saturday.
RuroKen Fans (& Fans of Vathara’s Writing) Note…
Guess what? Vathara’s done it again…
No, I’m afraid it’s not the next Urban Legends… but trust me, you won’t be sorry reading it!
I would like to introduce a new massive crossover by Vathara:
Ethan Rayne’s Very Bad Day: Ethan’s Halloween costume chaos… backfires. Multiple crossover Rurouni Kenshin, Inuyasha, and Pet Shop of Horrors among others. Many others. Be afraid….
AKA Kenshin meets Buffy meets Inuyasha meets Gundam Wing meets Jedi meets comics… *Very Evil Snicker*
This one is highly recommended; it has the adventure and drama of Vathara’s best stories, mixed in with the humour she adds so subtly and so well…
(Can you tell I love this particular story? *G*)
Later, all!
😉 tag0
Hello Again, Everyone…
Well, it’s been a while since my last update…
Life is getting back to normal (well, as normal as my life ever gets, that is… *smirk*): Work, write, sleep, go to the occasional movie…
Yep! Been to see a couple of movies over the past week! Last Friday it was “Revenge of the Sith” with Auntie Glo (definitely the best of this SW trilogy), and on Tuesday it was “Batman Begins” with the TorontoFen (AKA the “TorFen”), which was actually quite well done. Certainly better than how a few of us were afraid it would be – and talk about all-star support! Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Rutger Hauer… And the actor playing “Dr. Crane” (can’t remember his name – would have to check) had “creepy” down pat, and whoever did his makeup did an excellent job.
On the writing front… getting more of RuroSen done – I’m onto Chp. 4! Unfortunately, there’s an open question about the characters at the moment that, once I receive an answer, may mean some extensive changes to the beginning, so I won’t be posting any of it until I get that bloody nagging question answered. (Which will hopefully be soon – I’m getting tired of wondering, and Saitô and Kenshin aren’t talking about it…) Plus, for those of you who enjoy Vathara’s writing and aren’t yet aware of it, she has a new story up (5 out of 6 parts at the moment) – “Blades of Blood”, a RuroKen AU set in the world of “Nightlife” (which is, I believe, a horror RPG game). Fascinating story (and I’m not saying that only because I helped beta it… *g*).
Work… work’s going well enough. I’m going to be doing overtime next week (working until noon Tuesday through Friday – at least, that’s the schedule at the moment – which gives me an additional 4-1/2 hrs. per day, plus the extra statutory holiday pay for Friday, which is Canada Day), so no idea how much writing I’ll get done during that (though it may end up being quite a bit, considering that I’ll be here for a total of 12.5 hrs for 4 days). May even get some more cross-stitching done as well (yes, I’m getting back into my old cross-stitching habit – gives me something to keep my hands busy while I’m thinking of things, usually story plots).
Anyway, should be posting again soon… sooner than two weeks from now, certainly.
Later, all!
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Happy Mother’s Day!
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers (and expectant mothers – *winks at sister*) out there! Called the grandmothers, will call my Mom this evening…
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Fun Saturdays!
Had a wonderful day yesterday. Slept very well Friday night, then got to relax and do a bit more beta-reading for Vathara yesterday morning, and then in the afternoon it was off to hethosus‘s for a get-together with friends whom I haven’t seen in a while (some not since December). Very nice, relaxed afternoon chatting about anime/manga, science fiction and fantasy, the publishing world, and general friend stuff…
Then I woke up bright and early this morning, ready to do some more beta-ing and some writing of my own… It’s been a good weekend so far!
Zine Updates Pt. 2…
Well, that’s done! The Blackfly Presses website is completely up-to-date!
(*Loud cheers echo in background from other Blackflies*)
Now, just got to work on getting Kenshin & Saitô off my back…
Zine Updates…
Well, I’ve finally managed to get the website for Blackfly Presses, the fanfic zine publisher of which I am a part, mostly updated (all prices are right, and that sort of thing). Was thinking that it would take me until tomorrow to get around to it (I’m rather tired at this point), but I ended up pushing all the way through it this morning. *whew!* *wipes forehead*
Now I just need to go through the latest zine status reports to get that info, but it can wait until tomorrow… or maybe the weekend, depending on how much other stuff ends up on my plate. Kenshin and Saitô are really starting to agitate to get to work on the writing again – they want the second chapter of the other RK story (the one that isn’t RuroBatt) moving forward… not to mention Chp. 2 of RuroBatt itself finished… (They’re just a little more insistent about the other one right now.)
Later, all!
I’m Leaving On A Jet Plane… Don’t Know When I’ll Be Back Again…
Well, this is it. In a few hours, I’ll be on my way back to Toronto (and the cold and the snow – though at least it appears to be above -20C today…).
I’m really going to miss Costa Rica and the parents… (and the Goold Zoo v2.4…). *sigh*
Oh well – I imagine that Mitzy and Aspen will be very pleased to see me back (once they’ve got over their sulks).
Have to get ready to put my computer in my carry-on and leave now, so I’ll say, “Bye!” until I’m back in T.O. once again.
Hello From Costa Rica…
Well, I made it! I am now here in Costa Rica, watching the beginning of a lovely sunset from my parents’ study window, having met the new members of the Goold Zoo v2.3, and greeted the old ones (and got my Scrappy-Cuddles in! He was delighted to see me…).
Won’t be online as often while I’m down here (each call costs, plus time costs), but I will be on every couple of days at the very least.
It’s so lovely and warm here… even Mom & Dad’s place, which is cooler than San José (which was actually 20C when I arrived, at 1:15pm local time, not 27C). Just what I need, I think, to de-stress. And I’ve got two weeks of it… *smiles dreamily*
Hoping to get quite a bit of writing done while I’m here. Last time I was in Costa Rica, I wrote quite a bit of HP fic, including the beginning of Harry Potter and the Sensitive’s Gift. This time, I hope to work on RuroBatt, Eye of the Storm, Harry Potter and the Sensitive’s Gift, another RuroKen story that Kenshin and Saitô have shoved down the connection between my brain and the infamous Plot Bunny Corral, and one of my original stories. But the primary purpose in being here is to enjoy time with my parents, relax, and de-stress, so those have priority.
Later, all!
Happy New Year’s!
Well, I’m off to bed – but before I go, I wanted to:
Wish everyone a very happy New Year’s, and all the very best for 2005!
Have a wonderful night, all!
(Oh, and re the RK story – yes, I actually managed to get the prologue finished. *g* It’s with Vathara now.)
Yep – It’s A White Christmas…
*sigh*
Bad enough we had ice on top of snow, but to have more snow on top of it? At least the snowfall seems to be easing after about two hours… well, what I can see of it through the security cameras and out the window behind my desk…
Only just over an hour and a half left of my 12 hr. shift – I’m looking forward to going home and spending the rest of the night with the cats.
Had a wonderful Christmas Eve with my aunt at her place, and I got some very nice pressies from everyone. Going to be calling the Newfoundland relatives up tomorrow to offer thanks to my grandmother, and express my wishes that everyone had a good Christmas…
And even being here at work for most of Christmas hasn’t been too bad. It’s always been my habit to spend Christmas afternoon relaxing with any books I manage to get, or writing… and while I haven’t exactly been doing that (while I brought one of the two books I was given to work, I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet – I’ve been pre-occupied with other stuff) it’s still been a fairly relaxing day.
With the exception of the exterior patrols. It’s not fun trying to watch your feet to make sure you don’t slip on the ice that’s on the ground while at the same time trying to check the second and third story windows from outside to make sure they’re all closed… But I managed it, and without any spills! *cheers*
Then got involved in a fascinating email discussion with Vathara (RK, GW, or Stargate fans might know her fics on Fanfiction.Net), going from last night to today, and now I’ve got one of those blasted RK plot bunnies in my corral! (Which is obviously going to have to be expanded – it’s starting to get a wee bit too crowded in there… Wonder if my parents’ place in Costa Rica has the metaphysical space available to provide an expansion?)
Anyway, hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and here’s looking forward to a Happy New Year! (Quite in advance, yes, but good wishes never hurt…)
Later!
Merry Christmas…
Just wanted to make sure I get the Christmas greetings out to everyone in time! So:
Merry Christmas and Blessings of the Season to you all!
I’m off to spend the rest of the day with my aunt for our traditional Christmas Eve visit, so have a great time, everyone!
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