They Saw Her Coming

I'm not saying Alison Reed is a glutton, but she has the appetite of a lumberjack in that skinny little body of hers. This is what she left behind after our annual Christmas Eve dinner in 2017:

And this is what greeted us when we arrived back at the site of our Christmas Eve foray this year:

In case you missed it, the sign limits customers to one plate of crab legs.

Despite the limitation, she dove back into the crab, extolling its deliciousness to anyone who would listen. Later, after she'd gorged on other treats, she made room for ice cream. She dripped a bit on her skirt. She snatched up the ice cream with a finger.

"Hmm," she said. "Tastes like crab."

Just as she has every year since she discovered crab, our delicate flower reeked on the way home.

Our Maine Christmas was amazing, as always. We worked a tiny bit of the excess off with a trip to a local skating rink that's conveniently situated on a bay, but also across the parking lot from Bissel Brothers brewing. A little fun for everyone on the party.

We had our usual cookie day, where despite years of honing our decorating talents, Auntie Mary kicked our butts with her better detailing. Yes, Alison turned a stocking into a crab claw. She's a little fixated.

We scored our usual bags of loot and spent lots of great, quality time with the Reeds of Maine. It's awesome there. Except for the times when the snow is taller than me, of course. And the wind howls, sending sub-zero temperatures down your shirt. We'll brave it, though. The benefits are worth it.

Oh, side note: I whined a while ago that I couldn't squeeze myself into my wedding dress, which was the dress I'd planned to wear New Year's Eve to the Indy Masquerade. The good news is, I did manage to get into the thing, zip it and still breathe. I could have worn it if I'd wanted to, but I still have a few more pounds to go to make it slip on with a whisper instead of a gasp.

Following a pattern set by my friend Anna, I started shopping at a vintage Goodwill boutique (it's a separate shop from the main site, where I'd started out but didn't find anything that worked) and found a velvet dress for -- get this: $16 and needed only a small hem to make it work. It did the trick and looked super fancy. Had I not told you where I'd gotten it, you'd have thought it would have required at least another zero.

Happy New Year, everyone.