God blessed us, every one.

So I got an MP3 player for Christmas! Not bad for a deaf chick, huh?

I can plug my CI directly into it. To say this is pleasing to me takes understatement to a whole new level. The model Husband - er, Santa - got me is a sport model which also takes my pulse rate - excellent since I've just started cardio training at the gym again!

Yet this year, while the bright and shinys were overwhelming (I also got Call of Duty 2 and have just finished taking Stalingrad back from the Nazis), it was the non-commercial, one-of-a-kind gifts that were the unexpected jewels under the tree.

My best friend A. in Ontario sent Husband a book that had been gleaned from a cleaning-out of her school's library.

The book, called "How Come Again?", is a collection of story-riddles (if you are familiar with the "Encyclopedia Brown" mysteries, these are similar but sillier), complete with cartoons, from 1960, and is a true delight to Husband's quirky curiosity.

My brilliant Cousin sent me a CD of her and her partner performing Christmas music! Could there be anything more wonderful than music recorded by people you love, for people they love?

And yesterday, my brother's traditionally-two-days-late Christmas parcel arrived from Newfoundland, complete with impossible-to-get-here Purity Jam Jam cookies (my favourites) and Peppermint Knobs and Blueberry Jam, and the very best things - photos of my 5-year-old nephew, and a picture he drew with his own hands.

Feline-inspired gifts included, among others, a gorgeous silver and copper kitty cat bracelet from Sis, the "Field Guide to Cat Butts" (complete with cat butt magnets), and a rhinestone cat pin from my Mother-in-law that is charming beyond words.

And far, far more, too much more to list here.

Blessed by an embarrassment of riches and some wonderful family and friends, we are.

ronnie