another family holiday survived
April 13, 2009

I made it through Sunday, with a generous application of white wine. Paid for it at the end of the day with a throbbing headache--but I was able to deal with the in-laws, and that�s the main thing.
Started off by going out to the cemetery and putting some flowers by Papa�s niche�lovely deep purple and white arrangement on a little white wooden trellis. Then we headed up to P&E�s for the family gathering.

Dinner was wonderful; loads of goodies, all just delicious. Baked ham, Kie�basa Weselna, mushroom, potato, and meat pierogi, and roasted garlic mashed potatoes. E made a dynamite spring greens salad with strawberries, Bermuda onion, feta cheese, candied walnuts, and a balsamic vinaigrette. Homemade cheddar biscuits and Polish rye bread, and a lovely strawberry cheesecake trifle for dessert. Even P�s leg of lamb was very good�and I am pretty famous for HATING lamb.

And quite a variety of wines, but I brought�and stuck to�my own, as I planned on getting well-oiled and wanted to be sure of something I could stand to drink at least three glasses of. When we were at the liquor store on Friday, I found a 2006 vintage Conundrum on sale for $20.00 and grabbed it, so I was well-prepared.

My highly annoying step-niece was a no-show, which eased things a bit, but crooked B-I-L was his usual obnoxious self. Bragging all about how great it is to have Nephew turn 18, so he doesn�t have to pay child support or be responsible as a parent anymore is dickish enough, but to do it in the actual presence of Nephew puts it over the top, in my book. Spouse was having a time with it, too�there were a couple of points where I could see that he was ready to reach over and physically shut his baby brother�s mouth for him.

Thankfully, whatever else his wife may be, she�s well-mannered at family gatherings, and understands some of the finer points of how to behave. I don�t like her, but at least I can be in the same room with her and feel comfortable.

And surprisingly, his mother was not much bother, either. She was having a quiet and rather good day. I did my obligatory time sitting with her and trying to chat, then turned her over to the next victim. She wanted to talk about gym shoes, so we did. I feel like I got off easy.

The nephew we call the antichrist was also bearable, mainly because he stayed outside and played with the dogs most of the time. All-in-all, it went much better than I had expected it to.

[digression]But why is it only relatives with whom I do not want to stay in touch who have lively internet presence? Luckily, they're all on Facebook, so they're easily avoided. I made it clear to them that I don't do Facebook or Myspace and have no intention of ever doing so.(it's a conscious decision,I don't care for it, time constraints prohibit such foolishness, blah-blah-blah).

Of course, I couldn't really explain in full (what I'd rather be doing on the internet), since these are certainly NOT the people I want to have know that there are FIVE YEARS of my online journal available out here in the ether. (Seriously--I'm about to hit the fifth anniversary. That blows my fragile little mind, y'all. )[/digression]

Met Nephew�s girlfriend; she seems very sweet and seems to have a lot in common with Nephew, and just enough differences to keep things interesting.