The project at work that has been consuming much of my time is done, the report written, and the presentation presented.  All of the final meetings, small projects, and end-of-year wrap-up at work has been wrapped up.  I am on vacation, and will not be darkening my office door nor cracking open my work laptop until next year.

I am more then ready for the end of year holidays.

If I lived in New York, I could be watching the Yule log (now available in 3D and HD) channel right now.  (According to the NY Times, New Yorkers have been watching the Yule Log channel since 1966!)

Tree: obtained and decorated? Check.  We did that one a little while ago.  Though the poor tree did have to endure several days of a bone-dry tree stand before I remembered that it needed to be watered.  Sorry, tree!  Still, the initial drought doesn’t seem to have done any lasting damage… no more needles then would normally be expected have fallen off.  We even decorated the potted Clementine tree in the kitchen with tiny little ornaments and hung icicle lights in the library windows.

Merlin ignores the tree.  Thank god.

I kind of wish that Percival would ignore the tree, as I have found lights askew and ornaments on the ground on several occasions.  Though at least he is not actually trying to climb the tree.  (That I can tell.)  He seems to limit his play to the low-hanging stuff and to burrowing around in the bedsheets that we pressed into service as tree-skirts.  He is also drinking the water out of the tree stand.

Cards? Check.

All in the mail.  Packages too.  Hopefully everything will arrive in time.  The Post Office is a special ring of hell this time of the year.

Baking? Check.

The sweetbreads (actual bread, and not pancreas) are done, though I think that I might want to make another loaf of date nut bread at some point.  I also made a batch of pizzelles using the special, gourmet, vanilla extract that Ted and Sabrina gave us.  Sadly, my tongue is not gourmet enough to tell the difference between special, gourmet, vanilla extract and run-of-the-mill grocery-store vanilla extract.  Still.  Tasty pizzelles.

I even have a small fruitcake in the freezer for New Years Eve.  Though I have to admit that I got it at the bakery, rather then making it myself.

Gifts all wrapped? Check.

All wrapped and under the tree.  Percival is fascinated by the bows on some of the packages that came in the mail from John’s Dad.  Obviously they are cat toys and are there for him to bat at and chew on.  He managed to pick up the smallest package by its bow and was carrying it around the first floor with him when we caught him and confiscated it.  Now the boxes with bows are turned upside-down and kind of wedged in with the rest of the boxes to try to discourage that kind of play.  Why didn’t we just take off the bows?  I am not sure… I think that we felt bad at completely depriving Percival of a source of fun, so we just decided to make it hard for him to play with them.

Cleaning done? Check.

Everything is done.  All errands have been run.  Everything is cleaned.  Everything is ready.  I have nothing left on my pre-holiday countdown checklist to check off.

All I have to do today and tomorrow is to relax and enjoy myself.  Books will be read.  Games will be played.  There will be much lounging around to be done.