Christmas eve eve

The day before the day before Christmas snuck up on me just a little bit.  Technically the University was open today, although I don't believe anyone worked from our office.  Yesterday the place was still humming, getting out scholarship and grant notifications that had to wait until final grades were available on Tuesday.

I took the morning to do research -- a luxury I haven't had for weeks, and that perhaps I shouldn't have taken today, given that the syllabus for my spring course is still a blank page.  But in my mind I've relegated that task to the week between Christmas and New Years, at least to make a start, and to the week after New Years for the bulk of the effort.

My plan was to have primary source research on this project done by the end of the year.  Thanks to a lot of designated research days lost to various kinds of class work, I'm not going to achieve that goal.  But I enjoyed spending a few hours immersed in thinking about my topic and jotting down ideas to explore along with quotations from my sources.  It just whetted my appetite, of course; I'd love to do the same tomorrow, but it is probably inappropriate to leave my extended family behind to indulge in personal projects on Christmas Eve.

This eve's eve will bring some games with the in-laws; more crocheting on the final present to be made (which is going home with said in-laws on Monday, giving me the luxury of a couple of extra days to complete it); and wrapping a last-minute present that arrived today.  With the arrival of Noel's parents in a car loaded with gifts from that side of the family, the number of presents under the tree has burgeoned to an almost alarming degree.  One more day to admire the effect, and then it's time to haul out the trash bags to collect wrapping paper debris.  Which reminds me: one more day to find out whether wrapping paper is accepted in our recycling program.  Even though it sneaks up on you, it's easy to remember back when you were kids, and it was the longest day of the year.