The Day After

I spent the whole day--except for when I was at Sherry's--getting ready for Christmas. For my "project," I spread everything out on my bed and my sofa, plus more on the kitchen table, and tried to at least get some order into the various components.
Dressed for Sherry's little get-together after a quick lunch, and got over there at the stated time of 1:30. Carole and Doris were already there, and Nancy was just parking. I gave them their cookie tins, along with the "name verse" cards, and they were wowed. Sherry and Doris gave me Christmas cards, saying they would bring my birthday presents to the party on the 29th.
Nancy gave me a birthday present of a gorgeous pink rose she had painted; actually, I was with her when she bought a surround for it. I was stunned--it's absolutely beautiful and I love it; will get a nice frame and hang it up as soon as I can. I'm not absolutely sure it's the original or an excellent copy, and thought it was gauche to ask. Hope it's the former.
We watched some kind of Australian murder mystery, which is a series over there. It was okay, but the idea of inviting people to come watch television at a Christmas gathering seems to me bizarre. Sherry served soda and popcorn--only popcorn. She had alerted us to bring our own if we wanted anything alcoholic, so I did, and had a Blue Moon while I was there. Her house is very large and surely is worth a bundle, but it's also crammed and cluttered with pictures and other objects. Every flat space is taken and it would drive me nuts to live there.
We left about 4:00 and I came home to dive right back into my projects. Can't wait until they're finished!