Today I finished my Christmas shopping for J. He and I went into Target together with a set budget and then went in separate directions with the object of meeting at a designated time in the coffee shop, our gifts for each other in sealed bags. It was a fun way to do Christmas shopping. We only ran into each other once, but it meant I had to keep an eye out for him everywhere I went in the store. It also kept either of us from having to ditch the other (as we only have one car) to go shopping, or having to walk around a mall or something, plus it cost less overall. Not a bad idea, really.

When we got home, we wrapped a couple of gifts together (not to each other, of course), and he suddenly looked at me and asked, “Do we have the stuff to make your mom’s apple cider?” We didn’t, but I gave him the short list of ingredients and sent him to the store. It’s simmering on the stovetop now and smells wonderful… Between that and the balsam scented candles, it smells almost like the holidays in here.

We saw two movies this weekend that I want to recommend: The Princess and the Frog and A Christmas Carol. The first is a kids’ movie. The second is not. The Princess and the Frog is beautiful and is a “classic” Disney movie, with a princess, a plot, a definite setting (1920s New Orleans) and fun music. My favorite? The firefly character from the bayou. ^_^ A Christmas Carol is about 95% true to Dickens’ text, which means it is a ghost story, with a lot of bitter before you reach the sweet. It captures the feeling of the original story and I got much more into it as a story than I usually do with adaptations of it.

Anyway, there is my two cents’ worth of reviews.

It’s “cooling off” here in Hawai’i; the highs are around 80 degrees and I’ve seen people in sweaters. This is very strange to me. I didn’t understand why stores started stocking scarves and gloves a month ago, much less sweaters, but I guess people will wear anything for the sake of fashion. Of course, there are still decent bathing suit sections in each store, too, so maybe that’s the balance.

I found a gecko living in my shower the other day. It was about an inch long and very skinny (as there are no insects in my shower), so I scooped him into my hand, where he sat on my palm, cleaning his face with his tongue. I carried him downstairs and put him out in the front garden. I’ve been finding them in stranger places lately; I assume the cats are getting better at catching them, so they’re hiding in more difficult places.