We got back yesterday from a whirlwind weekend in Dallas. We took Mom home on Friday night (with a big awesome moon rising in the east) and stayed with my sister.

Saturday was a FULL day of visiting. A quick stop at my mother's to hang her new Christmas pictures we gave her and some others she needed hung and I fixed her computer a little. Then on to Mark's mother's for Christmas and his brother's birthday. It was, as always, a little stilted and cold, but tolerable. The only weirdness was when we walked in the door and her first comment was a slam about his hair (?) and then we are gathering to leave when she offers dinner plans for the first time to try to keep us there. Not as bad as many visits, that is for sure.

On from there to see Mark's old knife and pharmacy friend. We called and got no answer so we thought we missed him, but his car and truck were at his house so we called again and he answered. We stopped in and got pizzas and visited for hours with him. It was fun. He showed Mark all of his knife collection. His house was a bachelor's pad, for sure. Magazines and books stacked everywhere and a table full of bills and every surface covered in things. His TV watching room stacked high. He's a sweet guy, 88, and it was nice to see him and Mark be friends.

From there back across town and a stop at my nephew's. Mark hadn't seen his apartment and I hadn't seen it since his girlfriend decorated it for Christmas (truly it's only decoration). We had a good long visit (and wine) talking about his engagement and what a great girl she is and her prospects and plans for 2013. We talked about his new job in mergers and acquisitions instead of taxes.

Then on to our best man's house. We had never seen it before and it was a nice place. A beautiful big home with some pretty decorations in neat shelves and nooks it had up high that we liked. His office was, like mine, piled high. He ranted on about the government and business and people and on and on. He can't just make a statement, it has to be a vein-bulging rant, it seems. No wonder he is single, sigh.

All of these homes made me want to rush home and clean house and throw things out and clean and clean and unstack. Now we are home and that, of course, has not begun, but we did JUST get home last night and I do have to work today.

We watched the Cowboys last game of the year -- not just regular season, but the whole season, because they lost to the Redskins and are out of it now. I was glad. I was rooting against them because I want RGIII to have a great rookie season (beyond how great it already has been) and the Cowboys make me so angry. So now I will root for RGIII next weekend against Seattle.

Mark has a gig tonight for New Year's Eve, but I will continue my house cleaning. Not the deep cleaning that the trip inspired, but at least some of the Christmas cleaning. I need to sort through our Christmas stuff and throw out a lot and maybe get things put away. We used only a little bit of the very favorite stuff this year and so I know I can let a lot of the other stuff go.

But first, I must work. And first I must dress.

Has this been a good year? I don't think I went to any funerals except distant cousins (Jessica's) and I didn't have too much disappointment at work. No real drama in the family. Two really nice vacations (New Mexico in April and Alpine in November)and we had some home improvements (fixed the porch roof and finished the kitchen door if that wasn't done in 2011 and it might not have been, I'm not sure). Oh and we got a new AC unit. Important stuff to old folks like us. It was a good year.