Holidays... one down, one to go

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and so has a very stressful but wonderful week. We got back in town on Saturday and were both either sick or jet-lagged on Sunday… do you get jet-lagged going west to east? Mama was very glad to see us, as she always is, and has been quite the sweetie this past week, which has been hectic.

Monday, my best buds Marcia, Yvonne, Sandie and I went to the matinee premiere of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, which was wonderful. Yvonne had to leave after the flick, but Marcia, Sandie and I shared a late lunch of appetizers and onion soup at Applebee’s. Marcia then peeled off and Sandie and I ran a few errands and had a great time together, like we always do. Monday night the kids came over and we had a nice visit with two of our four granddaughters- Kendall and Haley were with their mama - so Delaney and Emily had to be twice as amusing, and were. Terrific day.

Tuesday I spent the day cleaning house and preparing for the GFWC Centennial Woman’s Club meeting, which was held at my house, and was our craft meeting. Low attendance- too close to Thanksgiving – but great fun and the craft, a Thanksgiving cornucopia, was a goodie.

Wednesday, Stephanie and I had a big mess to clean up so we got the house in shape, and then I started the cooking. Kelly came in and found the iPod her dad got her in exchange for access to her 600+ CDs. She took off with her long-time best friend Kenny Warwick.

Thursday was table setting, dinner cooking, kitchen slavey hell for me, and iPod heaven for Dave and Kel. They were both in headsets most of the day, so being with them was like being alone. Silent head-banging, two different tempos, a feast for the eyes. Taffy arrived at 4, Jake shortly thereafter, but Becca and the girls got held up in traffic and were about 20 minutes late, which made me a trifle nervy. But all went well. We feasted on turkey, herb stuffing (bread, onions, celery, walnuts, pecans, and lots of butter), green bean casserole made with Italian beans, corn pudding, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, with pumpkin pie and By Cracky Bars for dessert. The By Cracky Bars were a hit! I made them for my club meeting and the ladies raved about them, and the family seemed to really love them too.

Friday, Dave and I were exhausted but Saturday, we put up the tree, decorated the house, and decorated the porch. Sunday (today) we cleaned all the empty storage boxes out of the house and did some rudimentary house cleaning.

We head to California this weekend, and won’t be back for two weeks, so this week will be a flurry of activity, getting as much Christmas shopping and wrapping as possible done before we leave. After a three-month hiatus, I am back to the life two-week deadlines. Try it sometime. You’ll hate it.