Leaning hard to keep from toppling over

 I'm having some doubts about today, which is slated to be a bit on the frantic side.

After a rough night, in which my body lodged some complaints with me about my benign neglect of it, I was ambushed while scrolling through my Facebook feed in the coffee shop. Apparently the guy the United States hired four years ago is, in his festive way of marking his approaching departure from the White House, fast-tracking about five executions, presumably because his successor is known to be against the death penalty.  

I've always been rather cranky about the way the BBC lumps Canada in with the US in its news categories, although scanning headlines on Canadian news web sites isn't any more cheering.

On the bright side, elder daughter's Christmas parcel, which cost a small fortune (well, a medium-sized fortune) in postal and customs fees, arrived in London yesterday, containing her filled Christmas stocking, a wrapped present for her tree, and an "ugly" Christmas sweater, purchased from the street racks in front of a Yates Street boutique.  Elder daughter tells me it has a "90's" vibe, which I gather is a good thing.  After all, she's a 90's baby.