Month: September 2018

Just a Peek…

Cléo is also worried she and her twin won’t be fans of what we got them. She thinks she’s being discrete sliding into the living room and snooping in the boxes but Nounou spilled the beans but I’m trained in uncovering mysteries and picking up on clues.

She looks happy about what she sees, though, which is good for everybody. 

Just a Peek…

Cléo is also worried she and her twin won’t be fans of what we got them. She thinks she’s being discrete sliding into the living room and snooping in the boxes but Nounou spilled the beans but I’m trained in uncovering mysteries and picking up on clues.

She looks happy about what she sees, though, which is good for everybody. 

My Turn

… one gift for Cyril… one gift for Cléo…

It’s my turn to place my carefully-wrapped gifts near the tree. I’m self-conscious. This is my first year giving gifts to my siblings as a money-earning, actually grown-up adult. What if I’m out of touch? What if I lost track of what they like?

Too late to change now anyway. And I spent so much time thinking about them. Guess we’ll see tomorrow.

My Turn

… one gift for Cyril… one gift for Cléo…

It’s my turn to place my carefully-wrapped gifts near the tree. I’m self-conscious. This is my first year giving gifts to my siblings as a money-earning, actually grown-up adult. What if I’m out of touch? What if I lost track of what they like?

Too late to change now anyway. And I spent so much time thinking about them. Guess we’ll see tomorrow.

Gift-Giving

Today is Winterfest Eve, aka the very last minute to drop our wrapped gifts around the Winterfest tree. We want to be sneaky and not disclose which gift comes from whom right away, so each of us goes, alone, when the room is empty.

It’s a very colorful waltz, and between the gifts the five of us have for each other, and all the gifts from all around the family, the pile gets impressive really soon.

We’re just hoping Nounou doesn’t spill the beans.

Home is Where the Cat Is

As dreamy as the other home was, it didn’t have Nounou waiting for me at the front gate. Everybody else is asleep already, but this little cutie was waiting for me. Right next to a snowpal one might almost think he built himself, except for you know, his lack of hands.

The Only Good Snowpal

Heading back home, the blizzard is over and Newcrest is a peaceful sea of white again. I stop in front of a house I somehow never noticed before. I love its look, its charm. There must be at least three bedrooms in there. That’s one bedroom for me, one office for me to conduct research, and one more to fill with my findings. And look at the size of that swimming pool!

Drooling over the red bricks and dreaming about a faraway future, I start gathering snow, and shaping it into a peculiar silhouette. A snowpal in a hat, the best snowpal I ever made. Finally, one that doesn’t look like some cosmic hand dropped an ugly snowball on the ground and let it lay there!

Now, I’m not one to believe in signs, but…

Or maybe I am. Maybe I am.

Diner Reunion

What is bringing me out in the blizzard, you’re asking? A high school reunion. A small, casual high school reunion, at the oldest restaurant in Newcrest, a recently renovated diner. Rumor has it it was built by my great-however-many-greats-grandparents. On the Stewarts side, obviously.

You know me, you know the only reason I agreed to come at all is Nolan, who teased and joked until I agreed for old time’s sake. They were more his friends than mine back then already.

You’d think I’d have grown closer to Bradford, what with him being my colleague and everything… but that’s a hard no. And between us, the awkwardness is palpable.

But I don’t regret coming. If this is a family-owned restaurant, then my family knows how to make pretty dang good burgers.

I also take two coffees.