It was non-stop activity. Monday, I had the Karen Schaller party where a lot of whiskey was drunk and a lot of cigs were smoked and later that night, Tom and Jessica show up and eat deviled eggs and drink wine, which nearly a case of was consumed in 4 days. I wasn't expecting them until Tuesday so I start making snacks on Tuesday including those great pinwheels with cheese and chutney (I am definitely making these for New Year's) and caprese salad on a stick. I got a sun-dried tomato/artichoke heart/spinach quiche from Myles Baker Street which was good filler food for the vegetarian Jessica. I make more deviled eggs and caprese salad for Anne. Those kids leave for downtown to try and find an NBA game on TV and Anne shows up from the airport at 8:45 after a grueling 2 hour drive on ice. So Amy and I drink wine with her while she drinks whiskey and regales us with tales of the Tommy Hilfiger corporate Christmas party and it's 2 a.m. for the second night in a row and I'm sleeping on the couch.
Wednesday, I go pick up my mom but not until noon which I was expecting to be home by 11:30. Mom wants to go to Wal-Mart to buy my kids presents with some credit she has from there and it's icy and raining and I just want to be home. Plus we had to go to my mom's bank and get some bank statements printed out for her move to the old folks apartment complex. So by the time we get home, it's after 3 and I haven't got any presents wrapped/bagged which is my own fault, I could have done that on the weekend.
It was a very nice weekend that started with Sherry hosting me and Amy and Connie for cards and gift exchange on Saturday. Sunday Amy and I went to the Hakels holiday brunch where I knew many people and ate some great buffet brunch. It was brutally cold that day, with giant wind.
So back to Christmas Eve. I had called Anne to put the pulled pork that I had cooked in the crockpot the day before back into the crockpot with Stubbs barbecue sauce. And then I made corn casserole and reheated Wynn's stuffing and roasted a pound of asparagus and made crescent rolls. I also wrapped/bagged the presents and filled the stockings. Meantime, the kids watched some Entourage. And miraculously we sat down to eat at 6 and by 7 we were ripping open gifts while drinking coffee or wine and eating pumpkin roll for dessert. Two things my mom had never had: pumpkin roll and asparagus. Both of which she ate.
I got great gifts. My mom got me a plain white casserole in a wire rack and Tom and Jessica got me some fancy chocolate and a bottle of fancy whiskey and Anne got me three scarves, including the houndstooth cashmere one and a fabulous Tommy Hilfiger one with silver threads.
Tom and Jessica have to leave at 7:45 for another gift exchange and Anne hits the twin bed for a nap before the kids have to show up at their dad's at 10 p.m. I cleaned up the kitchen and talked to my mom while falling asleep and missed any Christmas Eve drinking downtown.
My mom said a few things about her moving out from Karen like the animals had destroyed her furniture and Karen wouldn't make dinner until 9 at night and she was concerned that Karen will quit paying on the land contract for their mobile home and ruin her (my mom's) credit as she was the one who signed for it. I think having your credit ruined when you're 78 is probably not a big deal. So I will go down there sometime in January and pack my mom's stuff and some mover will come and move her Jan. 20, Bush's last day in office.
Christmas Day I took my mom home after feeding her both breakfast and lunch. Sal had called to say they would be at Howard's later and she would call me. I think. Maybe I was just supposed to show up. But I did not. Somebody said Thompson and JD were in Howard's shooting pool. The kids all come back later with their cousin Jessica, who brought me some homemade pierogi. Later I went to Amy's and drank some wine and decompressed in a big way because today I had to work.
And of course, the icy drizzle is predicted so I leave early and get there just before the badness starts and cars start sliding off the road. So I work like crazy, putting up contests and straightening out ad contracts and slinging news and video to the website. Anne calls from Frank's truck because they are stuck in a long line of cars on 25 just south of Levis Commons. There had been some wreck on 75 and all the cars diverted. I looked at the ODOT cams and could see that 75 north was clear once they got on it. Her plane was delayed an hour and half which is good because they might not have made the original time and she got home only an hour later.
I left work about 4:30 and Tom and Jessica got back here about 6 and bustled around and took their stuff out to Frank's to have dinner and stay overnight and leave in the morning when I hope it is not too foggy. After days and days of freaking freezing, it is now at 11:30 p.m., 49 degrees.
The whole time the kids were here it was extremely cold and the yard and drive and street were iced up like skating rinks.
Poor Miss Jenks had paid for her son to come Dec. 22 but alas, a snowstorm hit the northwest and Nicholas couldn't get out. At least she got her money back. And it's like a blizzard out there AGAIN. I saw some guy on the news in Chicago saying we are just all so tired from this weather. I know the feeling.
So now I'm resting which I will do all weekend. My entire plan for Saturday is eat, get CDs together for radio show, eat, get ready for GFT show. Sunday the weather is supposed to be terrible like cold and windy but they have not done so well with the predictions this week, like it was supposed to be 46 today but only got to 35. Until now. So I guess they are vindicated.
And I have the new Coen brothers movie coming in the mail tomorrow so I am set for Sunday. Many leftovers in my fridge and the meat for meatloaf that I did not make.
Studebaker John and the Hawks Saturday at GFT. Next week, work Mon., Tues., half a day Weds. and then Friday. And then it will only be 5 weeks to Mexico.
I have some pictures but that'll have to wait for another post.
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