Christmas Week
We're home once again after an enjoyable and surprise-filled extended weekend. Most of you who read this already know the events of the week because we were all together. I’ll still record some of the events here for posterity. All the surprises were not nice ones.
The weekend began for us on Saturday morning with our usual breakfast at Waffle House. The restaurant is usually empty at this time on Saturdays but this morning found it busy with only one booth open for us to sit at. We still got our usual waitress (oops, I mean server). I guess we can count ourselves as regulars there now since the server knows our order when she sees us. The car was all packed and ready for the trip so after breakfast we went back to the house and picked up Brie and set out for Jacksonville.
We're home once again after an enjoyable and surprise-filled extended weekend. Most of you who read this already know the events of the week because we were all together. I’ll still record some of the events here for posterity. All the surprises were not nice ones.
The weekend began for us on Saturday morning with our usual breakfast at Waffle House. The restaurant is usually empty at this time on Saturdays but this morning found it busy with only one booth open for us to sit at. We still got our usual waitress (oops, I mean server). I guess we can count ourselves as regulars there now since the server knows our order when she sees us. The car was all packed and ready for the trip so after breakfast we went back to the house and picked up Brie and set out for Jacksonville.
We experienced clouds, fog and drizzle for the entire trip. The only significant event came at our gas stop. One of the gas stations there was shut down because someone drove over the hose that the tank truck was filling the stations tanks with - splitting the 5-inch hose and spilling gas. Everything was at a standstill over there. Nobody could do anything that might spark including starting cars. A bunch of holiday drivers were temporarily captured until the place was cleaned up. We were glad we weren’t there.
Once we got to K&T’s we didn’t do a lot. We unloaded all the gifts – the CRV was full of them including a bunch from Meme. (Penny and I have scaled back our Christmas giving some since we retired but Meme was quite generous this year. I felt bad that we didn’t give her family more.) We got dinner at KFC that evening and they began feeding Sophia some rice cereal that
evening. I found myself getting a headache. I don’t get many headaches. When I do it is usually a bad sign and this held to be true.
Did I mention there was a lot of sleeping going on?
I still had breakfast sitting in my stomach and it didn’t seem to be moving in either direction. I didn’t have any pizza, just some diet coke. My feeling bad was relatively minor compared to Penny. In her normal manner she didn’t tell us she was feeling bad. We didn’t know she was sick until she got sick and needed help to clean up. Whereas my body was undecided as to which way for my system to pass food along Penny’s body decided to use all its options.
Neither Penny nor I felt well enough to go to midnight mass. The rest of the group did including Sophie.
On Christmas morning Penny felt better. I was still feeling strange but was able to eat breakfast – this morning Tim made pancakes and we had cherry topping with whipped cream. Then it was time to open presents. My primary interest was to see if Christy liked the chicken wall clock I made for her. This was the secret project I was making the week before. We had seen the clock in a shop in High Springs. I copied it and made the colors match Christy’s house. My effort was well rewarded. She looked genuinely thrilled with the clock. At first she thought it was the clock from the shop and was amazed that the colors were so good for her house. When she realized I had made it she got even more excited. I like to see that smile on Christy – it’s priceless.
Everyone seemed well pleased with the gifts.
So, now you have a brief rundown of this past week’s activities. Penny and I are over our illness and ready to start this week's Saturday back at Waffle House.
Sophy was all smiles, especially for her Aunt Christy.
Sunday was mostly uneventful. We did church and Famous Amos for breakfast. The rest of the day was spent preparing for Christmas. Tim and I did a grocery shop in the Publix madhouse. I called Kerry and set up a visit for Monday. I was getting queasy on and off all day. Most of the day was spent relaxing and enjoying Sophia and the rest of the family.
Monday, Tim fixed us all French toast for breakfast. We went over to see Kerry, originally planning to spend an hour or so. We ended up ordering pizza for lunch and staying longer. Kerry’s is always a nice place to visit. Kathy and Joe were there. Annie was as cute as could be. Jack was energetic and this visit we got to see John.
Monday, Tim fixed us all French toast for breakfast. We went over to see Kerry, originally planning to spend an hour or so. We ended up ordering pizza for lunch and staying longer. Kerry’s is always a nice place to visit. Kathy and Joe were there. Annie was as cute as could be. Jack was energetic and this visit we got to see John.
I still had breakfast sitting in my stomach and it didn’t seem to be moving in either direction. I didn’t have any pizza, just some diet coke. My feeling bad was relatively minor compared to Penny. In her normal manner she didn’t tell us she was feeling bad. We didn’t know she was sick until she got sick and needed help to clean up. Whereas my body was undecided as to which way for my system to pass food along Penny’s body decided to use all its options.
Penny cleaned herself up and changed clothes. We stayed a little longer at Kerry’s and then went back to Karen’s. Penny slept, I napped and Karen went off to do some Christmas shopping.
Neither Penny nor I felt well enough to go to midnight mass. The rest of the group did including Sophie.
On Christmas morning Penny felt better. I was still feeling strange but was able to eat breakfast – this morning Tim made pancakes and we had cherry topping with whipped cream. Then it was time to open presents. My primary interest was to see if Christy liked the chicken wall clock I made for her. This was the secret project I was making the week before. We had seen the clock in a shop in High Springs. I copied it and made the colors match Christy’s house. My effort was well rewarded. She looked genuinely thrilled with the clock. At first she thought it was the clock from the shop and was amazed that the colors were so good for her house. When she realized I had made it she got even more excited. I like to see that smile on Christy – it’s priceless.
Everyone seemed well pleased with the gifts.
The day shifted to preparation of Christmas dinner. I didn’t help much with the preparations. I still felt bad. I was able to watch Sophie while the others did the real work. I had the best job and her little smile helped keep me going.
The meal was wonderful. We have incorporated traditions from both families. We didn't lack for food. We had turkey, dressing, sweet potato muggin, mac and cheese, corn casserole, apple salad, cranberry sauce, green beans, biscuits and gravy. I ate some of everything. Near the end of the meal Christy complained that she was getting a headache. I thought to myself that it was the symptom that started my problems.
Christy headed home that evening. We celebrated Tim’s Christmas birthday with presents, cheesecake and pumpkin pie. I was still eating and things seemed to be slowly moving in the correct direction but I still felt dizzy and had a mild upset stomach.
The next morning Christy called to tell us she also got sick and did not go to work. Before that Penny and I woke up at 4:30 AM to say goodbye to Karen when she left for work. I laundered the sheets and towels we had used and also Penny’s clothes that got dirty when she was sick. We said goodbye to Sophie when Tim brought her to daycare. Then we packed up the car, caught Brie, bid Tim adieu and headed down to High Springs to see Christy.
The original purpose of the visit to Christy was to see if we could unplug the drainpipe for their washing machine. It spewed water every time they used it. Now that she was sick we had a more important reason to visit.
The drain didn’t appear to be plugged when I checked it. Instead, the combination of the volume of water going in and the air coming out seems to make it overflow. This is like what happens when you fill your car with gas. The pump always kicks off before the tank is full because escaping air backs up the flow of gasoline. So I wrapped a rag around the washing machine’s drain hose and stuffed the hose into the drainpipe. This way air could escape through the rag but backed up water would wet the rag but not splash out. If the drain were truly plugged it would blow the rag and hose off the end . This fix seemed to work. I did 2 loads of laundry without pouring water all over their laundry room and yard.
We offered to stay with Christy over night and take care of her and the animals. She accepted. Penny went the extra mile and washed all their dishes. We pulled out the sleeper sofa and spent the night in her living room. Penny says Christy’s cat Colby spent some time on my chest kneading my neck. I don’t remember. Evidently Brie got a little upset. Considering Colby’s size and weight I’m amazed that I didn’t feel the cat on me.
Thursday morning a slow-moving Christy headed off to work. We once again packed up to head home. The only problem was we couldn’t find Brie. I guess she was going to get back at me for sleeping with Colby. I finally found her, with the help of a flashlight, tucked into the deepest corner of the guest room. She would not come out voluntarily so we had to slide the sofa out a little and latch onto her and extract he against her will. We put her in the carrier and carefully checked that we had closed up the house properly and headed home.
The drive home was normal. We did get to see the results of someone going off-road driving in one of those big RV’s that everyone curses at on the highway. Those vehicles are probably good protection if you hit a car but this one did not fare well against a stand of long needle pine trees. The front quarter of the vehicle was all torn off and pine trees were sticking up where the driver should have been. It was not pretty.
Back home again all was calm, all was bright? There were no problems with the house. The Mod IV automatic cat feeder worked properly. By the end of the day (after I awoke from a short winter’s nap) all the outside cats were accounted for.
Today, Friday, we did our normal Target run and scooped up some post-Christmas bargains. We ordered 2 pieces of cookware for Penny and were expecting delivery today but the doorbell didn’t ring. About 3:30 a noisy thunderstorm was arriving so I decided to check the front door to see if any boxes were there. Sitting on the doorstep were 2 boxes covered in plastic. Evidently the delivery person doesn’t knock or ring the bell. After I got the packages in I stood inside the storm door and watched the storm approach. Christy’s plant outside our front door has just passed its peak in blooming. It was a little late this year with the warm weather. I noticed some motion around one of the flowers and discovered two Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds working their way around the bush hitting all the fresh blooms. I watched them for a while as the rain picked up. They didn’t seem bothered by it. Finally it started pouring and I didn’t see them any more. It was a nice treat to see the birds. They migrate through our area but don’t stay year-round.
The meal was wonderful. We have incorporated traditions from both families. We didn't lack for food. We had turkey, dressing, sweet potato muggin, mac and cheese, corn casserole, apple salad, cranberry sauce, green beans, biscuits and gravy. I ate some of everything. Near the end of the meal Christy complained that she was getting a headache. I thought to myself that it was the symptom that started my problems.
Christy headed home that evening. We celebrated Tim’s Christmas birthday with presents, cheesecake and pumpkin pie. I was still eating and things seemed to be slowly moving in the correct direction but I still felt dizzy and had a mild upset stomach.
The next morning Christy called to tell us she also got sick and did not go to work. Before that Penny and I woke up at 4:30 AM to say goodbye to Karen when she left for work. I laundered the sheets and towels we had used and also Penny’s clothes that got dirty when she was sick. We said goodbye to Sophie when Tim brought her to daycare. Then we packed up the car, caught Brie, bid Tim adieu and headed down to High Springs to see Christy.
The original purpose of the visit to Christy was to see if we could unplug the drainpipe for their washing machine. It spewed water every time they used it. Now that she was sick we had a more important reason to visit.
The drain didn’t appear to be plugged when I checked it. Instead, the combination of the volume of water going in and the air coming out seems to make it overflow. This is like what happens when you fill your car with gas. The pump always kicks off before the tank is full because escaping air backs up the flow of gasoline. So I wrapped a rag around the washing machine’s drain hose and stuffed the hose into the drainpipe. This way air could escape through the rag but backed up water would wet the rag but not splash out. If the drain were truly plugged it would blow the rag and hose off the end . This fix seemed to work. I did 2 loads of laundry without pouring water all over their laundry room and yard.
We offered to stay with Christy over night and take care of her and the animals. She accepted. Penny went the extra mile and washed all their dishes. We pulled out the sleeper sofa and spent the night in her living room. Penny says Christy’s cat Colby spent some time on my chest kneading my neck. I don’t remember. Evidently Brie got a little upset. Considering Colby’s size and weight I’m amazed that I didn’t feel the cat on me.
Thursday morning a slow-moving Christy headed off to work. We once again packed up to head home. The only problem was we couldn’t find Brie. I guess she was going to get back at me for sleeping with Colby. I finally found her, with the help of a flashlight, tucked into the deepest corner of the guest room. She would not come out voluntarily so we had to slide the sofa out a little and latch onto her and extract he against her will. We put her in the carrier and carefully checked that we had closed up the house properly and headed home.
The drive home was normal. We did get to see the results of someone going off-road driving in one of those big RV’s that everyone curses at on the highway. Those vehicles are probably good protection if you hit a car but this one did not fare well against a stand of long needle pine trees. The front quarter of the vehicle was all torn off and pine trees were sticking up where the driver should have been. It was not pretty.
Back home again all was calm, all was bright? There were no problems with the house. The Mod IV automatic cat feeder worked properly. By the end of the day (after I awoke from a short winter’s nap) all the outside cats were accounted for.
Today, Friday, we did our normal Target run and scooped up some post-Christmas bargains. We ordered 2 pieces of cookware for Penny and were expecting delivery today but the doorbell didn’t ring. About 3:30 a noisy thunderstorm was arriving so I decided to check the front door to see if any boxes were there. Sitting on the doorstep were 2 boxes covered in plastic. Evidently the delivery person doesn’t knock or ring the bell. After I got the packages in I stood inside the storm door and watched the storm approach. Christy’s plant outside our front door has just passed its peak in blooming. It was a little late this year with the warm weather. I noticed some motion around one of the flowers and discovered two Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds working their way around the bush hitting all the fresh blooms. I watched them for a while as the rain picked up. They didn’t seem bothered by it. Finally it started pouring and I didn’t see them any more. It was a nice treat to see the birds. They migrate through our area but don’t stay year-round.
So, now you have a brief rundown of this past week’s activities. Penny and I are over our illness and ready to start this week's Saturday back at Waffle House.
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