Boxing Day update

We all made this concerted effort this year not to go crazy with Christmas gifts. No one wanted the stress or the gifts, and my father, at age 51, realized he was Jewish and didn't want any part of Christmas.

And yet somehow we all got dragged into it. And as much I keep thinking I want nothing to do with the holiday, I'm grateful for the time spent with family and friends, as well as the thoughtful gifts.

Cousin Molly got me a vegetarian cookbook, something I'd always wanted but would never buy. I made something from it tonight - spicy chickpeas - and holy crap was it delicious. There were gift certificates and x-mas checks from various other family members; a Benjamin Franklin action figure from Brother; socks (a gift I actually like getting); and a digital camera from the Miami family. So, assuming I can get my act together, expect more pictures from this rambling missive in the future.

Tonight, in addition to the spicy chickpeas, I made latkes. It is Chanukah after all. And even though I ended up going the Manishewitz route to cut back on labor, they were insanely delicious (though few things actually taste bad when fried and smothered in sour cream). My clothes reek of fried potatoes, tamarind, and coriander.

I know you can't really turn on a television or radio without being socked over the head with this, but just take a moment to think about last year's tsunami. Over 200,000 people died and that's an amount I'm not certain I can fathom.

It's been a weird year, guys.