Christmas in Kansas (as best as I remember it)

I arrived in Kansas City late on the evening of the 18th. It was foggy and there was some freezing rain here and there. As we left the airport and began to drive south towards my parents house the temperature began to get above freezing. Royal greeted me with a nice big jump upon entering my parents house. I greeted him back and had some left over pizza and went to bed.
Friday the 19th.
This was the only day in which my parents worked while I was there. I woke relatively early and started to do my usual pushup situp routine. Royal thought that this was game that he and I were playing, where he was suppose to crawl under and over me as much as possible. When I came downstairs mom and dad had already left and Adrienne was just about to walk out the door.
Royal was very glad to have me at home. He told me that he was about to go for a run and wondered if I'd like to join him. I decided that sounded nice and dressed then as warm as I could.
Royal is an excellent running partner, unless another person happens to be near by, in which case Royal will dart directly in front of his running human in order to great the Johnny run past me.
Our first run together was rather chilly. We ran what I assume is south from my parents house on the Indian Creek Trail, winding our way through the Nazarene College. We put in a slow 5 miles, during which time I learned that when it's that cold outside you burn a lot of energy just trying to stay warm. I returned to my parents house rather beat.
For lunch I joined my sister at her work that day. First I had a fun tour of her place of lawyering, even snapping this picture of my sister in her office. What a BIGWIG she turned out to be.
She took me out to lunch at a fun Indian food establishment. Korma Sutra in Overland Park. It was excellent and I would recommend it to my parents.
After lunch I decided to drive about the Kansas City area some since I had a vehicle and I always enjoy a trip through old stomping grounds. While out I stopped in a used record store. I was shocked to find a cutout bin copy of a Friend's indie release record for 1.99.
That evening I traveled to Jason and Ginger's home. They took me to dinner at the 75th Street Brewery. I had an Excellent Portabella Mushroom sandwich. It was very nice to have dinner and catch up with two wonderful people whom I don't get the pleasure of seeing nearly enough. After dinner we returned to their home, where I got in some excellent cat time. Here is their newest family member, Lucy.
Ginger went out with her friend Brad and Jason and I stayed in singing and playing the guitar. It was great to be back in that scene with Jason, who's been taking guitar lessons and has really come along. He is much better than I am now.
I learned at 3am that morning there is no more sneaking into my parents house without waking anyone up (as if any of those worry warts were sleeping). Royal gets just as excited at 3am as he does at 3pm.
Saturday was simple. I played Wii with my dad and sister in the morning. Then I took Royal for a magical 7 mile run. There was a light snowfall through out my run and but the air was a bit warmer. I headed what I guess is slightly north east this time on the same trail as the day before. Royal did excellent. He is almost as fast as I am. When we returned home he was beat so I laid on the floor next to him so as to not make him feel bad.
I spent the rest of the day lounging. Mom and Adrienne made excellent homemade pizzas for lunch. I began that afternoon to read Garth Stein's "The art of Racing in the Rain".
Sunday the 21st. It was 8 Degrees outside. Too cold to run, to cold to really leave the house. I was pretty obsessed with "The Art of Racing in the Rain" at this point. I read on it until it was finished. Mom then took Adrienne and I to her school to tour her library and to try and get us lost in the maze that she works in. It's a large school. We stopped at blockbuster and rented some movies, including my favorite Mumford.
That afternoon we watched "Burn After Reading" which was fun and rather clever, also poignant.
That Evening I hauled out my old drum machine, the Roland tr626 which Ronnie gave me oh so many years ago. I set up in a corner of the basement and played along with my old classical guitar. So fun to call up many of those ancient preset rhythms and rock out. I worked up a fun cover of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" as well as some original tunes. When I left I took the machine with me and I'm now on some crazy quest to use it for a new S no S album. It's funny how one piece of gear can inspire a person to create. In this instance it's simply for the convenience, it's such an easy piece to use and I already know how it functions.
I finished the book in the evening. I will read it again at some point, it was so recommendable. A great story told in an interesting adorable way.
Monday 12/22/08
Ronnie, Lisa and Caitlyn were kind enough to drive up for a visit. We had sandwiches upon their arrival and caught up on old times. It's always a pleasure to see the Hendershotts. Ronnie and I drove out to Guitar Center that afternoon so I could pick up a gift for Devin. I settled on Drumsticks and a Drumstick bag, I like to encourage anyone I know to be a drummer, they are always such a pain in the ass to find.
That night mom made Chili and we all gathered around the table to eat. After dinner we Devin called and told us we could open one of his gifts early, the game "Apples to Apples". I was delighted to win two back to back games and end the evening the raining champion.
We then watched Juno but I was coming down with a pretty severe cold and had to retire early.
Tuesday the 23rd.
I awoke to the sound of Royal going nuts upstairs. Apparently Ronnie came downstairs with his hair down and Royal was not prepared for that. I slept in as late as could and then joined everyone upstairs. The weather for traveling was apparently not very good and the Hendershotts knew they would soon have to be getting on the road. We had lunch together and as soon as their visit began it was over. I was grateful to see them and pleased they had found it important enough to drive down to see us.
The rest of Tuesday was simple. I tried to get as much rest as possible. We watched "Step Brother's" that evening and watched the weather and waited for Devin and Dylan's flight. They ended up getting in around 12:45. I was already in bed. Dad had to do some pretty hairy driving to get them back that night.
Wednesday the 24th.
Christmas Eve was a nice traditional day for the Streckers. I woke up to find that Devin and Dylan were still asleep. Dad made me one of his Spicy Elmo sandwiches for breakfast, which happened to be a real treat. I kicked around the house and tried to muster up the voice to jam a bit with the Drum Machine.
I borrowed dads truck and drove out to have a look around and my old work. I've always been one who likes to return to the scene of my old self. I found much had changed around the nursing home where I use to entertain the elderly. They had added another building and were in the process of ripping up the driveway around the center.
Next I ventured into the great mall of the great plains where I used to go on my lunch breaks. It was still pretty much the ghost mall it always was. I found nothing of any value to buy.
We had the Strecker family traditional Oyster Stew that evening. We gathered around Grandma and Grandpa Streckers old dining room table to eat the meal which had been served so many times before on so many Christmas Eves past. We talked about family and the future. It was really a nice meal. The picture does the meal no justice.
We ended the evening playing Apples to Apples. I won one game out of 2.
Christmas Morning.
We all got around and moving about 10ish Christmas Morning, the big day. We all congregated in the living room to open presents. what follows are some of the wonderful gifts which I received. Thanks to everyone in my family for all the nice things they gave Angela and Myself.





Adrienne cooked our Christmas Lunch. It was Amazing. Hopefully the beginning of a new tradition. She made Broccoli and Pecans, Rib Roast, a Cheddar Pudding and Carrots. I think there was a Potato on the table as well but you know I don't care about that.
Before I knew it I was headed to the airport. It was a great trip and I will look back on it fondly. Willie Nelson's Stardust album played in the background as mom and dad drove me to the airport.
My flight home was uneventful. I was thrilled to see Angela again after 7 days without her.