The boys and I went to town with Craig this morning, as he had a dentist appointment to replace a deep mercury filling, and I didn’t know if he would feel like driving. What was supposed to take an hour ended up taking 30 minutes, so just about the time the kids and I got started shopping, he called and we had to rush out. I’m glad it went quickly for him, but I had just let the kids loose on Goodwill and told them to pick out gifts for everyone in the immediate family. That’s a dangerous assignment, but I like doing it at the thrift store. They only spend a few dollars, and end up picking out funny and interesting things. When Craig called, I had just found Luke, and he had gotten himself a basket and loaded it up. He had stuffed animals for ‘babies’ (which ones could be decided later), trinkets for me and ‘other people’, bike helmets for Levi, and several things for himself. I made him put the stuffed animals and helmets back first, as there are just some things you don’t buy at the thrift store, and we pared down all the rest. By the time we left, we had an interesting collection of items that are sure to impress (in some way or another) their recipients. Jake and Levi didn’t have as much luck as Luke, but, in thirty minutes, how could they?
We had to hit the grocery today, too, which was WAY crowded for a Monday morning. Craig asked me to cook for his employees on Wednesday, so we’ll be making a big batch of spaghetti carbonara, and had only today to get the food. With all the people, the holiday music, the decorations, and all the smiling ladies giving samples (which normally doesn’t start until after 3 pm), it was pretty overwhelming. I was glad to get out! If Amazon would go into the fresh, local grocery business, and deliver them to my door, I would be one HAPPY woman!
We did manage to get some school reviewing done in the car, though, so the morning wasn’t a total loss. If we can continue to do that through the next two weeks, we’ll be doing well. I had planned to have a nice, structured day tomorrow, but when we got home today, the washer wasn’t working, so we’ll be spending most of tomorrow morning at the laundromat. Looking on the bright side, that gives us lots more review time! I can even take books up there and we can get some real work done on those great folding tables. The bad news is that Sears can’t come repair it for three weeks, so I’ll be in the laundromat quite a bit between now and then, and with everything else going on, that will be challenging. I have a feeling we’ll be digging a little deeper into our closets and wearing some of our less favorite items this month!
Saturday, the day we were supposed to be in the parade, didn’t go as planned, either. We got word on Friday that we were not allowed to do any advertising for Craig’s company, so we were just going to ATTEND the parade. I had to bribe Levi and Luke with ice cream to give up their determination to enter as clowns, but we were still going to go watch. Luke got sick Friday night and threw up for several hours, and it was misty and cold, anyway, so we just stayed home. We had company, so Luke stayed confined in the bedroom for most of the day, but we made the best of it. It was still a fun weekend, and we got to hang out and play games, and the ladies even got to do a little antique perusing, which payed off. My shopping buddy has an uncanny knack for finding lots of good things to buy, then I go home with them, and she spotted a refurbished antique table with two leaves and six chairs for an excellent price. I’ve been trying to get rid of my ‘distressed’ (and not in the kitchy refurbishing-to-look-old way) dining set for a while, but didn’t want to buy another set, so I was pretty happy when Craig thought we should get it for my birthday. I thought I had already gotten a pretty good birthday gift, but, who am I to argue? We headed back up there and bought it for a third of the price of the new tables I had looked at. You just never know what might come up if you hold out on those purchases.
The past couple weeks, I’ve had apple cider on the stove or in the crockpot almost constantly, and I’m building quite a collection of gallon-size glass jugs. We use one for a change jar, and I like to keep a couple on hand for various things, but they aren’t very easy to come by. My organic apple juice just happens to come in them, so we get a plentiful supply in the cold months. I’m putting them in the recycling bin, but if anyone would like one or two, please let me know, and I’ll be happy to bring them to you.
So, it’s been an interesting few days. Maybe the Lord is testing my patience and flexibility, which both need work. I’m a make-a-plan-and-stick-to-it kind of gal, for sure, so perhaps He’s trying to teach me how to bend a little more.
My bed is covered with boxes from Amazon that came in today, and Craig is threatening to open them without me, so my time is up. It’s time for the sorting, listing, and evaluating period before the wrapping begins. Ah, December!
Oh, look at that… the washer is working. Craig must have walked by it. He has an annoying habit of fixing things that won’t yield to ME, just by looking in their direction.
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