The after-Christmas mob never really materialized here. Mom, the sister and I hit Lindale Mall this morning to take advantage of all the sales, and we left with armloads of stuff and absolutely zero crowd frustration.

And now I have all my 2004 calendars and next year's Christmas cards -- all at half price. Woo-hoo.

Best of all, I ran into some long-lost friends and got caught up on gossip from my old job and from my old theater company.

Now it's off to play Uncle Jake and eat all the Christmas leftovers before they go bad. Not a bad life...