Okay, working on getting back to normal. Mike and entourage left for Colorado about an hour ago, Pat went down the bay, and I just put in the third load of wash--several more to go--and emptied the trash for the second time today. It's incredible how much difference four extra people in the house--one of them a 2-year-old--make.
Our friends, Leslie and Dennis R., came over on Christmas Eve. Their DIL, Pia, is from the Phillipines, and they wanted Vicky (Vivian's nanny), also Filipino, to meet her. They also brought son Joe and other DIL Kristie and her two girls. We greatly enjoyed having them over and Vicky and Pia chattered away in Tagalong.
Christmas was fun. Vivian had left cookies and milk for Santa (they were good!) and got up to find presents under the tree. She opened some of them, then we had breakfast. I had made the crust for a pie the day before, as well as stuffing, so I just made the pie itself (pumpkin) and stuffed the bird in the morning. I decided not to make an apple, as we had dozens and dozens of cookies Mike, Paula and Vivian had made, plus chocolate candies, the remains of one of my two large birthday cakes, and eggnog. Alison, Mike, Joel, Jen, and Joely came in the afternoon and we all opened out presents--most for the children, of course. Alison gave Joely a beautiful two-piece desk that he loves, made by one of the inmates--well, patients where she works.
I asked everybody to vote on whether we should use the beautiful Christmas dishes, supplemented by my heirloom china from Mom, and the silver tableware, all of which has to be washed by hand OR the everyday stuff that could go in the dishwasher. Not a soul voted for the former!! Just as well, as Alison and Ellen cleaned up and it took them an hour even using the dishwasher.
After dinner, we sat for a family portrait, courtesty of son-in-law Mike, who put the camera on a timer. Just as we were frozen in place, waiting for the light to stop blinking, the phone rang. I knew it would go on the machine, so didn't answer it--it was Patrick. He was the only one of our entire extended family--4 generations--not in the picture, but Alison said he really was since he called at that moment.
Haven't mentioned the last few days and now I can't even remember the sequence, but we went to Chuckie Cheese (Vivian didn't like it as much as the place at Lahaska) and here and there. I had hoped to take them down to Margate to Lucy the elephant, but there just wasn't time. I gave V. a book on Lucy signed by the author, plus a little tee-shirt with Lucy on it.
We had twelve for dinner, ten adults and two kids, and everything turned out good. I wasn't very hungry, as I had had some of the appetizers and snacks I put out--old-fashioned ones: Chex ("Nana") mix, potato chips and onion dip, and chedder and crackers.
Had to say goodbye to Ellen last night (she and Mike were playing gin rummy, but I could hardly see straight, I was so tired). Her plane left about 11:00 and she was staying at Alison's. Alison and Mike have to work today, and so does Joel, so they left fairly early. Not sure when Ellen left, as I was dead to the world, as my mother used to say.
That's enough--this entry may be in messy order, but I'll get more systematic about it in a few days when I recover from the onslaught...