Merry Christmas from New Jersey!

Our flight back here went like clockwork; thankfully, Mike drove us to the airport. It is great to have a professional driver in the family, with a great big pickup. The roads weren't all that bad, I'd seen worse in South Park and Wyoming!

In any event, it was wonderful to see the grandkids - have I mentioned Ellen and Daniel yet? Little Seth sat down next to me and said "I missed you while you were gone." Seth loved his tractor sets, and I told him he could ride on a real tractor next summer on the farm. He solemnly informed me that he couldn't drive one, but I assured him he wouldn't have to. Simon, on the other hand, has seen photos of Paul driving a tractor, and he wants to drive one! "We'll see" is my standard response, which really means "don't get your hopes up."

Ellen made an excellent Christmas dinner of turkey, stuffing, etc., (including Grandma's Fruit Salad, which we should rename "Great-Grandma's Fruit Salad") because my mom made it. It has maraschino cherries and marshmallows, in addition to apples, bananas, and mandarin oranges, and the kids do exactly what I used to do, pick the cherries and marshmallows out, trying to leave the rest, without getting caught. I would never admit it to them, (being the adult, an needing to show a certain amount of dignity) but I find it amusing.

Today, we are off to The City for a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, and hopefully also Rockefeller Center. We'll see how the kids hold up. There's also a folk art museum which would be fun to see, I think.