Still grinchy after all these years.

I don't really have any Christmas traditions. The holiday season is a pretty random time for me. Will Christmas be lonely and angsty, like in 2006? Or joyously overstimulating, like in 2007? Will it be another 2008, a rainy Christmas day spent watching holiday classics like Gremlins and Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter?

My Christmas breakdown so far:

I sang at two Christmas masses, one at 11pm on Christmas Eve, and one at 10:30 the next morning. Oh, the sleep deprivation! But the midnight mass was amazing -- the church was beautiful in wreaths and pointsettia, the carols and hymns were familiar yet glorious, and the choir rocked the Haydn mass setting. The morning mass was a lot more low-key, but the singing was even better (cords still warm from the night before :P)

John got me a sweet violin bow for Christmas. I spent a few hours bowing my classical guitar, then looking for other objects to resonate. Wine glasses and the bird cage, for example. This is really, really fun for me. Shortly thereafter, I fell asleep in a chair while listening to Handel. I am an old lady.

Today, John and I went hiking in the San Gabriels (well, what's left of them after the Station Fire). The burn areas are ashy, bald, and eerily silent. Those were some of my favorite hiking trails! Booooo. We cheered ourselves up with a visit to our favorite dumpling restaurant, courtesy of Jill and Tim. That part was great. Don't worry, Emily and Nerissa, we can never have too many dumplings!