A Crazy Week

I suspect that I am not alone in describing their last week as crazy, after all, it is that time of the year, isn't it? But the thing is, I'm not even talking about Christmas preparations, because aside from our tree and outdoor lights, there hasn't been enough of that going on in this household. Let me explain...

Firstly, no doubt you are wondering how Maureen is doing and I wish I could report that she is well, but the truth is, she's pretty miserable right about now. The surgery was successful, but the aftermath is no picnic. As reported earlier, she is doing her rehab at the tower where she is now living, so that is one good thing. My fear is the recovery will be a very slow process, however, nothing would make me happier than to prove myself wrong. Carol has her good days and bad. Obviously, we wish there were more good. Nancy has the horrific cold going around which means half of the Price kids are pretty much a mess, 10 days before Christmas.

Nevertheless, we had a party to prepare for, and that we did. Did I mention it was really four mini parties, held on Wednesday from 6-9? Years ago, Cathy Hill organized a progressive dinner that was a lot of fun which got me to thinking that perhaps we could do a version of it, here at the complex. Four of us agreed to be hosts, invitations were sent via email, and refreshments were made ready. The great thing about doing something like this is that no one has too much of a burden.

Beginning at Sandy's place, she served a delicious White Sangria, presented beautifully.

The pepperoni roll and Caprese salad on skewers was super yummy.

Although our places aren't huge, twenty plus people posed no problem at all. Another fun thing about this was seeing the same floor plan decorated in four different ways.

Called a Christmas Crawl, we next went to David and Michelle's which was only just down the steps, and over one place, yet a world away as far as decor.

Oh, the shrimp was good there!

Sandy, our first hostess, had taken down the wall separating the kitchen from the living area, whereas David and Michelle kept theirs intact, as have we. Their kitchen is always a gathering spot.

From there we walked down to our place, well actually I left a few minutes early to check on the tater tots in the oven and make the punch. I am so loving that delay on the oven as it was going off just as I came in the door. Earlier we'd moved our dining table to the wall, allowing more space for folks to reach the food.

That is Connie, our final hostess, who lives just above us, and one over. So, I said I made punch, a last minute idea, and what kind of punch did I make, you ask? The easiest punch ever, is my answer! One can of frozen apple juice, one cup of Fireball whiskey, and one bottle of Sprite. Yup, that's all there is to it, and although I'd never tried it before, I figured it was probably pretty good, and turns out my instincts were right. So, that was a hit, however, the buffalo chicken meatballs, all 70 of them, made by yours truly, were not so great as the sauce was just plain too spicy. Or at least it was to me. The other batch of meatballs in a bar-b-que type sauce were better. And then, who doesn't like tater tots?

The smaller the room, the more people seem to gather...

Gail, one of the nice ladies we've met here, is signaling folks that it is time to move on.

This cute jacket worn by Penny...

Connie, too, has opened her place up.

For Christmas she brings out the Santas she has collected for years.

They come in all shapes and sizes.

A Puerto Rican rum punch, made with coconut milk, was oh so yummy, as were the cookies, nuts and cheeses. Before leaving some of the ladies could not help but love on Michelle's soft jacket. Actually, there were two Michelles (dark haired), two Sandys, and two Gails at the party. Weird, right?

So that was all great, but here's where some of the crazy business comes in. A week ago Friday, Matt and Tom mentioned to Bruce during their call that he should expect something to be delivered as a retirement gift. Nothing came Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and finally, it must have been Tuesday morning that I contacted Matt, saying nothing had arrived. After work, he checked into it and Wednesday afternoon, around 4, a delivery person arrived with a lovely live plant arrangement in a basket with two bonus cut roses. How nice that it arrived before the gathering. Plus, I was able to point to it during the party and toast Bruce's retirement with our friends. So, it was with great surprise that when we returned home later, we found yet another basket on the front porch! And now there are two lovely live plant arrangements. Furthermore, a text had come through from Fran, the woman who bought our home, saying I had a Wayfair delivery that went there! As well, she said her husband, Bill, received a promotion and they are moving to California for five years, although they intend to keep the house as she said they love it. (a little pang of sadness was felt by this blogger)

Early Thursday morning, Bruce went over to pick up the package, while I quickly cleaned the kitchen because, well, in a bit of crazy timing, the backsplash tile was in and they could begin installation at 9AM. Woo hoo--two months after beginning my search, it was finally happening. Meanwhile, Bruce went off to work on the plane with John and the other fellows.  They arrived, Jeremy, from the place I bought the tile, and Angel and Tony from the tile setting company. And why so many you ask? Jeremy, to make sure it was done to a high standard, Angel to translate ,and Tony to set the tile. Angel is Colombian and speaks English. Tony is from Cuba and does not which is okay except when we tried to communicate after Angel left! At any rate, the work began with him covering the kitchen floor with paper and moving the range into the middle of the room.

As it turns out, this pattern is not all that easy to install and Tony took his time, figuring it all out.

He quit working around 5 that afternoon, returning on Friday and kept at it. I will say I am delighted with our choice.

At least on Friday I could leave the house as Bruce was home. Michelle almost died laughing when, later that evening, I told her that we had our first ever Publix sub for lunch that day. Whenever Jonathan comes home that is one of the first thing he does--head to Publix for a sub! Which I suspect he will want to do again when he and Alissa arrive on the 23rd from Austin.

Which brings me to the package that went to our old home. One thing about living in a complex are the floodlights everywhere, some of which point to bedrooms allowing way too much light to enter. As such, I knew that it would be difficult to get a good night's sleep in the guest bedroom, so I'd been searching, and I do mean searching, for some curtains to augment the shades I had put in before we left. We love having 10' ceilings but it does mean high windows that are not the average size for ready made curtains. At any rate, I finally found some on Wayfair ,and while Tony worked in the kitchen, Bruce worked in the guest room. The window looked like this.

And now they look like this.

Apparently, I am on a gold kick. These are black out curtains, so I'm hoping they will ensure sweet dreams! It was gloomy and rainy all day Friday, with Tony coming in and out a gazillion times. Guess what? Nearing 5, he tried to communicate, with great difficulty, that he needed to return "mañana" to finish. Naturally we weren't thrilled, but he is doing such a great job, we could not complain.

Saturday morning comes, Bruce goes to work with Habitat, and I await Tony. Calling the guard to let him know he's coming, the guard says no one can work on Saturdays. Say what? Long story short--he turned him away and we were not happy campers. The sad part is that as soon as we learned the guard was wrong,  I called Angel to call Tony, he'd gone too far to return. The range remains in the middle of the room and we've been scrambling to feed ourselves, however, if all goes according to our wishes, tomorrow he will finish. We will then be very happy campers!

The weather has been all over the map this week with this morning surprising us with a dense covering of fog. We were up before sunrise, but I could tell the fog was thick, and went out back to check it out. As I stood there, an owl silently flew onto a nearby branch. And I do mean silently. So strange, but what did I expect, having had such a crazy week?

Maybe next week, instead of a near white-out, there will, once again, be one of those glorious sunrises?

your friend,

Gail