Friday, Dec. 10

Woke up around 5:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. But stayed in bed until around 6:30, when Hubbie woke up.

Did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Then did a few things to spruce the house for company tomorrow, when Daughter and Great-Grandkids will come for a visit.

Mother came over mid-morning, and after I got ready for the day, we went to a restaurant downtown to meet our friends for lunch. We arrived early, because I'd forgotten if we were supposed to meet at 11 a.m. or 11:30 a.m., so we split the difference and arrived at 11:15.

Our friends arrived shortly thereafter, and we presented them each with homemade Christmas cards and bottles of chai tea. One of the friends brought a Christmas tree ornament for me and a pair of soft slipper socks for Mother. She also brought more rubber stamps to add to our collection for Caring Hands.

A few minutes later, another friend of our friends arrived, and we had move to another table to accommodate her. I've seen this lady before, but don't really know her. So we were surprised when she reached into her bag and brought out token gifts...kitchen Christmas towels. I guess during the holidays, she carries plenty of the towels, packaged in little Christmas bags, to give to any ladies she associates with. It's a sweet idea.

The restaurant was nicely decorated with two large trees...one in featuring lavendar mesh ribbon and huge lavendar and silver ornaments, and another in the dining area decorated all in silver ornaments, with three huge, sparkly stars on the top.

This is the restaurant that serves melt-in-your-mouth rolls, and we each enjoyed one before our meals arrived. I decided on the seafood salad sampler, with fruit, for my lunch, and Mother opted for broccoli-cheddar soup. She thought a cup would be too small, so she ordered a bowl of it. Her eyes got as big as saucers when the waitress brought a giant cup-like bowl of the soup. She had to bring half of it home.

After we got back home, we watched the musical "Scrooge," starring Albert Finney. This is one of my favorite holiday movies.

At 4 p.m., we went downtown to a by-invitation-only reception at a business. We expected there to be nibbles only, but found that hot roast beef sandwiches, as well as dips, etc., were being served. We had planned to have soup and sandwiches for supper, but weren't hungry when we got back home.

At 5:30, we went to the art gallery downtown for "Second Friday" activities. Tonight an eighth-grade string orchestra entertained, followed by a talk by a college art instructor, whose work is currently on display at the gallery.

At 7 p.m., we went to one of the local colleges to hear a Christmas concert featuring a college/community chorale group, and the college band, plus a harpist.

We were back home around 9 p.m., ready to call it a day.