I drove Mom to meet my BIL and take delivery of my nephew for his first-ever sleepover -- at Noni's!  He had his little suitcase all packed and carried an armload of books and activities.  He meant to bring Twister to play with Non, but forgot -- and decided that he'd rather do some coloring, anyway.  So cute!

Our first stop on the way back was at the liquor store.  Heh.  For cheese.  This is Wisconsin!

Our second stop was for bird food -- that's where me met the new puppy from yesterday's post.  Oh my gosh, that little puppy loved Mack so much!

We had our own private Christmas concert from the back seat, as he sang the songs he learned in school and performed in the program, while we drove to Ali's for lunch.  Mack was so polite and well behaved.  It's amazing how differently a child can behave when removed from the influences/triggers/expectations/etc. that are Mom, Dad, brothers big and (especially) little.

After lunch we walked across the street and finally picked out my new (old) vacuum cleaner.  Meet the Princess:

I've been limping along for a couple of months with my falling-apart old vacuum, shopping around a bit for a replacement.  I first laid eyes on the Princess on my birthday and I haven't been able to forget her.  She is far from brand new and, while she is gleaming nicely in this photo ("glistening" after her first run over the bedroom carpeting), she's not all bright and shiny -- there are scrapes and scratches, dents and dings -- but she's built to last, has a brand new motor, and she's local!

I am also more in love than is reasonable -- over-the-moon, in all truth -- with her "attachment crown."  It makes me smile... giggle, even.

* * * * *

I wish you all a wonderful new year.  We'll be doing a little celebrating tonight -- New Year stuff combined with some Christmas catch-up -- I'm looking forward to the long weekend.

*clink*  CHEERS!!  *clink*