Born at 5:15 a.m. (I wasn't there).  6 pounds, 10 ounces.  Kirstin and baby fine, according to Matt.  Here's the photo he sent via his phone:

Naturally in a bit I'll go up and get some more pix of the newest poppet. 

This afternoon my new computer came, an Acer touchscreen.  Very pleased, I was, for I've wanted a touchscreen for ages and it was at a killer price (sorry, the place is sold out now).

Never seen a computer come with so little documentation.  No CD.  No instruction book.  Just a large sheet of paper showing the steps to set it up, and some instructions on the leaflet regarding the wireless mouse and keyboard.  Apparently it is so simple a chucklehead could set it up.  Basically it's a plug-and-play.

Except I couldn't get the keyboard and mouse to work.  Tried and tried.  Put the USB thingummy for them in every USB port.  Nothing.  After pushing the power button to shut it down then turning it on again, the "home" screen showed up.  The touchscreen worked on it and when it suggested I watch a video about the features of it, I agreed.

Mistake.  It got stuck into a loop, restarting automatically, and nothing I could do would stop it.  So the keyboard didn't work, the mouse didn't work, and the introductory program played continually. 

No support phone number anywhere on the stuff included with the computer.  Couldn't find a phone number on the Acer site, which hardly has any info about the Z5160 since it's so new.

Frustrated, I called the company from whom I bought it, getting a nice man eventually who sympathized but gave me the Acer phone number.  Called that and eventually spoke with a nice young lady who also sympathized and gave me the phone number for Acer tech support.

Called that number and sat on hold for over 20 minutes, periodically being assured by a very nice voice that my phone call is extremely important to them, to please continue waiting, and be assured that my problem would receive the time and attention it deserved.

Then the very nice voice came on to briskly advise me that Acer technical support is now closed for the night and hung up on me. 

Rarely have I been almost speechless with rage, but I certainly was then. 

Zhenya earnestly asked to be allowed to see what he could do, so I gave up my seat to him and stomped to the kitchen to work on dinner.  Within a few minutes he had both the keyboard and mouse working. 

Fair's fair....he got the computer running properly when I couldn't, so he's been playing with it this evening.  Finding all sorts of cool things it'll do!

Still think I may call back to Acer tech support tomorrow to speak to a supervisor and complain about being first urged to wait - multiple times, in fact - then deliberately hung up on because the tech people went home.  That stunk. 

Kenny  -  the one who's been working on my house for months?  -  and his son, Larry, ordered a present for me, with Jessica's help.  Check it out:

It's one of those laser-cut crystal cubes with a photo of Don and me in it!  Viewed from the side there's a 3-D image of our silhouettes, and it sits on a lit base.  Isn't that the coolest thing? 

Here's a photo with me in my New Year head-gear, and the crystal (wore it to the Bass Hall last night - taking it off once seated, naturally - and to Target today):

Here in Texas there's still half an hour or so to go, but I'm eager to see the back of 2009.

It's been a terribly stressful year, what with the grief hitting me hard about Don's death, my father's death, and one thing or another.

Mind, there was a lot of good about it, too!  But still, I'm hoping that 2010 will be a far more peaceful year with nothing particularly horrible happening.  Don dying in 2008, and Dad dying in 2009, is enough for me (many people have endured much worse, of course).

This year should see the births of two additional grandchildren (Baby K could come at any time!), plus the neat cruise with Mom, and Dmitry's graduation from high school. 

So good-BYE, 2009!     And hello, 2010!   

BTW, I think of it as "twenty-ten" instead of "two thousand ten".....how about y'all? 

By jingo, we've got a white Christmas here in Fort Worth!  Snowed most of yesterday, at times reaching blizzard conditions.     Brianna, of course, was quick to take advantage of it:

You can just make out (it was hard to capture with the camera) her Christmas greeting in the snow:

Last night after the girls finally went to sleep (thought they were never going down!), Zhenya went to work adding more decorations to the tree;  Dmitry was involved with the new laptop he received from Carolyn and her family:

Zhenya examining the finished product, and presents:

The boys in front of the tree, prior to letting the girls in:

At last it was time for the poppets to open their presents!

Santa brought Brianna a scooter, and a motorized car for Bridgette.  ;^)

The street conditions haven't kept visitors from coming...Viktor and Joe are here (one coming from the west, the other from the east).  The cheesecakes have been chilling in the garage (no space in the fridge, so I decided to let the cold weather work for me), the wild rice is cooking, and I've got a few more presents to wrap before making the trek to Jeanne's in Arlington.  Later! 

....which, along with most all the retail industry, starts cramming Christmas down our collective throats starting before Halloween, can't wait till the actual holiday has come and gone to stuff it into the trash bin.

At my near-daily trip to SuperTarget today, I not only spotted Valentine socks where the Christmas socks had been, but flip-flops hanging on the wall in the shoe department.  Spring dinnerware and Valentine towels are also prominently displayed.

Mercy Maud. 

First, people that don't bother putting their grocery carts into the cart-round-up thingummy, and second, people who sort of do but don't take the trouble to put it in properly, leaving it sticking out into the parking lot aisle or whatever you'd call it.

If I've shoved a bunch of carts into a neat row once, I've done it a couple of dozen times.  Those carriers (what are they called, anyway?) hold a fair number of carts if people will push theirs into the one already there, IYSWIM.  Just shove 'em in any which way leads to a few taking up the space, and carts being a hazard.

Grumble, grumble, grumble.... 

Oh well.  Here they are:

Well, the days, as in yesterday and this afternoon.  Last night Mom, Mrs. Lambert, Mrs. Simmons and I went to Will Rogers Auditorium (where the parking is a mess, what with a National Cutting Horse event going on) to see Meredith and Margaret in Margo Dean's annual Ballet Concerto Christmas performance.  Thinking about it, I daresay it was billed as a "holiday" thing, seeing as how there was a flamenco dancer in a number about Hannukah.

That aside, the girls were darling!  Meredith was a elf....second from the right most of the time:

Margaret was a toy soldier (THE toy soldier, in fact), but came on so fast I almost missed it:

She marched in, then marched out, and right smartly too, with a big grin on her face.  That girl loves being on stage!  ;^)

This afternoon was the 4th annual Christmas concert at my bro-in-law, Richard's, retirement home (or whatever they're called).  He sang "O Holy Night" in a duet with another gentleman, and read a Scripture passage.  It was very nice indeed, and the goodies afterward were excellent.  >;^> Tomorrow afternoon is Kirstin's baby shower!  It's barely possible I'll have a photo or two from it.

Tomorrow is the Christmas cantata at Christ Chapel, and we've been practicing since October.  Services are at 9:15, 11:00, and 5:00, with the same program at each.  Plus, my granddaughter, Brianna, is in the children's choir.  If you can make it, please come!  If you can't, it can be accessed via the internet at http://www.ccbc.rbm.tv/. 

We have kittens, BTW.  Four kittens.  Four active, getting-under-everyone's-feet kittens.  Three white with black spots on top of their heads, and one tortoise shell (that is Brianna's, however, so it's not available).  How many adorable kittens can I put you down for?

On November 24th all my children and grandchildren (except Jonathan, who is still in Costa Rica) gathered at Great Wolf Lodge for a night.  I'd arranged for a photographer to come and take various pictures; here is a selection:

Me with my grandkids (barring Baby Boo, who is still incommunicato, not being due until next month).  I think they're darling, and all smart people will agree with me.  >;^>  Speaking of darling, I love this one of the Twofers!

This is one of my favorites:

That's Benjamin, Bryson, Hannah, and Brianna, looking longingly down at the indoor water park.

Carolyn joined us, and here's a photo of her and Dmitry:

Dearest Zhenya and me:

One of the whole kit-and-kaboodle:

I've got some candids, too, though not very many, and I've yet to get them off my camera.  Boo to me!  I'll do that soon.