Why do I hear the sound of a drill? My dad is not here. There is no manly man in the house who might be wielding such a tool. I must investigate.
Oh. It’s a remote-controlled helicopter. I was getting nervous.
Speaking of noise, for the last 4 or 5 years, I’ve dragged one child or the other, or both this year, out caroling in (damn, what is the PC term for it now???) um Old Folks’ Homes. We go to nursing homes, convalescent homes, senior communities with independent living, assisted living, and memory care (I need me some of that), we go to actual houses where 4 or 5 seniors live with caregivers, and occasionally to a hospital. We’ve gone with the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, and a church we don’t even attend. We go because I like to hear them sing along, I like to see the smiles on their faces (there was one today who kept moaning No NO NO NO!, but I think that wasn’t our fault), and I want my kids to get something out of it. Today we had the discussion of who would take care of their daddy (not me…) when he was old and decrepit and couldn’t do it any more. Apparently the boychild will. It was put to a vote. I hope they remember me when the time comes. Remind me next year to have the kids practice songs before we go.
And that’s exactly what we look like when we go caroling (cough cough). Yeah. We do.
On the fabric front, tomorrow is looking promising. Today, not so much. Today I had to finish gift-buying and do grocery shopping and bed-mending and caroling. It’s now 9 PM and I just want to go to bed. Yesterday was dominated by Holly…not the plant, but the cat.
Yes. We got a new kitten. It’s a long story. I think Santa was supposed to bring her, but the logistics escaped my tortured brain and she just came home with us. She is cute and feisty and will probably survive the household. Focus on her cuteness, not the fact that I added more chaos to my house…by choice.
Saturday was the first day of my vacation, so I spent it here.
Wait, that looks nice, like a pretty beach sunset where I might be relaxing. I guess I might, if I weren’t at my extended family’s Christmas party. I shouldn’t complain (but you know I will). They are nice people, and it’s not their fault that I just wanted to be at home surrounded by fabric. It’s not their fault my kids argued for most of the hour up and about half of the hour down, until I threatened to throw all of their books and booty out on Interstate 5. The boychild didn’t even have the guts after that to tell me that they were library books. It’s not their fault I wasn’t in the mood.
I can’t even really do anything with fabric until I finish clearing the office out enough so I can actually work in here. I don’t have the energy to do that tonight, but I think I can handle 30 minutes. I set the timer and I clean for 30 minutes. I turn the music up real loud and drive the kids crazy, but because it’s such a short period of time…it seems manageable, even when I’m tired.
I’ll leave you with an ornament gifted to me by a student.
How nice, you say. A student gave you a gift. I do think that’s nice.
