Being in the States over the holidays was nice, although a bit overwhelming what with all the running around. We managed to eat an obscene amount of delicious food while in the DC area, such as Five Guys burgers and fish & chips from the new Eamonn's in Old Town. We went with my parents to Layalina for dinner one night and supped on a fine Middle Eastern feast washed down with Syrian wine. We had a fantastic Chinese repast with MA and her family at a restaurant with a table for 15 that had a giant lazy susan upon which we passed secret notes to the aforementioned N, who was celebrating her birthday. All this food got me to the point that I was eating dinner leftovers for breakfast, since all my other eating opportunities were spoken for. My mom also made some noteworthy meals, and my dad whipped up a batch of perfect pancakes one day. What a country!

On Christmas Eve Eve we met up with some pals to catch up, drink beer, and play a game of croquet lit by candles and assorted fireworks. Team Strelsch couldn't manage to beat our host, who had the home field advantage. As a consolation prize we got a couple of books by this fellow. He claims to live the life by only teaching classes two days a week, but this website makes him look like he keeps pretty danged busy.

Sunday was supposed to be our family gift exchange day, but my brother became violently ill earlier that morning, so the remainder of us just ate brunch and Jack and I hit the road for OH to visit his family and friends. It was nice to see A at the gathering, since the last time we met up was in Rome. He had gained some weight since then, but since it was the holidays I didn't mention it.

We arrived at Jack's parents' house in time for Christmas Eve dinner, at which I made the mistake of consuming a half can of jellied cranberry sauce. Turns out that's just a wee bit too much for me.

We received a movie-themed game from Jack's parents for Christmas, and we played it with his mom, and they both beat the pants off me. Jack's parents received their 4th calendar, among other delightful surprises. Lunch was with Jack's brother W and family, and much bustle ensued over a repast of sloppy joes. We finished off the meal with some cookies from the amazing variety that Jack's mom makes every year.

The next day Jack's brother R and his family arrived, usurping our spot in the limelight (they brought some grandchildren, after all) and the guest bedroom. Dinner was Ham in a Blanket, and the annual holiday sentiment of "you ate the blanket?!?" was shared. Ah, tradition! R got some chili-flavored beer from his sister, and being that the entire family (including, apparently, some non-blood-related members) are a bunch of spice wusses, I was the only who could drink the stuff. It was no Belgian beer, but it was drinkable.

We moved over to the B&B for the night, and were greeted by the proprietor at the door, who encouraged us to come back down from our room for a nightcap of sherry and some Christmas music. We did, and to our surprise it was the owners and two of their children and their spouses. Jack and I definitely felt like outsiders as we listened to Dylan Thomas' "A Child’s Christmas in Wales", a first for us but an annual event for them. Verrry civilized, what with the sherry and the chuckling and sighing at all the appropriate points. The next night the family members were all congregated in the common room again, and seemed a little crestfallen that we didn't join them, as if we had been the only thing preventing them from rehashing their annual holiday disagreements. Tradition!

The next day we took a stroll to visit the big park in the town center where many of Jack's most colorful childhood stories took place. For some reason I had never been there, and had imagined it in a totally different location and on a smaller scale. In the lifelessness of winter, it looked pretty tame, so it was difficult to overlay the exciting adventures on the scene at hand. But it was nice to see it, and hopefully I’ll come back during a more temperate time of the year and get a better sense of it.

Jack's sister B arrived with her three kids a bit later, for a total of five youths in his parents' tiny condo for the day. It was quite a scene of mayhem. We managed to beg off for a while for a lunch appointment with J&D, who were driving back to NYC and agreed to meet us for lunch. We ended up at a pizza joint with an extreme draft problem. The pizza, however, was quite tasty. It was nice to see those guys even if it was for such a short time.

We went to the movies with B's family the next afternoon to give the grandparents some time off, and saw "The Pursuit of Happyness". It was pretty good, and although you knew the protagonist was going to come through okay in the end, it was at times difficult to see how he could possibly struggle back up to the top. The kids were all very good during the film, and I don’t know if it was because they were bored or being polite or what, as they didn't seem to enjoy the movie much (although they had picked it out). Later we went out to Belleria for wedding soup and pizza and beers in frosty mugs, all of which were enjoyable.

And then we were on the road again. Having not been able to pass up the fruit and coffee that we had already paid for at the B&B, we stopped off for second breakfasts with Jack's pals A&N in Kent on our way to Columbus. A. was working 12-hour graveyard shifts as a nurse, so by the time we arrived he was running on empty and pretty slap-happy. They took us to a fantastic place with delicious homestyle breakfasts, and I had coffee and biscuits and eggs and mashed potato pancakes and bacon...mmm. A&N had both recently finished their schoolin' and were out in the real world with new jobs and a new house. The house made me a little homesick for ours, as it was a tiny one with warm wood floors and orange paint on the walls and lots of windows. Sniff. They had a lot of cool furniture they’d gotten secondhand that gave it a retro feel, which is more than I can say for our home furnishing style, the polite term for which is "eclectic". (Our current residence is decorated with what could be not-so-euphemistically termed "recovered trash".)

We arrived in Columbus around mid-afternoon to stay with Jack's sister M's family for a couple of days. We were greeted by her and her two daughters, R, 1.5 years, and S, 4 years. S gave us the grand tour of the house and then asked if we wanted to see "the back forty", and led us out the door to check out the yard, compete with a creek running through it and evidence of deer, birds, and other wildlife. Husband D came home and joined in, occasionally calling into question our minimal French skills by speaking fairly fluently. The favorite game of the afternoon was superfast Ring Around the Rosy, in which the two girls would end up flying through the air while holding hands with me and then be delicately stacked on top of one another like cordwood made of spun sugar.

Jack's other sister MK and her family arrived for dinner and we enjoyed a pleasant meal and good conversation. D built a fire early on, so later we digested in front of the warm glow.

We decided to take in Columbus' Franklin Park Conservatory the next day with the women folk. In addition to the wide variety of interesting flora, they were featuring a glass blowing artist who made beautiful swirls of luminescent color and interspersed them with the plants. Superb.

And then we were off again, after starting the day with breakfast at the Waffle House. I got the pecan waffle with a side of grits, and the grits, I'm ashamed to say, had so much butter in them that I couldn’t finish them. I would have never guessed that such a thing was even possible.

Having some time for the drive, we decided to cut a straitish course by taking some back roads. This placed us a short hop from the Prabhupada's Palace of Gold in WV, which is some kind of focal point for Hare Krishna in the US. The guided tour of the palace cost a $6 "donation", and we didn't feel like paying it, so we checked out the grounds. Their website, which has lots of photos, says that the building was crafted by unskilled devotees. Although the building is very nice from a distance, there are large chunks of the exterior plaster that are missing upon closer inspection, giving it a dejected appearance. Plus, there was a large lattice structure covering the stairs to the building with a sign saying "DEER FENCE". Could they have come up with something that, I don’t know, fit in a little better with the overall motif of fanciness? There was a temple, living quarters, and a lake across the street. We entered the temple, removed our shoes, and watched some guys playing mystical music and sweating and dancing, as people stood around and took pictures and generally looked happy to be there. I had never seen so many Indian Hare Krishnas in one place before, and I knew that they took their religion seriously so I felt a bit intrusive. We exited, took in the sight of the two giant statues of dancing ladies by the lake, who looked like they had just executed a high five because their cricket team had won, then hit the road again.

We arrived back in Arlington on New Year's Eve evening, and spent the remaining hours of 2006 in front of the tube with a bottle of bubbly. It was nice to chill out for a while in such a peaceable fashion. I was quite disturbed to discover that Carson Daly is beginning to look a lot like Dick Clark in his younger years. Dick Clark should really just retire. He must have an airtight contract or something.

New Year’s day was Christmas Part II, so we trekked out to C&J's house again and had chili and mac & cheese and presents. A good time was had by all, even though Jerk-ass didn't seem to believe my mom's protestations that the tiny ceramic basket with the words "to a favorite daughter in law" on the side wasn't from her. It's a mystery.

And then, back to Brussels for 2007...