Tuesday, Dec. 14

Had another of those restless nights. Woke up around 2:30 a.m., and tossed and turned until around 4:30. Finally drifted off, and then wasn't ready to get up this morning, so slept until around 8:30.

By the time I did a treadmill session and weights exercises, got ready for the day, made a couple of phone calls, sent another couple of photos of the graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop to the regional newspaper, answered e-mails, and created a photo Christmas card with my card-making program, it was noon.

For lunch, we had steaming bowls of the veggie soup I made yesterday...so good and warming on this frigid day. Afterward, I put together three food gift packages, before discovering I didn't have enough cellophane gift bags. So Hubbie and I went to the everything's a dollar store to get some more.

While we were out, we stopped by a grocery store for a few items. Wish I'd remembered to pick up a package of dried pinto beans for a beans and ham dinner tomorrow night, but I didn't, so Hubbie had to go back to the store after supper to get them.

In the meantime, Mother put together a lasagna for supper.

When Hubbie and I got back home, I finished the gift packs, and then Mother and I went to a retirement reception at the Extension Services office at 3 p.m. As our gift, we took a Christmas- scented reed diffuser that I bought with a coupon at the greeting card store a month or so ago.

The reception was from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., but there were only a handful of people there when we arrived. I think it was bad timing to schedule the reception on one of the busiest weeks in December.

But we enjoyed visiting with the ones who did come. The reception table was beautifully set, and included a gorgeous sheet cake. Besides the cake, there were chicken salad finger sandwiches, hot and cold spinach dips, veggies and dip, and slices of pumpkin roll, among other things. I brought a couple of slices of pumpkin roll home for Hubbie.

The punch, made of pineapple juice, orange juice, and ginger ale, and flavored with vanilla and almond extract, was very tasty.

Hubbie put the lasagna in the oven around 4:30. Around 4:45, I went to an art gallery visual arts committee meeting. On the way, I saw a beautiful sunset of blue-black clouds scattered on a glowing salmon colored sky.

Only three of us showed up. So we spent most of the meeting hour exchanging family stories. The arts council director said she'd attended a niece's wedding over the weekend in Toledo, Ohio, where the temp was 12 degrees, and there was six inches of snow on the ground.

She said that the reception after the wedding was unusual in that a glass blower was present to demonstrate her art by creating a set of glasses on the spot for the bride. The bride had taken a glass blowing class with the artist earlier, so this was the artist's gift to her.

Back home around 6 p.m., we had the lasagna, with French style green beans, and slices of yeast bread. Then I went to a community theater board meeting at 7 p.m. Only four of us were present for this meeting, so we covered the agenda items in a hurry and adjourned before 8 p.m.

After being out in the cold several times today, the hot tub felt wonderful. We spent the rest of the evening as usual, watching TV.