Second Day of Four Days Off

I am enjoying the second day off in a series of four. Yesterday, aside from alot of kitchen duty, I have a pretty restful day. We shared the cooking. The kids got in on the act. Jess made the deviled eggs. Josh made the potato salad, and Jo helped me with the tarts and the pumpkin pie. Robert cooked the turkey and heated the ham, I did the sweet pototoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, baked the rolls and made cherry tarts and pumpkin pie for dessert. I only ate once, around noon, and didn't eat the rest of the day. That one meal was enough.

I woke up this morning with my stomach growling. Today I've nibbled here and there, but I mainly cleaned, did laundry and cleaned more. What I love the most about yesterday was that I didn't GO anywhere. I didn't rip and run all day, I got to stay home and kick back. I got my Christmas cards done, which just needed signing and sealed, labels slapped on and special notes written where applicable. I love days where I don't have to put on makeup and I can just sit around in sweats and look like a homebody. It makes all the other days when I DO have to do get dressed and look presentable more tolerable.

Robert is working the shop today, and we're having a pretty busy day he says. Jess went with him to help out and the boys stayed home with me. Jess wants to spend the night with one of her friends that she met at the shop several months ago. This just means more peace for us, so we both agreed. This will be the second time she's gone to this girl's house, and having gotten to know her mom, I know she's in good hands. We've had her friend over once, and they seem to get along pretty well.

Robert says he wants to go shopping tonight, just to get that holiday feel going. I put up Mom's little fiberoptic tree today, added a few decorations and plugged it in. I pulled out some of Mom's decorations as well, including the little pixies sitting on pointsettas that we've had since probably before I was even thought of. I found a huge stack of holiday kitchen towels and potholders, which I put out. I used to buy Mom kitchen towels all the time, and she always acted thrilled, saying how much she needed them. Then when I was going through her stuff after she died, I found box after box of towels that she never opened up or used. Perhaps she was saving them for a special occasion. Or maybe she just didn't want to hurt my feelings.

Most of our holiday stuff and non-essentials are still packed up at our "city" house. I'm thinking a lot of that stuff is going to be yard sale relegated real soon. It's that whole "haven't used it, get rid of it philosophy." I wish I could be more faithful to that creed.

Well, on to bigger and better things. I suppose I will have to actually comb my hair if we go out shopping. I guess ya can't win 'em all. I wouldn't want to scare any hapless shoppers with my no makeup, wild hair persona. That kind of trauma could ruin a person's holiday spirit.