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Word count for 23 Dec.: 163
Word count for 24 Dec.: 422
Word count for 25 Dec.: 191
Word count for 26 Dec.: 321
Word count for 27 Dec.: 0

I think the first draft of chapter 14 is done. It feels too short, though, even though the events I wanted in there are covered. There is one more thing I could stick in, but it doesn't strictly belong there, so I hesitate. Not that it *doesn't* belong there, exactly... It's just that it's something that happens to yet another character that has to be told from yet another point of view. I could just as easily stick it at the beginning of the next chapter or even simply imply that it happened without giving details (I think the latter would be cheating, though, that my readers will want to see it).

I decided not to do any further writing last night while I thought about it. I still haven't reached any firm conclusions, so I'm going to start in on the next scene tonight and decide later what chapter it belongs to.

(no subject)

On Christmas Eve, we introduced Delia to snow. Well, we bundled her up and took her out for a walk, anyway. She looked at the white stuff all around, but she didn't actually try to touch it or pick it up. She just toddled forward for a three block walk, having a wonderful time. We got a few not very good pictures (for some reason, she wouldn't stand still!). By the time we got home again, her face was bright red. She didn't want to go inside, though. I don't think she's yet made the connection between feeling cold and being outside.

I suspect that she'll try actually getting into the snow the third or fourth time we take her out in it. Of course, doing that may take a while. I have asthma to cold air and so hesitate to venture out, and Delia doesn't actually have winter gear that she can walk in. When we took her out, we layered clothes, light jackets and sweaters to give her reasonable protection for a short walk, but she struggles against each new piece of clothing. If we could get her to grow another few inches, she could wear her snowsuit...

In this case, we needed to deliver a couple of misdelivered pieces of mail, both to the same house (one was actually misaddressed to a house number that doesn't exist on our street, but the neighborhood map told us where the correct recipients lived). We also wanted to deliver an invitation to our New Year's Eve potluck to some friends who live just a bit down the street.

Speaking of the New Year's Eve thing-- Some of you, I've talked to and you can't come. Some of you I haven't talked to because I have the impression you already have plans. Others... Well, I lose track of who I have and haven't talked to. The thing isn't an open house because we hope actually to sit down and have a meal at the table, but we've still got room for a couple more people. If you see this and will be in the area and free for dinner on New Year's Eve, drop me a line. We may still have space for you to join us.

Scott and I spent all day Christmas Eve running around trying to get everything done that needed doing. I made bacon wrapped dates and coffee cake. Naturally, we failed to accomplish everything. I didn't finish the last scarf, and Scott didn't finish the DVD of his family's home movies. Oh, well, everybody was understanding about the delays.

We decided to ration Delia's presents so as not to overwhelm her with stuff. Christmas Eve, we opened the package my mother had sent which had a lot of clothes, three or four books and a couple of simple puzzles. Delia's still not entirely clear on the puzzle concept. She likes pulling the pieces out, but she wants us to put them back for her.

Once Delia was in bed, Scott and I exchanged gifts. I'd bought him a handheld computer that he wanted, and he'd gotten me all three seasons of Slayers. He managed to find them on E-bay at a decent price and *not* bootlegs. I think he was startled by my glee over them, though I'm not sure why. I like owning copies of good stories. It's why I collect books, and it's why I collect DVDs and videos. I don't want the medium; I covet the story.

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Christmas morning, we continued our running around like crazy people. Scott baked an apple pie (and discovered that Delia loves tart apples). I tried to pull together everything we needed to take to Scott's sister's place. Delia found the one present we'd put out for her and started unwrapping it. She's still enjoying that one, a set of foam squares with puzzle piece edges. Each square has a letter or a number in the middle that punches out. It's a pain to clean up each evening, but... We expected that.

What with one thing and another, we didn't get on the road till nearly two. Delia didn't nap at all. We hoped for at least a little bit of sleeping in the car, but she remained wide awake. Of course, I suspect that we didn't help when we kept feeding her grapes. (We'd been foolish enough to leave grapes in the car overnight, so they were frozen. Delia thought they were absolutely wonderful which made me wonder if she were teething or some such. Then we found out when we got there that she'd been clutching a frozen grape in each hand for most of the trip. I don't know how she could stand it!)

Once we got there, we had no hope of getting Delia to sleep, and she didn't. She kept moving all day until we finally got in the car about 8pm to head home. At that point, she was out like a light.

It was a long day. Looking back, I'm not entirely sure how we spent it. Time both seemed to drag and to slip away. We did a couple of different present exchanges, one with Scott's family and one with Scott's sister's in-laws. The two completed scarves were well received as was the promise of the as yet incomplete one. Delia got several books all new (notable because I'd suggested used books as a better option all around), three more puzzles, a couple of stuffed animals and a couple of other miscellaneous items. Sadly, she was mostly unimpressed by the whole affair. It interfered with her ability to run around the house.

We had lamb for dinner. Scott kept murmuring to me about it not being quite appropriate in his opinion. He was being funny, but I'm glad he didn't say anything loud enough for his parents or sister to hear. They might have understood, but... They also might not.

Delia refused even to try the lamb. I think she's suspicious of red meat because she so seldom sees it. She did eat a little cauliflower, a couple of bacon wrapped dates and some bread. Later on in the evening, she had some chex mix (it can be made Delia-safe with canola oil instead of butter or margarine and a carefully selected Worcestershire sauce (there are one or two with no soy)) and a couple of cookies. Scott's sister lent us a neat cup for Delia-- The handle was a straw. We're going to look for one like it because it was easy to use.