So, yesterday’s open house was much smaller than last year’s, which I was expecting. We do, however, have enough food leftover to feed several armies. As I have the next two days off, I am hoping salmon mousse will keep until Tuesday; then I can feed it to the starving masses at work.

With that preamble, for the first time ever, I have asked someone to return a present. I won’t say what it was, but it was something I had mused about and dismissed as too much work a while back, but I guess I wasn’t vocal enough about it. The gifter was very gracious about it and said he’d rather know that I won’t use it than find out later that it was still in the box, unused and resented. I still feel rotten about it; I am not a terribly high-maintenance person, so this is a major psychological hurdle for me. Which makes no sense, because I am one of those ‘I have gift receipt, so return it if you must’ kind of gift-givers and I’m not particularly upset if someone isn’t thrilled with a present (this is very rare – or I have very polite friends). So, yeah, I feel like a poop, but hey, it means I get a new present later, eh?

Anyway, since I don’t have utterly mental family to deal with this holiday season, I’m off to do battle with a friend’s family instead. Two of the aunts are no longer speaking, so we have to do separate visits now. Gah.

Off to practice smiling and nodding politely.