I continue to improve--good thing, as we're leaving for our road trip to Florida in two hours.
Had a lovely Christmas. Mike, Paula, Vivian, Violet, Vicky, and I got up early and opened presents, the little ones oohing and aahing over everything. We then had a big breakfast of pancakes, bacon, juice, and--something I haven't had in years, but like a lot--bagels, cream, and lox. Played a lot with the girls, of course.
Paula spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing the bird and cooking up other things. She made Japanese fried rice for lunch, and that was delish.
Ellen came in the early afternoon, bringing the scalloped potatoes she had made up north, and we soon decided to go for a walk. Vivian and Violet wanted to join us, and did, and as we were about to leave, the northern couple drove up. They brought mashed sweet potatoes and other additions to the feast. The female part of the couple joined us and we had a nice walk. Said female, an occupational therapist, taught her older niece a number of sign language gestures along the way. Vivian later remembered many of them and used them in lieu of the spoken word.
We had dinner early, about 5:00 and it was so good. Besides the aforementioned components, Paula had cooked Brussels Sprouts, one of my favorites, and asparagus, and had an excellent gravy. This year, alas, we had neither banana bread nor pies, which have traditionally been my responsibilities; I was just too sick to make them. But no matter: Mike made very good chocolate chip cookies and also passed around a box of candy he had received as a gift.
My daughter-in-law, son, and Nanny Vicky did ALL the preparation, then my daughters pitched in for the clean-up. I didn't pick up a dish, and boy, much as I would have helped if I had been needed, it was a great luxury to simply enjoy everything without having to do any of the work. Come to think of it, I guess I earned my dues in earlier years.
After dinner, we spent several hours talking and laughing and what a wonderful feeling it was to have--almost--my whole family around me. Of course, P. and N. weren't there, and one member will never be with us again, but it was so good to have the rest.
The others left about 8:00 and the rest of us ran around packing. Yoicks, I hope Mike is able to jam everything into the van. We'll be travelling for four days--two there, two back--and I hope can survive the trip, especially with a seven- and three-year-old. But, hey: We're goin' and we're gonna have a happy time...
(From one of my favorite songs, "One Towela Goose.")