Half A Loaf

"Half a loaf is better than none."  I'm here to say that half a Christmas is almost as good as the whole megillah.  Dave and Clay came up yesterday, not really to celebrate the holiday but for a visit.  Opening the door and seeing their smiling faces was like opening the best of presents.  When Dave arrived, he commandeered Clay and they stacked the porch rack high with firewood.  What they accomplished in minutes would have taken me an hour, and I so appreciate their labor.  All that wood will warm more than the cockles of my heart.

The guys laughed as hard as I had when I opened the door to the shed to show them and the acorns came rolling out.  It's really jaw-dropping awesome.  Unfortunately, they had no helpful ideas on how to dispose of this bounty, either.  I just shut the door again and we went into the house.  Some things are better left ignored.

Clay had said he had a story to tell me.  It concerns what I now call the Crum Society.  It seems he had told a few coworkers about the blog and, out of curiosity, they started reading about Farview Farm.  "Crum" has now become a buzz word among my new fans.  What fun!  Dave chimed in and said his accountant has become a constant reader, too, after hearing about the mice with names down in the barn.  The world works in mysterious ways.  I love the thought of connection with people I'll never meet.

I spent awhile in the kitchen.  Clay could and Dave couldn't stay for dinner and I put a one-pot meal together and in the oven.  As always happens when any of the Kids get together, the sound of laughter from the other room gladdens my heart.  Not just relations, my Kids genuinely like each other as friends.

Dave had places to go and people to see, so took off about sundown.  Clay and I sat down to share chicken, potatoes, carrots, and peas in wine sauce and some good conversation.

It might not have been Christmas, but it was the next best thing.  It was a good day.