Merry Christmas from Kidville.

I have been uncling my ass off.

It is true that kids should be seen and not heard. It is true that when you spare the rod, you spoil the child. But it is also true that Christmas morning is a ton more fun with kids in the house.

I have spent Christmas with my sister's family: Mar, Cletus, G and C, and it was a blast. I love it when people are jumping up and down and cackling with laughter when they open their gifts. If this happens with only adults in the room, it means it's time to dilute the egg nog. With kids, it's just plain fun.

Cletus and I put a train around the tree after the kids went to bed on Christmas Eve. It was an "affordable" train, so it didn't really come together very easily ... and I put too much oil in the smoke stack and broke the smoking mechanism, but all the hassle was worth the effort when the kids entered the room with the train chugging around the tree. Paper flew. Exclamations of pure joy over every book, bouncing toy and ball that emerged from the wrap.

"These bows are too hard to open", my 3-year old niece instructs as she makes quick work of both her gifts, and those clearly marked for her brother.

I made the mistake of giving an inflatable toy to my nephew ... and then had to inflate it. I tried blowing air into the nozzle on the toy's butt. I finally found an air pump that did the trick in a far more dignified manner.

I've been here exactly 24 hours and I'm exhausted. Bone tired. Like I'm going to collapse tired. I may be too old for my own kids, but I'm having a blast with someone else's. We've just built a fort in G's ladybug tent (see picture). It was the most fun I've had in a long while. But I'm going to sleep now.

Hunting for java in Lockhart

Lockhart, Texas has a great coffee shop on the square near the courthouse called Javamotion. Great coffee drinks by day and a decent full bar in the back by night. I was disappointed to hear that Javamotion will be closing at the end of the month after a great five-year run.

Today is Sunday and Javamotion was closed, forcing my brother-in-law and me to head to the only other place brewing coffee in Lockhart ... McDonalds. Well, maybe it wasn't the only place, but I wasn't about to order coffee at Taco Bell, Whataburger, or someplace that also sells gasoline. Characters in Larry McMurtry books drink coffee at Dairy Queen, but I don't think farmers are the most discriminating of coffee drinkers. But I digress ...

I was surprised by my Mickey D's brew. First of all, the cup was top-notch with the best sipping lid I've ever seen. And although the coffee smelled a little like ashtray, the flavor was very good ... much better than drip from Starbucks. Now, I realize that I'm risking any coffee street cred I may have accumulated in previous posts, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and all I'm saying is that Mick's will do in a pinch.

So the next time you are driving through Lockhart, stop by the Golden Arches for a cup of joe.

Celeb Spotting

Friend con Queso mentions my New York celebrity spotting game in her Dec 10 post, so I thought I would give the official rules in case any of you would like to play.

You get 1,000 points for spotting any celebrity. 3,000 points for an Oscar winner. 5,000 for Sarah Jessica Parker.

You must see the celeb in New York City. The celebrity must be "off duty", so it doesn't count if you spot them on a red carpet, at the Macy's Parade or during a show at Madison Square Garden. You can keep both per visit and lifetime running totals.

I've seen SJP twice, and she was with her celeb husband once so I'm doing pretty good on lifetime total. But my favorite celeb spot was Parker Posey.

Awesome.

If Ray LaMontagne comes to your town ... GO.

He tore it up last night at the 9:30 Club with perky Tristin Prettyman opening. She was lovely, but a bit thin for a 9:30 Club crowd ... better suited for a smaller space with four people drinking mochachinos.

But Ray.

I had downloaded and loved the over-played, but well-done, soulful "Trouble", but after a few quiet openers at the seated show, I was thinking, "if he doesn't speak up, this is going to get old real fast."

And speak up he did. In a style that can only be described as channeling Janis Joplin, Ray launched from whispers backed by rockabilly strumming to soaring growls that were pitch perfect. His "Three More Days" rocked the best, but "You Can Bring Me Flowers" had everyone dazzled.

Trust me on this one, Ray LaMontagne is a show you've got to see.

Recommended: Chiara Civello

Don't let her sizzlin' good looks fool you. Chiara Civello is not a Shakira wannabe. No, she's more easy listening and less hip-shaking. You can't dance to it, but it's great background music when you're cooking or reading the paper.

My favorite track is "Here is Everything". I also really like "Last Quarter Moon".

I know the blog has been thin lately. The holidays always kick my butt ... too much going on, but I promise to step it back up soon. In the meantime, I'll just keep posting fun recommendations or links to other great blogs out there.

Thanks for reading.