Tag: amy & rachel

Better Late than Never

Ah, the best laid plans and all that.

The plan WAS that Amy and Rachel would fly in today around lunchtime, that tomorrow we’d open presents, and we’d have until the 4th of January to enjoy their company.

Sadly, the reality is that Amy wound up in hospital yesterday due to shortness of breath brought about by blood clots in her lungs. Ow! So no trip to Ohio for the girls. Alas!

Despite this setback, however, we have MANY pluses. The biggest & best being that Amy is now out of the hospital – YAY! – and recovering from her ordeal. She’s on blood thinner and will be playing the part of pin cushion for the next week or so as they do followup tests daily. But she’s home and that’s important thing.

Another plus, Rachel was able to exchange their plane tickets for a voucher. They hope to use them in March to come to Ohio for our cousin’s wedding. Hooray!

More on the positive: The folks and I packed up a goodie package of cookies & candies & Chex Mix etc and mailed that off to the girls. Then we packed up two boxes full of their pressies and sent them along via UPS. Hopefully cookies arrive Saturday & pressies on Tuesday. Mum forgot the stockings, so tomorrow she mails them out too. (Yay for priority mail!)

Once all pressies have arrived (they’ll be sending ours along, too), we’ll do a Skype Christmas. It’s not as good as having them with us in person, but it’ll be a great way to do this from a distance. (elsaf & judiang and I did this on Boxing Day to open our gifts “together.”) It’s pretty neat living in the 21st Century!

So, for the first time in my life, we’ll be opening Christmas presents after my birthday. A bit odd, but I can live with it. I mean, come on, presents! Family! Presents!

Missing you, Amy & Rachel! Get well quickly Amy! Looking forward to Skype Christmas!

Come back, November! All is forgiven!

I have decided that November is the shortest month of the year. I know that February has more fewer days, but it takes FOREVER to get through. And November is over nearly as soon as it began. Quite remarkable.

Was noting with my students today that any countdowns going on in the HS are “Days until Christmas Break” where any countdowns going on in the Elementary are “Days until Christmas!” Yup, Santa’s more important that vacation to the little ones. But to the high schoolers (and teachers) it’s all about the break. šŸ˜‰

Speaking of the break – We’ve got 11 more school days until 2012. Wow… And 3 of those days are exam days. I’m very pleased with the extended break, but, alas, Amy and Rachel won’t be getting in until my break is nearly done – the 29th. And they go back after I return to work. It’ll be great to see ’em again. I’ve only seen Amy once since last Christmas and haven’t seen Rachel SINCE last Christmas. Too long between sisterly visits!

Originally we were scheduled to return to school on the 2nd of January, which made me sad because my birthday parade will be on the 2nd since the 1st is Sunday. But because Jan 2nd is a federal holiday, the school board decided to make that a day off as well. Make up day being the Tuesday after Memorial day. I can live with that!

ETA: Thanks scalderwood for the correction. Whoops!

Back from MN/House Update

We’ve actually been back a couple of days (returned home on Tuesday), but I’ve been lazy about posting. We definitely had a ball with the girls. I miss ’em already!

We did wind up going to Hell’s Kitchen for breakfast. I had the French toast, which was very yummy, but also got to taste some other foodstuff. The rosti potatoes were tasty, and their signature peanut butter was – wow. The girls told me it was wonderful, but I figured "how different can this peanut butter be?" It was very very tasty – so tasty that I bought some for me, the girls, and my cousin who was checking on the kitties.

We dropped Rachel back at the house and then we visited Half Price Books (where everyone found something to buy, except me, alas!) and then returned to Home Depot to return some fittings that we’d bought thinking they were for a sink, only they were for a toilet & didn’t fit Amy’s new faucet. While we were at the bookstore, Amy realized she’d left her wallet on the sofa at home. So dad, impressed with a new excuse, paid for Amy’s CDs. (He’s heard ’em all, though usually from me. Heh.) Still, no wallet at Home Depot made the return trickier than it should have been. But let’s hear it for store credit!

We returned to the house to fiddle about, but it was soon time for Rachel to head for work. Yes, she was going to work a 6-hour shift even with her sprained ankle. Amy & mom took her to Seward Co-Op so she could work (they provided a stool for her – they treat their employees nicely) and so Amy could shop.

While the girls were off at the grocery, dad worked on putting up a second clothes line in the basement. Only the cinder blocks that make up the walls must contain diamond dust in ’em. The carbide bit was dead before he could get the second brace in place.

Mom & Amy brought back a nice assortment of groceries, including stuff for lupper. We had rotisserie chicken and salad. Mom & I did the dishes while Amy & dad went to the hardware store. Once dad was back with the new bit, he successfully got the new line up.

Amy decided to try and put her new faucet in, only to discover that removing the old one was going to be a PITA. She didn’t have the right tools to do the job, so she’ll probably get a handyman (or handywoman) in to do it. Leverage – it’s what you need to remove old faucets.

We had wine time after awhile, though it was actually mohito time. Amy made mohitos for me & mom & herself, dad had a beer. We had brie and baguettes and grapes. All yummy. Us ladies then tried to play Amy’s old board game (actually a RPG) Cloak & Dagger, based upon (loosely) the movie by the same name. Though we made a few mistakes, we all agreed it was pretty fun to play. But we didn’t get to finish because it was time for Amy to pick Rachel up from work. We all loaded into the car & Amy dropped the folks off at the hotel. Then we went to Seward to get Rachel.

We were running early, so Amy took a scenic route to Seward. And were still early, so we popped into the new video rental place, Filmzilla. It’s actually a film rental place that Amy loved which had replaced another rental place which she’d found handy. It’s right across from a Thai place and a liquor store across the street makes for a perfect trio. She figures Friday Night Date Night is a go once again in their household. šŸ™‚

We got Rachel and returned home, in time for cookie time. We munched on cookies (or cinnamon bagels in Rachel’s case) and chatted. It was here that Amy & I realized we’d been playing Cloak & Dagger incorrectly. Whoops! Rachel was ready for bed after her 6 hour workday with sprained ankle. So to bed we went.

Tuesday morning, Amy got up before us and got donuts from their favorite bakery. Very yummy cake donuts – she got plain & cinnamon. She also made us scrambled eggs. After awhile, she picked up the folks and they also had donuts & some coffee. We had a leisure morning in the house, but far too soon it was time for us to move on.

Amy drove us to French Meadow Bakery & Cafe for lunch. I had a curried chicken salad sandwich and creamy tomato basil soup. Very tasty, even though the sandwich was on rye. I then bought dessert for folks and decided to try the Tres Leches (three milks) cake. It was very yummy – and the cake was actually damp because it was soaked in evaporated milk before it was iced. We also had an almond & lingonberry cake, which looked like a giant chocolate petit four, and a carrot cake. Oh, and I’d also ordered a vanilla French soda, which is like an Italian soda (soda water, flavoring, simple syrup) with milk. A tasty treat to end our trip.

We were once again ahead of schedule, so Amy decided to take a more scenic route to the airport. Which turned out to not be the best idea since there were a few detours & other issues on this route. Still, we got there an hour & a half before our flight. Only to spend most of that time trying to get through security. Probably the longest I’ve waited in awhile. Still, we were on time to our gate and soon boarded our plane.

In Milwaukee we had a 2+ hour layover. I decided to watch ep 3 of Shelock and probably would have finished it except we went to a bar for booze & treats. I tried a mixed drink of theirs with Malibu rum, peach schnapps, and cranberry juice. Pretty tasty. The folks tried the local beer – spotted cow. We also got some pizza dough knots and some calamari, both with a marinara dipping sauce. Tasty stuff.

The flight to Dayton was uneventful and when we got outside, there was a shuttle waiting. It wasn’t long before we were in Troy, then I was soon home. The kitties were happy to see me. Happier when I gave ’em a treat. šŸ™‚

Yesterday, I got to see my house properly now that it’s mostly done (it was dark when I got home). It’s really cute. šŸ™‚ I also got to get into my classroom and do a recce. I also took some carts from the girl’s locker room storage to my room (though the chemicals are still in there). But it was too overwhelming to start unpacking.

I had a late lunch in Troy at Chipotles, then decided to visit mom & dad. It looked like they were out, but then I got a call from mom on my cell phone. Turns out they were at my house. Heh. They both like the changes to my house and think it’s cute. So yay! I am not alone in thinking the place is cute.

Today I returned to the school, but with minions in tow. My little cousins (one of whom looked after the kitties for me) agreed to come & help me unpack. I had taken all of the stuff I was storing in my basement to the school. Then we got all of the glassware boxes unpacked and stuff put into the student lab drawers (which are smaller than what I had in the old building). I treated them to Panera for lunch. (Strawberry poppyseed salad for the win! I also had the chicken & noodle soup.) We also worked after lunch and headed home near 4pm. Haven’t decided yet if I go in tomorrow.

Anyhoo, I suspect you’re anxious to see the near-final photos of my house. So, what do you think?

Front of house, nearly done
Front of house, nearly done

Angled front of house view
Angled front of house view

South side view
South side view

Garage front view
Garage front view

Garage side view
Garage side view

Accident-free Days

Rachel called a moratorium on accidents for Saturday, so thankfully no one got hurt then or yesterday. Originally Rachel was going to work on Saturday, but her urgent care doc said no way Jose. So we got an extra day with Rachel – woohoo!

Amy made a nice breakfast for everyone (which was a second breakfast for the parents who have free breakfast at the hotel) which included sour dough coffeecake, scrambled eggs, and really yummy hashbrowned potatoes. Actually, it was all really yummy.

We decided that after the leisure lunch, we’d go see a movie. Although I’d seen Inception already, I was willing to see it again (it’s a fun movie) and everyone else was eager to see it. Amy drove us to a neat theater in a part of town I’ve not been before (can’t recall the name offhand) and we shared popcorn & watched the flick. I think everyone enjoyed it.

Amy drove us to Punch (think clowns) after the movie and we split some pizzas and a salad and an item they call the Pulcinella: a salad stuffed into a pizza crust that has bubbled up. It was all very tasty. We left Rachel playing Tetris on my phone in the restaurant while the four of us went to the liquor store nearby. I picked out an assortment of dessert items in the liquor store’s cheese shop while dad, mom, and Amy bought wine & beer & tonic water.

We returned home for some napping and then gameplay. Dad read while the rest of us played two games of Ingenious. Rachel won the first & I won the second. A fun game. We also ate the desserts I had bought, which were quite yummy.

The folks returned to their hotel (they’re experts at bus travel now) and we went to bed.

Sunday was to be Dim Sum & Winery day. We got up at a decent hour and had intended to be at Mandarin Kitchen before 10:30, but we got there at 10:30. The place was packed (literally – I felt like a sardine waiting to hear our name called) but we were seated in half an hour. The joint didn’t have an atmosphere so much as a cacophony (as dad noted). But the food was tasty and the five of us ate for $77 incl. tip. It was dad’s first Dim Sum experience and he wasn’t wowed by the food. But the rest of us enjoyed ourselves, despite the din.

Amy then drove us to Hastings, MN to the Alexis Bailly Vineyard. They have wine tastings for $5, and they give you a lot of wine for that fiver. They had 4 whites, 2 reds, a rose, sangria, and several dessert wines. There were actually a couple of wines that I liked (one even reminding me of the Granello I had in Italy that I liked). The folks who own the winery are very friendly and the place would be ideal for picnicking, if it hadn’t been so bloody hot that day.

In the gift shop, the girls bought two bottles of wine and I bought a baguette, a really nice Gran Queso (from Wisconsin), and some cheddar cheese curds (also from Wis). We returned to the house for some resting.

Since there was a heat index of around 100F, Amy decided to grill some veggies for our wine time. Apparently she didn’t need to salt anything, her sweat did the work. (No, not really, but damn was it hot). I was working on A & R’s computers to get my To Do list whittled down and got quite a few things accomplished. I may get it all done before I go – woohoo!

Wine time was wonderful – lots of yummy grilled veggies, cheese, beer bread & baguette slices, all of it tasty. While we were eating a cold front moved through, so we sat outside for awhile, until it threatened to rain. The folks returned to their hotel and the girls and I sat in the living room and looked up pets on adoption sites. Then it was bedtime (actually, past bedtime).

We’re all up now and getting ready. Looks like we’re going to Hell’s Kitchen for breakfast. The girls assure me that the homemade peanut butter is excellent, so maybe I’ll buy some for home. Gonna go brush my teeth now, then I’ll be good to go.

A visit to the girls

The folks and I are visiting Amy & Rachel this week. It’s been a fun, albeit interesting, trip thus far.

Amy’s 15 year old cat (which she’d had for 9 years) had been very sick and not eating. She and Rachel made the difficult decision on Tuesday to call the traveling vet to have him put down. Very sad. So after the folks and I arrived on Wednesday, I stayed with the girls & the folks checked into their hotel room. The vet was supposed to get there at 4:30pm. So we were all sitting with Fruvous upstairs in their bedroom. But she called at 4 to say she wouldn’t be able to make it until 6:30. Gah.

The girls decided to nap, so they napped and Fuvous slept with them. (Very cute – I got a photo.) After a bit he decided to wander. He wound up downstairs by the back door, so the girls decided he should have some outdoor time. So we spent the next hour or so following Fruvous around the yard. He wound up in front of the house, just resting & watching people go by. Around 6, Rachel carried him back into the house and he decided to sit in the basement for a bit. The vet didn’t show up at 6:30, however.

Fru returned to the main floor after a bit, and eventually back up to their bedroom. The vet arrived shortly before 7:30. She apologized for the lateness and removed the housecall charge from their final bill. She was very respectful of Amy & Rachel and Fruvous. The process went by pretty painlessly for Fruvous and the girls. They got to say their farewells and pet him during the process. He was a good cat.

We decided to get out of the house, so Rachel drove us to mom & dad’s hotel to pick them up, then took us to the Birchwood Cafe for a late supper. I had the Heirloom Tomato BLT, which was very tasty. The folks were returned to the hotel and we girls headed home.

Yesterday, like today, I had a blueberry bagel w/ cream cheese and a glass of milk for breakfast. Then Amy dropped me off at the hotel on her way to work. I spent the day with the parental units, having a working lunch with one of dad’s friends from Westar where I pitched using Drupal for Westar’s website to make it more immediate & interactive. We ate at Brit’s Pub, where I had very tasty fish & chips.

Amy was done with work around 4:30 and picked us up soon after. We then spent the evening at their house, having wine time in the kitchen and ice cream on their back deck. A very fun night. The folks then took the bus back to the hotel (successfully, on their own!)

Today started out nicely, except that Rachel had to go to a meeting, then work on a cover letter & update her resume. The folks made it back to the house via bus (but had to wait over 40 minutes for said bus) and then Amy took us off to Grumpy’s where Summit Brewery was having a cask of their beer for folks to try. Not being a regular beer fan (unless it’s beer bread, beer soup, or beer batter), I had a Mike’s Hard Lemonade. But the other’s tried this triple fermented beer (a golden ale, I think they called it) and seemed to enjoy it. Rachel was able to join us afterward, eating a little something from each of our plates (we all had far too much food) and having the Summit beer. She then rode her bike on home to finish up her typing and we went to Home Depot for a new faucet and then to Magers & Quinn bookstore.

It wasn’t until we were nearly to the bookstore that Amy remembered the Uptown Art Fair. But she found a place to park despite all the people there and we went to the bookstore. I picked up two books and met the folks perusing the fair. We were all a bit tired and headed back home.

After some napping, Dad decided to start working on Amy’s shelves in the basement. Amy joined him soon after, then later Rachel bounded down the steps – only to miss the last step. She fell & twisted her ankle, badly. Poor Rachel! After awhile, she was well enough to scoot backward up the steps and Amy drove her to Urgent Care. So the folks and I worked on those shelves, getting them completed only to find out they STILL weren’t stable when built. Dad declared them unsafe, so we took them apart and have since recommended to Amy to take ’em back.

Mom and I made beer bread (which by the end of the evening we were calling Brother Bob’s buttless bitter bundt beer bread) which we wound up putting in a bundt pan when we couldn’t find a bread pan. Then we had wine time from last night’s leftovers. The girls got back from Urgent Care around 9pm and had some beer bread, cheese, and ice cream. Then the folks took the bus back to their hotel. The girls and I chatted some, deciding that despite the twisted ankle, we’d had a good day, and headed for bed.

Here’s hoping tomorrow will be less eventful.

The Shorts win at Christmas Again!

My Christmas season is mostly all post Christmas this year. Christmas Day was just time for the kitties to open their stockings & me to open their present. They got cat toys in the stockings and a new water fountain and a new litter box mat as their present. They liked the cat toys and were “eh” about the other gifts.

Mom, Dad and I went to Tokyo Peking for lunch, and it was tasty, tasty. Our plan was then to go see Sherlock Holmes, but it was sold out when we got to the theater. No matter, we made plans to watch the 7pm showing. This was a good plan – we all enjoyed the flick.

The 26th was the Christmas party for mom’s side of the family. We had a nice time at my Aunt Charlene’s. Lots of good food, plenty of conversation, and seeing cousins I don’t get to see very often. The girls (first cousins, once removed) are all taller than me now (or nearly) and all pretty. I had picked up some wooden boxes for them then wood-burned designs on ’em and stained them. They all turned out nice. (Took photos and will post one of these days.) Had also baked some beer bread for the adult ladies present (aunts & first cousins). Returned home that night to do laundry (I’d stayed at mom & dad’s for Christmas night).

Yesterday, I got back to the folks early in the morning so that by 9am we could zip up north & east to meet with Amy & Rachel and Rachel’s dad (who was driving them there from his place in PA). The girls had picked a place that was about halfway between them and us. So we just had a two & a half hour drive or so. We left early so we got there early. We met at Troyer’s Dutch Heritage Restaurant (and gift shop). Good place to meet up & eat.

We all ordered the buffet, but alas, Rachel’s dad had to get back to PA for a party that he & Rachel’s mom were attending (along with their two exchange students). (Alas, Rachel’s mom wasn’t feeling well enough for the 5+ hour car ride, so we didn’t get to see her again.) The food was good, and then we headed back home.

After a short stop in Columbus so Amy could see her old apartment complex again, we got back on the road and then the snow began. Pretty much as soon as we got into Miami County, the snow started. And didn’t stop for many hours. We wound up with over 3″ of snow.

After a bit of a rest at the house, we loaded the car with gifts & cookies for dad’s side of the family. More gifts were exchanged (especially for my cousin, whose birthday was yesterday. I made sure to get her a present specifically for her b-day and wrap it in regular paper because it’s annoying to get birthday presents wrapped in holiday wrap. It’s an identity thing or something.)

As I’d mentioned, it was snowing. And the roads were pretty bad when we headed back to the house. But mom was driving (and she’s actually had to drive in crappy weather before, unlike me & dad who are teachers) and she got us home safely (and slowly). We then relaxed and watched the Da Vinci Code. And then bedtime.

Today was Christmas for us. Although none of us were late risers, we got started a bit late. After stockings and then breakfast, we started present opening. It was 9:58am. We go in order, starting with the youngest (Rachel). I passed out one present at a time, so we could savor the unwrapping. And there was a bit of a break midway. But at noon, we were finished. Mom had the most pressies (no surprise there!) but dad fared well too. And I made out like a bandit.

I am now the proud owner of Beatles Rock Band. And I also got a microphone, a guitar, and a drum set for the Wii. Sweet! Also got some DVDs (yay, the War Games!), a book, some CDs, and some nice clothes. Amy & Rachel also got me some herbs from their garden and a University of Minnesota sweat shirt (which is where Rachel is attending for her Masters degree).

Mom, Amy, Rachel and I went to Hothead Burritos for lunch, and picked up a Subway sub for dad. Now we’re vegging. Amy’s balancing her checkbook, Rachel’s on her laptop getting caught up on Facebook and e-mail, and I’m writing this.

Tomorrow, elsaf and judiang will arrive, for even more Christmas fun! So yay, Christmas!

Beautiful Sunday Morning

It’s lovely out right now, likely to continue into a lovely day in the lower 70sĀ°F. We’re down to the last week of school, but that doesn’t seem to make me any more caught up. Indeed, I sometimes feel even further behind. (The treasurer’s assistant assures me that “being caught up” is an illusion. I think she’s right.)

Still, I have moments of calm before the panic, and this is one of them. So I’ll take some time to write more about the Super Weekend of Fun that I had when my sister et al came in for Alumni.

As soon as I had nominated dad for the Newton Hall of Fame (I need to update that website with dad’s name), I called Amy to let her know and ostensibly pencil in the weekend of May 16th for coming to Ohio. It was another month or so until my superintendent informed me that not only was dad going to be inducted, he was the only inductee for the year. (They can induct up to 3 at one time each year.) I e-mailed Amy immediately and she began the process of getting herself & Rachel to Ohio for that weekend.

Later that evening, I told mom in secret about dad’s induction. Then it was just a matter of finding a way to get Amy & Rachel here and not letting the cat out of the bag. So one Saturday morning I told mom & dad some good news. “Amy & Rachel are going to come in for Alumni this year!” Dad was shocked, mom pretended to be. “Why?” “Well,” I explained with the excuse Amy & I had concocted, “It *is* the last Alumni in the old building. She wants to come & film in the old building with me giving a tour.” (That bit was true – we’d talked about it way back at Thanksgiving, IIRC.) So dad was no long suspicious, which was good.

Mom had some frequent flier miles laying around which she gave to the girls, so they were able to fly in for that weekend. They arrived late Wednesday night before Alumni weekend. Despite Thursday still being a work day for me, I had to come along for the pick up and chatted with folks in mom & dad’s kitchen until we all were too tired to continue. (It wasn’t too long after arriving – we were that tired.)

Dad wasn’t the only recipient of pre-planning for the weekend. Both Amy & Rachel have May birthdays, just 4 days apart from each other. And it happened to be Rachel’s 30th the day before they flew out. So Amy wanted a bit of a birthday surprise for Rachel, which I helped with. Since Rachel grew up on home-cooking from scratch, it stands to reason that her favorite birthday meal is… Kraft dinner, boiled wieners, and canned green beans. Heh. So that was planned for Thursday lunch. I walked home for that and it was quite yummy. I returned to work in my car, so that I could drive home to get back in time to meet an appraiser (part of my mortgage refinancing process). Once the appraisal was done, I returned to the parentals and we all headed off for more birthday evening fun.

We started by picking up the birthday cake for Rachel. She’s a wonderful scratch baker, but she does love store-bought cake. So I had ordered a cake from Kroger (grocery chain) which said “Happy 30th Rachel!” on it. I picked it up and hid it in the trunk (in case Rachel happened to look in there while we were shopping). Then the folks took us to the plot of land they are buying upon which their new house will be built. I took pictures of them by the “Sold” sign.

Next was shopping at Kohl’s. Turns out I was the only one who bought anything. (Well, mom bought a shirt which she later took back because it didn’t match the outfit she’d bought it for.) For supper, we went to Sakai, a Japanese bistro. We went to the hibachi side (mom’s first time having hibachi). We started out with sushi – crab salad sushi & California roll (which in this area is crab/fake crab, avocado, cucumber). Then we were entertained by Daniel San, our chef for the evening. The food was yummy and Daniel did a nice job. (I think he was younger than Rachel!)

We finished the evening with me & Amy working on her presentation for Friday. (She agreed to teach my Advanced Problems in Science class on grant-writing.) Then mom & dad & Rachel came over for cake & home made ice cream. (Another previously agreed plan was for me to make peanut butter ice cream, Rachel’s favorite.) We watched Gray’s Anatomy and had cake & ice cream. It was a great ending to a lovely day.

Well, time for me to go to church. Dad is preaching (actually, lecturing is probably a better term) about Evidence at the UU church in New Madison. If I didn’t dress up, I’d wear my “I [heart] Evidence” shirt. Heh.

The Holidays have been GOOD to me

I’ve been busy. Mom noted that I hadn’t updated my LJ since Christmas Eve. So while judiang‘s taking a short nap (to get rid of a suspected MSG headache), I’ll see if I can get caught up on my shenanigans.

Christmas Day: Amy called me at 7:30am to inform me that everyone was sitting around drinking coffee, but nothing else was happening. They would continue to do so until I got there. So I got ready and headed next door. They gave me a cup of hot cocoa (yummy) and when I was done, we went into the living room to open our stockings. Santa really likes us – he brings us stockings even though Amy & I are in our 30s and Rachel will soon be joining us. Heh.

After we examined our stocking goodies (nice things like 1GB flash drives & bath salts & socks were in ’em) we had breakfast. Amy & Dad made eggs & sausage, mom had baked a sour dough coffee cake. Everything was yummy.

It was now time to open presents. I handed out presents one or two at a time to folks and we went in order of youngest to oldest. It took a couple of hours and once again, we won at Christmas. šŸ™‚ I got lots of nice things – Treehouse, Fluxx & Monty Python Fluxx from the girls (all Looney Labs games and mucho fun). Shirts, a nice outfit, Logitech wireless mouse, new barcode reader (my old one went kaput), books, and other things from the parental units. I got the girls a record player that hooks to a computer for ripping albums into MP3s. Mom got a JBL external speaker system for her new iPod Nano (well, new for her – it’s the 2nd gen I gave her for her birthday a few weeks ago). It’s red like her Nano & her Shuffle. šŸ™‚ Dad got some books he’d asked for and some toys which he hadn’t. Heh.

We eventually had Christmas dinner – chicken casserole, green beans, cottage cheese, cranberry sauce (from the can), etc. It was very yummy as usual. Later we had apple pie & ice cream for dessert. (It was a free apple pie from Market Day. I’ve been lucky – this is the second free pie I’ve gotten from ’em. And like the first one, it was wonderful.) Mom, the girls, and I played Monty Python Fluxx and enjoyed ourselves. Rachel won the first game and I won the second. We switched to pinochle with me & Amy as partners. We kicked butt. Twice. Heh.

There was a lovely sunset that day, so I tried to get some photos of it. I haven’t downloaded ’em yet to see how they turned out. If they turned out OK, I’ll post ’em later. We spent the end of the evening planning for the Anderson gathering the following day.

Boxing Day: The plan was that Rachel and I would go to Kroger in the morning to get a few key items. I was called in the morning to say that we needed to head out even earlier than planned. No problemo. I headed next door and daddy made me an Egg McMikey sammich to-go. I took the last of the apple juice with me as my to-go beverage and Rachel drove us to Kroger. We got a number of things required, but not everything. So I recommended the Dollar Tree (which I needed to go to) for some things and Meijer for the rest. The only thing we were unable to find was a “live” centerpiece that was on sale. (Everything else Christmassy was on sale – even at the Dollar Tree.)

We got the house ready & food prepared. In lieu of an expensive “live” centerpiece, I trimmed a few pieces of mom’s holly shrubs to serve as decoration. A few bright red ornaments were added, too. It was minimal, which made it look rather nice. I also had a few things I was preparing for the dinner. I molded my cheeseball onto my tree-shaped plate. Made some Reuben dip. Baked some corndog minis.

When 2pm arrived, we all sat in the living room awaiting family. And they began to pop in. Surprisingly, Uncle Doug was first. Eventually, all of the Andersons were present – for the first time in years. Even my second cousin Eric and his boy (Little Eric) came. Yay! It was lovely to see everyone. Food was consumed, presents were exchanged, Apples to Apples was played. We had a nice day.

Folks were gone by 6:30, which is when we all collapsed. Heh. We cleaned up the place and vegged for the rest of the evening. Mom & I discovered that the frozen fruit dish she made was very tasty when mixed with vodka and Sprite.

Saturday: We shopped on Saturday. After a lunch of leftovers, we headed to Piqua for the mall. There were some exchanges made and new things purchased. I got a couple of small cutting sheets (about the size of a half sheet of paper and nearly as thin) and some silicone egg poachers. We did a booze run on the way home, too. Needed more gin, apparently. Heh.

Sunday: Our main task was to play pinochle and get mom’s card quota back up. (Amy & I still won. Then later, Rachel & I won.) We also played a couple of rounds of Treehouse. That evening, we reconvened at my house for “dinner & a movie.” Although I had originally planned to cook something, that would have required me going somewhere, which precluded playing cards. So we wound up ordering pizza from the local. We started off by watching Amy’s photos from Guatemala. Our first attempt at hooking her laptop up to my TV didn’t work, but putting the photos on CD and playing ’em in my DVD player did work. They looked gorgeous on my TV. Our movie for the evening was Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Monday: Our last day with the girls. *sniff* We went to Tipp City for a day of shopping & eating. Actually, we started out by eating. We went to Harrisons, a nice restaurant in Tipp. I had their French onion soup and their chicken salad sandwich on sourdough. I also had an amaretto sour. Tasty tasty. We then visited nearly all of the antique stores in Tipp looking for a broach for Rachel’s new purse. (Long story – maybe I’ll tell it some day.) We wound up with 3 good choices for it. Mom bought one of ’em, while Rachel bought the others.

Monday evening was a time of card playing (mom & I won) and the girls’ packing. We finished up the day by sitting around and watching the Rachel Maddow show. Heh.

Today: This morning, I set my alarm to get next door before 7:30am. The girls wanted to get off by 8am – they did pretty well & were on the road by 8:15am. I then spent time straightening up my house since my brain has been AWOL and I had confused the 30th with Wednesday. I thought Judi was arriving Wednesday, the 30th. Well, the 30th – but that’s Tuesday. Heh. And then my brain went even more AWOL while I explained to the folks that I was head out around 1:30 to pick up Judi, whose flight gets in at 12:58pm. *sigh* Thankfully they corrected me.

In further brain-fartness, I got confused at the airport and went in the wrong lane, thus missing out on parking. I went through the gauntlet again and parked. Judi managed to find me, somehow. And thankfully her luggage arrived as well. (Yay- she’s moving again!) We headed to the Bookery so we could get our DWMs and then to Jeet India for our Indian Fud. Yum. On the way home, I stopped at Kroger for a few essentials. A call to the folks got a few essentials for them as well. I wound up calling Judi, who was resting in the car, because I’d left my bags in the car & wondered if she’d bring some to me. She did. Yay!

We’ve got no real concrete plans for the rest of today. We might go see a movie. We might stay in. Tomorrow we head to Aunt Becky’s for cards & Chinese Fud. *slaps forehead* I forgot to see what sort of sparkling wine dad wanted for the toast tomorrow night. Well, either tonight or tomorrow, Judi and I will be oot & aboot again, so we could get some then. Hooray for the Holidays!

Thanksgiving

It’s lovely having a day set aside to be thankful. I try to be thankful every day, but for the days when I’m too busy or too frazzled or too sleepy or too sick, having a day like Thanksgiving helps to make up for those days.

Amy decided that she’d make a Thanksgiving Dinner for us this year once the folks and I invited ourselves around. (Well, we couldn’t resist the reasonable flight prices to Minneapolis, so we asked if they’d be willing to host us – they were!) So last night, mom baked a pumpkin pie and an apple pie (I peeled the apples). I made my “famous” Thanksgiving cheeseball. Amy prepped things for today.

This morning, Amy roasted a Heritage chicken, roasted chopped root vegetables (potatoes (Yukon, purple & red), sweet potatoes, yams (we learned this year there *is* a difference between sweet potatoes & yams), carrots, beets, onion, garlic, etc), cranberry & mushroom dressing, kale, green beans, and gravy (with Hefeweizen beer). Rachel baked some lovely (and sweet) corn bread. And dad carved the chicken.

Things were ready at 2:30pm and we ate a wonderful meal. And then ate a bit more. We still haven’t had dessert but will probably do that (and play games) after nap time. Which is what is going on now.

I’m grateful that my sister & Rachel have a lovely house which they can host us for dinner. I love that my family gets along very well and is fairly low key. I miss my kitties and hope they are having a nice Thanksgiving day. Hope you all (folks in friend’s list land) are having a nice time and that you have a lovely weekend.

Family Holiday

Well, I’m in Minneapolis in Amy & Rachel’s den (it’s changed around a little since I was here last month). Mom’s reading. Dad & Amy are ready to go off grocery shopping & stuff. Poor Rachel’s at work (at the co-op we’ll be grocery shopping in). Just thought I’d type up a short “Here I Am!” post before we all head off to be productive. I’ll get more details of our family gathering for the holiday when we’ve done more family gathering for the holiday. Heh.

Happy Thanksgiving!