Back to Real Life

Christmas is over and done with and all put away, except for the traditional handful of items that always manage to get overlooked. This year, it was Olivia's stocking, some ribbon, and some books. Every year, I think I have searched every nook for all the holiday paraphernalia and every year I manage to miss some, which then sits out in the middle of everything else until the next holiday season descends upon us. The good news about that is that at least the stuff that got left out last year is finally put away.

Science fair season is now upon us. Olivia is the participant this year, and her experiment was the effects of sugar and salt on slime. We were up until 10 pm trying to figure out how to graph the results. The actual fair is not til next week, so we still have to do her board, but I feel like we are actually pretty on top of things this time around. I do hate science fairs though. I am bound and determined that this is going to be HER project though, not mine. Nothing I hate worse than a science fair project that reeks of a pinterest loving mother.

With Audrey out of job and out of a musical,  and Duncan out of a mission, things have seemed almost quiet around here the past few days. I can't say I miss driving Duncan back and forth to Kaysville every day. I know I am jinxing myself though, by even thinking the words "quiet around here". You would think I would have learned by now. In fact, now that I think about it,  Dan got a call from the renters in Logan tonight. The furnace is out. Perfect timing, now that there is 12 inches of snow up there and a forecast of -8. Heavy sigh. There goes my night's sleep. So much for quiet.

Happy tossing and turning and wondering how much this is going to cost me.

Page 2

We woke up this lovely second morning of the year to several inches of new snow. Well, to be honest, I woke up at 8:30 to the sound of my neighbor's snow blower going.  Since I was supposed to be at work at 9, there was a brief moment of panic before I decided I just didn't care that much. Making someone work on Monday, January 2 is just too much, especially when the rest of the family got one more day to sleep in and be lazy. I figured the snow would be the perfect excuse for being late for work.

As it turns out, working today earns me the privilege of staying home tomorrow, when everybody else has to go out into the cold cruel world. Everyone except Duncan that is.  Duncan will be home with me now of course, and I already have big plans for us to get all the Christmas put away and the house sparkling clean. We will see how far we get on my little spark of ambition. Tonight I am working on Sherlock reruns and finishing the laundry. I am finding out that Sherlock requires one's full attention, and even something as mundane as the laundry is too distracting.

Tomorrow marks 70 days in the mission for Will. I wish I could say it was going fast, but at least it is going. At least now we can say that he will be home NEXT YEAR!  I've been waiting 68 days to be able to say that.

In other news, we found out on Saturday, via Facebook, that Audrey is out of a job as of tomorrow. The pool she works at has suddenly and unexpectedly decided to close as of January 3. She worked her last shift this evening. This came as kind of a shock, especially since the owners did such a lowly job of informing their employees, but Audrey is carrying such a heavy load of classes this year that it may be a blessing in disguise. She may start looking around for another job or she may just take her time about it. Guess we will see how much she hates being without money.

Deep Fried

2017 is off to a rollicking start.

New Year's Eve was a night at home, with homemade French fries, games, confetti and horns. It was plenty cold, and plenty loud what with our horns and the neighborhood fireworks.

New Year's Day was Duncan's mission release, the first week of church at 1 pm, then scones and new Sherlock episodes.

Friday was Duncan's last official day at the mill. That night, we took him out for dinner at Warren's

And with that, our holidays are pretty much a wrap. The presents are all opened, the treats mostly gone. The relatives are all back home. All that's left is de-crapping the house. I go back to work tomorrow, and everybody else goes back to the old grind on Tuesday. Except for Duncan of course, who gets a few days off, then must find a new grind.

Please, 2017, be kind to us.

Christmas Come and Gone

Christmas was pretty great this year, even if I didn't take very many pictures. We stuck close to home and its a good thing we did, since we got about six inches of snow late on Christmas eve and into Christmas morning. Waking up to a white Christmas is always magical, even when it's a Sunday and you have to be to church at 9 AM.

My mom and dad stayed over on Christmas eve with us. Audrey made a festive tuna casserole with a snowman carrot nose and eyes on it. This may become our Christmas eve tradition.  It was quite tasty, and she saved a bunch of tired, grumpy, stressed, hangry people from a Christmas eve meltdown.

After dinner, we played a silly game (see pictures) and watched Christmas Story, which Mom and Dad seemed to really enjoy. We hung stockings with care (actually they were laid out on the floor with care since our mantle is currently propped up against the wall) and reminisced about Christmas Eves past, then turned in for the night so Santa could come. Audrey was awakened in the night when there arose such a clatter. Thankfully, she did not spring from her bed to see what was the matter, because if she had, she would have caught a very tired and grumpy Santa who had tipped over a big old shelf in an attempt to navigate the disaster known as our storage room.

Christmas Day we all slept in til 7:30. The ONE YEAR we really needed to be up early (because of dumb church), is the year we all sleep soundly past 4 AM, including Duncan who is our traditional early Christmas morning riser. So we rushed through a few Santa presents before church, got dressed and ran off to church. Everybody got a little something new to wear to church, and Christmas miracle, Audrey actually liked the dress Santa picked out for her.  Wish somebody would have taken some pictures.

 Church was only an hour and it was a nice Christmas program that really touched Duncan.
After church we came home for brunch and got all set up to video chat with our missionary.



Best two hours of Christmas, right there.

After the call, we opened a few more presents then Grandma and Grandpa headed out into the snow so they could get home before dark.  Mitch and Ria came over for dinner and more presents. We had roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and mince pie in honor of our English roots. The beef was heavenly, the Yorkshire pudding surprisingly tasty and the mince pie awful. Awful Awful Awful. Never again. Fortunately, we also had chocolate pie.

And here is a picture of my dad's 84th birthday, a week before Christmas.


I feel so blessed to have them both around still.

Yesterday, we had a little Christmas out at Cedar Fort. There was ham and sledding and presents.

 Olivia and Miranda all ready to head out on the sleds.

Grandma Linda and Grandpa Dan enjoying their antigravity chairs

Today, we are enjoying doing nothing. It is 5 pm and I am lying in bed in my Christmas jammies. Everybody needs one day a year of doing absolutely nothing, and after the craziness of the past week, this is as good of a day for that as any.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

A Little Whine with Christmas

I don't drink, but if I ever start, it is going to be in the month of December. Always, there is too much to do in too few days and with too little money. I am just really kind of hating my life right now for a million trivial reasons. If you are desperate for entertainment, here is a selection of what is stuck in my craw tonight.

We need a new water heater.
My dog's breath really stinks. Not like regular dog breath stink, but like bionic, deathwarmedover stink.
The house is a mess.
I'm out of money.
Tomorrow is Monday.
It's freezing cold.
I keep losing earrings.
Our carpet is ugly.
I didn't send Will enough treats for Christmas.
Olivia and Duncan ate an entire package of Oreos by themselves. In one night.
I hate my closet.
I need a pedicure.
My parents live too far away.
Everybody is going to die one day.
I ate Olivia's pie.
I spilled my diet coke on my ugly carpet.

There is more, but that's enough. Now I'm going to go write a happy letter to Will.

My Belle

We knew for a long time that this day was coming.

She was almost 19 years old.

That's like 90 in cat years.

Over the past several months, she has been getting a little older and a little slower every day. But for as old as she was, she was doing pretty darn good. Still eating good, enjoying a nap in the sunshine, and the occasional scratch behind the ears.  She couldn't see too well, couldn't hear too well, and couldn't move too well, but she seemed happy enough.

Then, about a week ago, she stopped eating. Almost overnight it seemed, her weight dropped drastically. She wasn't very big to begin with, and by this past weekend, she was pathetically skinny. You could feel the ridges and grooves on her bones through her fur. Her fur became matted and rough when she stopped grooming. Her eyes, nose and  mouth became infected and oozy.

Of course she began her downward spiral on a Friday.  All weekend long, I kept hoping that somehow she would rally and have a miraculous healing.  But then I would remind myself that she was 18 years old.  Even if she rallied, she was still at the end of her nine lives. We tried to coax a little milk and water into her, but she really was having none of that.

By this morning, she made it pretty clear that she was ready to  move on to her next big adventure. She couldn't walk, couldn't even hold her head  up very well, and she kept turning and moving as if she just couldn't get comfortable.  Just before I left for work, I laid down on the floor next to her and petted her head. She seemed to enjoy in and relax a little, so I kept petting her, and tried to have a little farewell moment with her, telling her what a good kitty she was, and how much we would miss her. I got rather teary eye and tender hearted,  thinking of saying goodbye to my old kitty. Suddenly, she sat up, and smacked me in the face with her paw, as if to say, "Oh, shut up already and lets get on with it." She never was a cuddly sentimental sort, which is one of the things I liked most about her.

She chose to spend part of her last morning on earth in the shower. She always did love the bathroom. She loved to get in the shower after Dan got out in the mornings and slurp up the water left on the shower door and floor. She also used to love to sit on the edge of the bath tub while I was bathing, and would watch, fascinated by all that water.

She didn't hardly make a peep on the way to the vet, and in the office while we waited. She probably was feeling awful by this time, but she was very sweet and cuddly.

We brought her home to bury her in our back yard. Duncan said the sweetest prayer for her that had me crying and laughing hysterically all at once. He said, "We are thankful we could be here together to experience the loss of our beloved pet, mother, and sister...."  that boy can be very eloquent when the need arises.

So, happy trails Belle. you kept us company for more than 18 years, and you were a patient and entertaining housemate for all that time. You put up with two younger brother cats who tormented you like any younger brothers would, you shared your kittens with Maggie, and reigned with grace over Piper. I'll mss sharing my bath with  you.

To Thine Own Elf Be True

Audrey's musical was this past weekend, and it was amazing, incredible, adorable, funny, jolly, inspiring, and delightful.

We were all shocked at Audrey's singing abilities. I mean, I knew she could sing, I just didn't know she could sing like that. I guess my first hint should have been back in the spring, when she auditioned for and got a lead in the school musical.  She did so great, both singing and acting, and we were all just busting our buttons with pride over this talented, smart, kind girl.

Just a few of her adoring fans that came to the show.