T-Day Plus One

It was a race to the finish line yesterday.  It started out as one of those "what else can go wrong" mornings when the drain plug to the kitchen sink fell apart.  Of all days, when it seems every dish, pot and pan in the house needs washing.  I got it put back together enough to hold water, so that was okay.

Holidays are one of the few times I wish I didn't have milk goats.  Those chores take such a huge chunk of time.  Wouldn't you know Tessie shouldered out of the barn before Esther and then wouldn't come in to be milked.  My adjoining neighbor has a variety of animals and I think one may be a buck because Tess stood at the pen fence line, inviting her Romeo over for a liaison.  My patience and time were running short so I left her and went back to the house.

One of the last-minute chores is vacuuming.  I'm whipping through the living room and then noticed that nothing was going into the canister.  Oh crum.  There is evidently a blockage in some hose or another, but I'd gotten messages that the Kids were coming up earlier than expected, which was a good thing, but left me no time to fiddle with the vacuum.  The carpet got short shrift, but was at least presentable.

It is such a joy to see trucks and cars and smiling faces arrive.  Craig, my son-in-law whom I adore, is the official turkey baster and he went right to work on the first but certainly not the last baste of the day.  Deb is my right-hand man in the kitchen, keeping me on track and taking over so many chores.  I put together the basics and she makes it happen.  It's been at least five years since I've seen my grandson Brandon and had never met his lady Ashley, so their visit to Dave was at the precisely right time.  The group was almost complete when Clay came.  When Larry arrived, these worker bees took care of many tasks I'd not been able to do (like fixing the leak in the feed room roof and stringing clothesline).  Cam and Honey came so Bessie had her company to enjoy, too.

Does any holiday dinner ever start on time?  Not at my house.  Pies finally in the oven, the group sat down to eat.  My love cup runneth over.  FYI, the Brussels sprouts may become a staple and even replace the green bean casserole.

We broke with our family tradition and watched football during the day just like regular people.  The cards and chips didn't come out until after dinner.  I broke pretty close to even.

For the first time ever, I didn't send everyone home loaded with leftovers because, ta da!, Linda is coming to share the same dinner today.

It was a good, make that best day.