Santa Claus is coming to town...

...and so is my mother! So you won't be hearing much from me until next week, as we'll be very busy eating and wine-tasting and cooking and eating and drinking. And eating. And drinking.

I'm hoping she's able to soak up as much of the Bay Area as possible before returning to the snowy tundra of Wisconsin. She lived here for several years, just down the street from me (which was really cool - and reminds me of a completely drunken Christmas Eve...I'll have to write about that one of these days) until she moved back to the Midwest in the most selfless act I've ever witnessed. It's a long story, and she'd probably rather I not get into all the details, but she picked up her life and moved back to where she grew up to be nearer to her mother, who was not in the best of health at the time. And they'd been estranged most of my life, because...well...my grandmother was a difficult woman. So I though it was pretty amazing that my mom was willing to make that sacrifice.

Then again, my mother is an amazing woman. I really wish Santa would move her somewhere warmer. Where she'd like to live. And closer to California.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!