Christmas Day!

Our kids are now old enough that they let us sleep in until about 9:00 on Christmas morning. I like it! Ben told me at lunch on Thursday that Christmas just isn't as magical now as it was when he was younger. I agree! There's something about having young kids around, so excited for everything to happen that makes the time of year wonderful.
Nana, Papaw, and Richard got here just before 9:00 and we woke the kids up.
Tessa got a new bike and couldn't have been more excited. Savanah was surprised with...I don't know what, she pretty much knew everything she was getting. Ben was the same, except we got a tool box for his truck so he can store things back there without them getting wet in the rain. He didn't know about that.
After presents, we ate gingerbread pancakes with buttermilk syrup. (Thanks to Lori for the recipe, it was a hit!)


Then, we finished making a turkey dinner for a group of homeless people in Placerville and took it up the hill. Well, in reality, the family took it up the hill. I stayed home and finished our own turkey dinner. (No wonder I was tired at the end of the day! I fed 40 people on my own!)
The missionaries came for dinner at 2:00, then called their families. That was fun to be on the giving end of those phone calls. I loved being on the receiving end while Ben was in Mexico!
Tessa had friends to see and left at 1:30, so she missed dinner with the family. Someday, she'll need us....
It was a wonderful day! I did worry about Barbara, who had trouble breathing while she was here. Pleurisy? It's awful!

My True Christmas Present...

With the addition of new flooring, I was so happy I thought that would be my major present this year for Christmas. Au contrair! (I think that's how to spell it...)
The living and dining rooms were put back together on Wednesday, with the exception of my piano. I walked in after a shopping trip, and John, Savanah and Ben were sitting on the newly re-arranged living room furniture.
The armoire was added to the family room, and the entire front room felt much more spacious. I told John it looked great, but wondered where my piano was going to go. John said the floor needed one more day to dry before we moved it in. I'm good with that.
Thursday morning, I got up and got going on the last bit of shopping I had to do. I got home around noon thinking I really was hungry and Ben asked me if I wanted to go to lunch with him. I accepted and he took me out for sushi! (I love sushi!)
When we got home, I was met at the door by John who told me to close my eyes. I did and he turned me around, then told me to open them. There, in the living room by the door was a baby grand piano! I could hardly believe it! Apparently the entire family was in on the secret for the past few weeks.
That explains John's insistence on getting the floors finished before Christmas. Here I was thinking he wanted it to look good for his Mom and Jeff to come see us.
Wow! What a great surprise!

My Christmas Present...

Well, it probably isn't just for me, but with the addition of another puppy to the household, we had to do something with the carpet in the living/dining room.
The dogs in the house before we got here used it as a potty room, and our dogs have continued the tradition.
When it's raining outside, Roxy will get lazy and use the floor in there to do her business. It makes the carpet disgusting! I can't keep it clean because she still smells it and keeps using that room as her litter box.
So, John and I talked about putting hardwood floors in there. Actually, John suggested we put them in the whole house, but I kind of like the indestructibility of the tile we have in the rest of the house.
He picked up wood before we left town for a week, and while we were on vacation he suggested that he could do it on Tuesday. Hmmm....that's less that a week before Christmas. Okay! Let's do it!
I forgot how much stuff we have in that room, and that we'd have to put it throughout the rest of the house! (I should have taken pictures!) To make a long story short, he got it done in a day with the help of Ben, Savanah and me.
He was limping just a bit yesterday from his sore back, but the floor looks great and it's encouraged me to do some purging of old materials we will never use!
Merry Christmas to us!

Jelly Roll Quilts

Last time I went to Utah, Lori had a new book about Jelly Roll Quilting that was fascinating to look at.
When she and Mandy decided to come to California for a visit, we thought it might be fun to make quilts while they were here. We all chose fabric, cut it into 2 1/2" strips and were ready for the big quilting bee. (Okay, I know it wasn't a traditional quilting bee, but we were ready to make quilt tops together.)
We had three sewing machines and were busy as bees for 2 and a half days.
I think we all came to the conclusion that sewing for 12 hours at a time is not conducive to fun!
We did make great progress on the tops and we did have a good time together!

Hoarding

I've decided there is a fine line between being frugal and being a hoarder.
This conclusion was drawn after Ben requested huckleberry pie for Thanksgiving and I went to the garage and grabbed my last bottle of huckleberries. I glanced at the lid and it didn't really dawn on my until I got back to the kitchen that the date on the top was 1992!!!
Yup, I was waiting for the perfect time to make a lovely pie and I saved them until they became outdated. I believe that qualifies as hoarding.
The frugal part of my brain said, "Go ahead and use them; the lid was sealed just fine." But there was a slightly 'off' smell when I opened the jar, and as I poured the liquid through a strainer I realized that it was clear, not purple as it should be.
Gritting my teeth, I dumped the contents of the strainer down the disposal, and made a blueberry pie instead. It certainly isn't as good, and it's more blue than purple. (Maybe I should have added red food coloring?)
Anyway, next time I won't oversave the berries. We'll use them before they expire....And I really intend to go huckleberrying with my sisters next year; I need more berries!

Clanging Pots

Last night was a High Priest event for our Stake. I was asked to play the organ at the Mormon Center. Other organists used to complain about the organ there and I turned a deaf ear because it was 'my' organ. Now that I've been playing another organ for a couple of years, I understand their complaints!
Back to last night: I was on the organ bench and had just finished prelude. The Stake President was making announcements and I decided to adjust my bench a bit. I put my legs forward so I could push against the organ and my knee brushed the metal cover on the light for the pedals. It's usually pushed firmly onto the flourescent bulb but last night it was loose. It clanged onto the pedals, sounding like pots falling on tile floors.
I was mortified, but I tried to pick it up so it wouldn't be in my way for the opening song. I just made more noise! Then the cover settled under the pedals. It probably would have been okay, but I was worried about it hitting one of the pedals and not being able to play the note, so I got down on my hands and knees and gently pulled it out of the way.
While I was in that position (prone), I heard the Stake President thank the chorister and me (individually). I wanted to stay on the floor until attention was called away from us, but he announced the opening song and I had to get up to play.
One more 'organ adventure'! (Yes, there have been many.)

...And it lightly touched down!

I had just come home from dropping off some friends at the airport and was putting the trash cans behind the fence...thinking "This is not my job."...when I realized that the buzz I was hearing in my head was actually the rotors of a helicoptor flying very close to the earth!
It was hovering over the electric towers that run down the length of Oak Avenue Parkway a couple of blocks from our house. I caught a glimpse of it and paused to watch it, wondering what it was doing. As I pondered, it approached the tower that I could see beyond the houses across the street and it 'lightly touched down' on the top of the tower!
After I gazed on the spectacle for a few seconds, I pulled out my phone to take a picture. (Good thinking, huh?) Then the chopper lifted off again.
It's still buzzing around the neighborhood and I'll bet I could get a picture if I really tried, but I think you could imagine the spectacle pretty well without the picture. It wouldn't be spontaneous at this point anymore, would it?
...'Mr. Bojangles! Mr. Bojangles! Dance....'