Nonetheless, I am determined to let all my other family and friends know what a spiffy day I had, so I've dug up some postcards I think will do the trick. (Click on any image to see larger version.)
So. Here was my day.
To begin with, I was awakened by kitties nearly two hours before I needed to be up, but knew if I went back to sleep, I'd be out for at least another four hours, so I rose at 4:30 a.m.
I was not happy.
I took a shower, fed kitties, got over my grumpies, made my way over to Mom & Dad's house
, and spent a little more time double-checking that I had everything I needed to take with me. I have to say, I was well-enough-organized that I only needed to turn around and head back to the folks' house once, after I had loaded up the stuff and left.In short order, though, I arrived at Elke and Tim's modest bungalow,
to be greeted by Tim, since Elke was up getting the kids up and dressed. I fiddled with my gear, put food in secure locations and held out the prezzies wrapped á la Pop, which is to say, they were in grocery sacks. Tim guided me into the cozy parlor,
,at the front end of which, by the window, was the Christmas tree,
which I stood for some time admiring.Eventually Elke came downstairs, and we hugged and mugged a little.
It took about another 45 minutes before Bill, Jackie, Karl, and Catrina arrived, whereupon we had a light breakfast, then allowed the kids to lead us to the presents under the tree.It seemed as if it were only seconds before we were up to our armpits
in wrapping paper and bows -- Elke was practical, of course, and provided us with a batch of bags to collect it all, but it still became overwhelming, occasionally.We took a break about halfway through the process, during which we had a little more food, and during which I helped with dinner preparations by finishing assembling the stuffing I'd prepared the day before and brought in separate parts (a tub of cornbread crumbs, a bag of mushroomy oniony celery mix, and a bowl of broth), stuffed the bird, got the bird into the oven, and eventually carried the stuffing which hadn't fit inside the turkey over to Jackie and Bill's house, into their oven for final preparation.
I returned to Elke and Tim's just as Stella was trying on her new tool belt, safety goggles and hard hat, and her daddy brought in the work bench he had made for her. As she was also wearing the sequined, feathered slippers her uncle Karl had given her, she looked like a small goddess.
Meanwhile, little Hollis played long and hard with his new wooden train
and the Playskool tractor with animals and noises.When the bird was done cooking, I took it out, used the drippings to make gravy. Tim, Karl, and Stella were outside trying to fix the phone line (Karl is a certified electrician & general hardware geek). After a few minutes, Stella finished her part in the task and came indoors. The rest of us then transported the food and kids to Bill and Jackie's, where we feasted all afternoon. During it all, I had several really enjoyable moments of conversation with Karl's friend Catrina. I hope she comes back often.
By six in the evening, we were all pretty tired, so the crowd evacuated, leaving the block much quieter than it had been. I came over to Mom's to recharge my phone (one more disadvantage of having inferior wiring in my own house -- not enough outlets for basic functions), where I received a call first from my bestest friend, Mari, and then from my seester and my mommy.
All in all, it was a very busy day, and I fell asleep instantly,
once I got home to bed.
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