Thursday, December 10

Well, we've had a large day. I woke up about 5:15 a.m. for some reason, and then couldn't get back to sleep. At 6:15, we got up. I skipped my exercises this morning, since I needed to fix a dish for the Master Gardener potluck Christmas party and Dirty Santa gift exchange, and take Mother to and Extension Homemakers Christmas party at 9:30.



I decided to fix a favorite potato dish from Niece's recipe, so Hubbie peeled potatoes and I diced them and put them in water until I was ready to put the dish together for the oven. I also sliced onions, and gathered seasonings and oil for the dish.



Then I got ready for the day and drove Mother to a local restaurant for her Christmas party. While there, one of the ladies complimented us on our photo in the newspaper. I thanked her and commented that I had not yet seen the paper.



Back home, I put the potato dish together and got it in the oven to cook for an hour (I'd made a double recipe, so it needed to cook a little longer). Around 10:30, Hubbie decided we needed to run a couple of errands before going to the Christmas party...to the bank, and to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription.



At 11 a.m., we arrived at the party, potato dish and exchange gift in hand. The decorating committee did an outstanding job this year, making the room very pleasant and inviting. The potluck dishes were exceptionally good, too. I chose carefully, selecting a slice of turkey, along with veggie dishes (including my own potato dish, which is diet friendly) and fruit dishes. I did have a yeast roll with my meal...these rolls are made at a local restaurant and are absolutely delicious.



One of the Master Gardener ladies brought me a copy of the newspaper that featured a story about the graham cracker cookie Christmas houses. It is a full page long and includes a nice photo of Mother and me, plus a story and the recipes I submitted to the writer.



At 12:30, I called Mother, and she was ready to leave her party. So I went and picked her up, and brought her back to the Master Gardener party, where she enjoyed watching the Dirty Santa game. Hubbie ended up with a very pretty brass and glass bird feeder and sack of bird seed.



After the event, everyone was encouraged to take leftovers home, so we brought home about a dozen of the yeast rolls, and a few slices of ham, plus a turkey leg for Shih Tzu.



Back home about 1:30, Mother gave me a gift that one of the EH ladies had sent...two tubes of hand cream (she is a salesperson for this brand). She also brought home a $100 grant check for our scrapbook club to use in making greeting cards and scrapbook pages for Caring Hands Hospice.



Around 2 p.m., I went to the everything's a dollar store (Hubbie went, too) to get a Christmas mug, which I filled with a couple of packets of apple cider mix, and a few gingersnap cookies. I put the mug in a cellophane bag, and tied it with a ribbon. This became a small hostess gift for the lady who held an annual drop-in "Cup of Cheer" gathering at her home this afternoon.



The event was scheduled for 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Mother and I went about 4 p.m. We stayed and visited about 30 minutes. Mother had a cup of coffee and some fruitcake cookies, but I was still full from the potluck lunch, so I didn't eat anything while I was there. But I did bring home a couple of homemade marshmallows on sticks, and some homemade chocolate bon-bons to enjoy later this evening or tomorrow.



Mother went home after that, and Hubbie and I relaxed and watched nothing special on TV. We still weren't overly hungry by 7 p.m., so we settled for bowls of cereal and slices of yeast bread, with cups of hot tea.