Yesterday was a lovely uproar. I made pie crust; then our dear homeland friend Lucy swept in to see the young people and we all went for a long cold chattery walk, stopped in at Norimoto Bakery to buy a scattering of treats, then carted them home and shared them for an extravagant lunch. After Lucy reluctantly went back to work, J and H and I embarked on errands: first, to the fish market, where I discovered that H had never eaten a lobster dinner and was longing to. So of course we bought four lobsters, then stopped for baguettes and wine and scuttled back to the house in time to stoke the wood stove and lounge around it sleepily before T got home from work. Then the four of us went for another cold walk, this time to check out the neighborhood Christmas lights before coming back to open one another's presents before dinner. Finally, we had our a big messy lobster feast, along with garlic bread and a salad of roasted peppers and eggplant . . . such a treat, and so fun to enjoy H's delight.

It's been exceedingly sweet to have this pre-holiday interlude with the kids. They are a delight--funny and fizzy and comfortable and thoughtful . . . 100 percent joy, and so excellent together. I couldn't be happier about their engagement. To think we've now got another delightful young person in our world forever! As Joe says to Pip in Great Expectations, "Wot larks!"

This morning I've got to finish up those pies, then pull myself together so that we can get out of the house quickly tomorrow morning: pack, fill the gas tank, deal with cat stuff, etc. We may or may not be having company for Christmas Eve dinner--maybe our neighbor, maybe another friend from the homeland--so I've planned a chicken fricassee, Abruzzi-style, with cherry tomatoes, rosemary, white wine, and olives, which can be stretched for a crowd if need be. That, alongside an apple pie, should do the trick.

Tomorrow morning we'll hit the road, and the temperature of the holiday will change. But here's hoping we can cling to the euphoric mood of this prequel.