Weekend News

Between Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon, I was able to get the rails up for the rolling doors on the goat barn. We were let go for the day at noon on Friday, so I had a couple extra hours to get started, otherwise, I would not have been able to get as much done as I eventually did. It was just cold enough both afternoons that I wore something to cover my mouth to avoid breathing the cool air. Even still, I ended up with a bit of bronchitis. Good thing I still have some Elderberry syrup left. I was going to go to Lowe’s this afternoon get the plywood for the doors to mount on those railings; we have the day off tomorrow. However, I am a concerned about working in the shop on a day that the temperature is not supposed to get above 33°. It is a shame to have to worry about such a thing as that. I once was able to ignore the cold and work a full day outside regardless of the low temperatures. Such in not now the case. It would be nice to use tomorrow to complete my door project, but I may have to wait for the coming weekend. The temperatures are forecast to be in the low 60’s through the first weekend of the New Year.

I am actually surprised that I was able to get as much done as I did on Saturday. Our Saturday was full. I went bus calling with the pastor until about 11:30. On the way home from that, I had to stop at Walmart to get a couple things for Mama. She was making some cookie dough for the girls to roll out and cut cookies from that evening. I only had about three hours to work at the farm before we had to pick up the girls, so we could take them to Santa’s house. Our resident Santa, one of my coworkers, lives near us and we had been told that his wife decorated the house for Christmas each year with an enormous amount of decorations. We wanted to see. and the girls were excited about visiting Santa after Christmas. All that started when we picked them up at 3:30.

Red’s wife, Joanne did in fact have a lot of Christmas decorations. Even though there were decorations of every sort places on every shelf, table and ledge, it was done so tastefully that it did not look gawdy. There were dozens of snowmen, multiple Nativity scenes, snow scenes of every variety imaginable – town settings, barnyard settings, countryside settings, with frozen ponds being skated upon, woodland animals playing in snow, etc. There were frocked trees of many different types. One, in the hall bathroom, had a couple snow owls perched in it. It was a lot to take in, but all arranged so that it was on display in a way that each item could be clearly seen and enjoyed. I know Mama would like to do the same, but we already have too much on constant display around our house. It would take a herculean effort to pack up our currently displayed items and replace them with Christmas and Winter items. Perhaps that is what it takes for Joanne to do what she does each year, but I am not sure it is worth it for us to mirror that effort. Besides, we do not have nearly the volume of Christmas things she does.

Once back at the farm with the girls, we rolled out dough, cut cookies, baked the cookies and cooked dinner for the girls. Mama and I finally dropped them off at their house at about 7 pm. Each went home with a box of cookies they had cut and decorated themselves. It was a fun day all the way around. They were all pretty hyped up when we dropped them off.

Since there was no school today, the girls were allowed to go to church with us last night.  They colored and drew while Mama tried to listen to the sermon. All in all, they did well through the service. Aubrey especially. Yilin and Cheyenne took a bit more of Mama’s attention than Aubrey did. I was impressed and pleased with how quietly they busied themselves through the service. But Mama had come prepared to keep them occupied. Aubrey was saying she was hungry as soon as we got into the vehicle, so Mama suggested we stop at McDonalds for some French fries. Twenty dollars later we were sitting eating Chicken McNuggets, Filet-O-Fish Sandwiches (two for $5 you know.) and lots of fries. I can’t complain to much. All the girls – especially Aubrey – ate all they were given.

I am not sure how long the workday will be today. Being the last day of the year with a Holiday tomorrow, there are very few people at the office. On our short week last week, there were only about twelve people at the office each day. Today I think there are less than that. I do not anticipate being at the office for a full day.

Vacation resets tomorrow. I will be curious to see how quickly that is used up this coming year.