Mornin’ all! Happy new MMP! Now about 2 hours post-sunrise with high clouds, 67/19 outside with the high planned for 74/23. Got a bunch cooler overnight vs yesterday.
Last night’s musical doin’s were great, but got late and then I stopped at another venue. Which was fun, but ensured everything got later & stupider. So went to bed too late, slept in some, but not nearly enough. A nap will be in order once Her Ladyship vacates the bed.
From the last of last week:
Lists are like that. Always have been, always will be. Doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating though. For sure as you get settled and the excess stuff cleared out it’ll get easier every day.
It is excellent to hear you’re sleeping lots. You were waaay deprived for waay too many months.
From shady’s subversive counter-MMP 
Semi-serious question: what’s stopping you? Maybe you can find a way to do what makes you happy for a change, not what others want you to do to make them happy.
Sorry all this is difficult. Finding the balance of conforming to other’s expectations and your own is tough for everyone. Me too. The trick IMO is to avoid the bad habit of converting their expectations into your obligations. There is a difference.
For me, we do the holidays pretty lightly. We have a tree with ornaments. We don’t have presents. Her Ladyship’s son & fiancé come down from Chicago & stay with us. In the past it’s been 1 or 2 nights due to their over-busy lives. This year it might be 5 or 6. And we all go visit Daughter and Horde a lot while they’re here. Otherwise low-key.
For this MMP:
I’ll minimize yakking about how cold it isn’t getting; that seems the only polite thing to do. But I was out til 11pm last night in shorts with the top down on the car. Although it did sprinkle for a couple of minutes, so both I and the car interior got a bit wet. Oh well.
I always enjoy going to malls around now. Since I’m not buying anything, there’s none of the pressure to find something, anything today for Aunt Jane or whoever. IMO the decorations are pretty, the crowds are energized, and it’s generally fun to participate in vicariously.
Her Ladyship and I went shoe shopping for her a few days ago. Our local mall was busy, but not frenzied. We hit the various department stores which had lots of customers, lots of stock, and lots of clerks. I might get back to that mall, or to a more distant mega-mall before the season finale. If so I’ll be sure to report back.
OTOH …
One year for work (mid-1990s?) I was stuck in far suburban Chicago from late morning on the 24th to early on the 26th. A big mall was just down the big boulevard from the hotel. It was cold: snow & slush on the ground, gray & blah in the sky. But at least it was windy. Before the advent of the internet, entertaining yourself on these long stays in dull places took some imagination and sacrifice. So for lack of a better option I bundled up & walked to the mall. Got there just after noon with big signs saying they closed early at 6pm.
Wow. The whole place looked picked over by locusts. Frenzied women dragging tired wailing toddlers while pushing a stroller filled with packages. The fear of retail failure was written on every customers’ face. The staff all looked haggard and beat, sustained only by the knowledge that in a few hours they’d be done with this BS for the year.
Needing nothing, I got a coffee & settled in to watch these silly people torture themselves. IMO that’s doing the holidays wrong. There’s nothing like a big steaming mug of smug to warm your heart on a cold afternoon. 
I love your customer stories. And that you got a break running supplies. Playing dough-catch with your face works.
You are a sweet angel. Your disguise is definitely slipping.
I stayed nearby there for work many times over the years. And have wandered that mall a lot too. I think you and I have talked about that before. Last time I was there was probably 3 years ago, and not at the holidays. The demographic there then was sort of teetering on the edge. Ouch!, that unfortunate old lady. But it sounds like she encountered an insane person, not a criminal. Yes, the assault makes the crazy person into a criminal, but there is a difference.
Blessed too are the cheese-receivers for they shall have great noshing.
Tres pretty. St. Louis had a lot of that. An inch or 3 that lasted a couple days before melting. Except for one or two week-long subfreezing intervals in Jan-Feb.
It’s not grumpy to disdain added stress and complexity. “Hostess with the mostest” whether he or she can be fun right up to the point it gets stressful. But not beyond.
Congrats again on the major eye success! And cheap quick glasses to boot! Yaay!!! As Teela said, it made my morning too.