Monday Countdown

[Ivy]

Helia, Are you a poet, too? I ask because I am, too.

I got a short story accepted today. Yeah!

The mail brought so many cards, a card from a long-ago pal, so will ask her if she wants to re-kindle our pen pal relationship.

I'm off to get a hot shower and Icy Hot Roll-On rubbed on.

Helped DH put away groceries, sorted the mail, and am going to re-write a more simplified Conga list for this evening/tomorrow. Won't need to do a ton of stuff. But need to do major wood floors Swiffer dust mopping, toilets, dump trash, etc... will baby step things and do a bit tonight, a bit on and off tomorrow, and a bit the morning of Christmas.

Have a good afternoon, Everyone!

[sherinjoy]

Checked in to see if there was news from Okay - - YES!!! SO HAPPY!!! This is truly a Christmas miracle in our village!!
I am crying tears of joy for LO, Okay and DH. They deserve all the happiness that has come to them today - and more. Blessings on the Okay family!

[OKay]

Awwweeeee ((((((Group Hug))))) Thank you for celebrating this adoption with me.

Our life changed forever today (legally). But the new status doesn't change anything in our day-to-day doings.

After we left the court house, DH dropped me off at our house so I could grab some papers that were needed (but I wasn't told until we were at the court). I took LO birth certificate, our drivers licenses and a check (final check!!) to the lawyer office. Then I made a quick dash into Sams for more Christmas shopping. I need to evaluate the gifts on-hand again, but I am close to being done with buying Christmas gifts.

DH managed to find a motor about an hour drive away so he made the 2 hour trip to get it. He has been working the last several hours installing it. Maaaaybe MPB will be back in business soon.

LO and I threaded popcorn on strings this afternoon to put on Christmas tree and put out for the birds. Then we made Spaghetti for dinner.

Next up -
** Kitchen cleaned up
** Laundry twins twirling and swishing
** call DGS7 and thank him for post card we received today from NYC. It took over a week for the postcard to arrive here!! Snail mail is truly s-l-o-w

[Cowinkie]

Waving to ya'll
Busy busy busy with my son
Happy for you and yours Okay. What wonderful Xmas present .
I'm done with every thing...cooked all day and now plan to enjoy my time with Sweetie and my son

[Nancy]

Back from a store run the baby's granny was going there so I was blessedto get a ride to do that! The truck is still down but I am good. Got the book I wanted too.

H. Is doing cards for the guys at work.

[Harmony]

Hello everyone!

OKay, sorry for equipment failure now during the holidays.
Kathryn, wow 2.5' snow, yikes! Your son wouldn't like Christmas in Florida either. We were all complaining today it is too hot for this time of year. I gave up wearing my Christmas shirts, they have 3/4 sleeves and are heavier.

Sadie, when is your surgery scheduled? I'm sorry you're having pain.

It's all turned out amazingly well after my slow start with Christmas this year. My cookie platter at small group was appreciated; my friend didn't argue about taking all that was left for herself, and liked the tin I left there for her son.

Sunday I went to Sunday School and figured that was enough time spent and gassed up the car on the way home. Then I cleaned my house, took 5 hours, but it was bad and needed picked up first. I finally got the wreath on the front door and tablecloth on the dining room table. I got that meal together and delivered it before we went off to small group.

Today 6 of us went back to that family's house and cleaned the whole thing for her. My goodness it was a lot of work. She had a 3-yr-old girl apparently ok, a 5 yr-old boy downs & diabetic, and brand new baby just born had eye surgery and also downs and was a couple hours away at specialist to look at her heart not right. We pulled her refrig. out it was leaking. One lady had had the same thing and knew how to fix and I had a bin of tools in my car so we got it all fixed for her.

Presents are all loaded in car. Just need to put a suitcase together tomorrow morning. I went out and got last 4 presents, and hoagie to take on our way... DH checked the car over, ran out for another windshield washer motor and fixed that and he decided in the middle of all this we would do a project that's been waiting weeks...

We brought in the mailbox and I picked up paint and brush and he lettered and I sat there and painted...we'll attach it back to the post tomorrow. And that's what's going on in my world...sorry this is a novel.

Happy holidays to everyone, I hope all are safe and peaceful. I will see everyone in a couple days.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Tortieres are in the oven. I'm exhausted. It took the whole of Love Actually to get them made up (that included tidying up the dinner mess first.)

I made the pastry before dinner while dh was cooking and made up a little tart in the counter top oven to make sure the pastry was edible (I think this is just the second time in my life I've made pastry and the first was a disaster.)

I had a blueberry tart as my dessert. Pastry was fine but it could have used more sugar with the fruit.

The tortiere filling was easy. That was done fairly quickly but cooks for 30 minutes and then needs to cool. Rolling out and filling the pie shells took almost another hour. I'm just not good at doing that. There's got to be a trick I don't know for rolling out pastry. I have my mother's board and rolling pin which is all she and Dad (he was a master pie baker when she could no longer bake) used. No fancy marble slab or pin. I finally broke down and put a pastry sleeve over the pin and that helped a lot. I didn't use the spacers dh bought me (to roll out to a specific thickness), I just went as thin as I thought I could get away with.

Anyway they are in the oven. I cut the slits in the centre in the shape of a star. I cut out little trees and put them around as well. Dh's grandmother used to cut out bunnies and pigs for her tortieres.

The famous family anecdote about the tortieres is that the whole community loved her tortiere and would come on Christmas Eve to get a slice of it. One year, a gentleman got dressed for Easter and put his hand in his suit jacket pocket and found a slice! He'd tucked it there on Christmas Eve (the last time he had been to church, so the last time he had worn his suit) and then forgot to take it out when he got home!

[Twins' Mom]

I can't believe I at I'll have so much to do tomorrow. Just made myself a li&t. Still haven't written for temple newsletter.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Twin's, I beyond being able to make a list!

I thought I'd have the Dec. 25 service finished this evening. Seriously, I expected the tortiere to take an hour less than it did. And my wrist is sore because I had to work without the brace. Although I did wear it while doing dishes since dh's rubber gloves fit over it.

I'm off to bed now. I'm physically exhausted. The tortiere's look fabulous.

[lucylee]

Soooo happy for the Okay family!!! Just rejoicing tonight with this good news!!!

Waving to ALL and wishing you all a very, very Merry Christmas… I’m sorry I’ve been AWOL all weekend but goodness…

* Whew * Countdown here today has been in 13 minute increments while I have baked 18 DOZEN cookies. Right. That is not a misprint. They are not made from scratch, they are Pillsbury refrigerator dough w/pecans added… but still… it is very time-consuming. Actually, it should take approx.. 4.5 hours.
Started at 10:00-10:30, when dmom called me on the phone… and continued (while talking on phone to dmom/daunt/dsgm until around 1:00 when dh was ready to go to Wmart. S2S… went to Wmart and every other store in town, looking for soft-centered R ussell S tover candy for dh’s daunt in nursing home. No such animal in this town today. Finally gave up and bought regular R S candy. Also looking for “little Cokes in the glass bottles” per/dmil’s request. When I say every store in town, I’m not exaggerating much – went to T ractor S upply, for example. Saw Gillman’s (???) cherry candy – jelly beans? Is that what y’all have been talking about? I didn’t get any b/c they didn’t have the Cokes, either. Finally found them at another grocery store.
Started back on the cookies when we got groceries put away.

I am pretty sick of cookies right now. Just tasting/eating cookie dough as I went along, and that is ALL I have eaten all day, except a banana and a pack of peanut butter crackers, and a few bites of strawberries and pineapples. I’m really not feeling all that great at this point.

(((Lilac’s dh))) – We used to eat @ J immy J ohn’s occasionally – there was one within walking distance of ds’s college condo. But they moved or went out of business – it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten there.

Christmas does come around quickly, doesn’t it, Norma? Has it really been a whole year since we were doing this last time? And it sorta rushes up and catches us (me anyway) unprepared, no matter what, even though we have known for 365 days when it was going to happen. * sheesh *

Kathryn – my vacuum cleaner has been waiting in the door of my bedroom closet since Friday!!! I really really need to get at least the master bedroom and bath done tonight. I’ve about given up on the study -- like my daunt told me, it will need cleaning a lot more after they’re all gone. I got the den/kitchen/dining room done Friday, but since then, my days have run together in a blur. We were in Nashville Saturday… church and napped all day Sunday… and cookies cookies cookies today.

Big WTG, Helia’s ds!!!

(((Twins))) (re: dh/dd issues) BTDT

Oh – have I posted to y’all since I saw Saving Mr. Banks? Dee’s post about Disney made me think of that. It was soooo good!!! I want to take dmom to see it now… but I hope it will not be too emotional for her. There are some sad episodes from P.L. Travers’ early life. DH did not like it – said Travers was just “too rude and hateful and difficult and people like that make (him) nervous. LOL...

Harriet – sorry about the frustration of the visit being cancelled – but oooohhhh – so glad it WAS cancelled before you were all exposed. As I have mentioned before, I am just scared to death dmom is going to get the flu and be home alone and everything… she gets dehydrated sooo quickly and I’m just going to miss my dad being there to take care of HER so much.

Helia – I just love the Sinter Klaus traditions you share with us! That poem sounds so great for your dd!!!

Must google tortiere…

Must wrap presents…

Must vacuum…