Nice

All went very nicely. Moby his usual social host self. He even allowed D's parents to sit on the sofa either side of him for a while, then prowled, then climbed up to his Fortress of Solitude. Given he'd been up since we got up at 5, active for about seven hours straight, he needed some good catsleep. He's still there.

I'm no natural cook, but I am a well trained nurse, so I know to start here, and do everything in front of me until done. I can be frighteningly organized, this time I used the whiteboard on the fridge to make sure I cooked and served everything I planned. Well, in a small kitchen, it's a requirement. Mostly all turned out pretty good, although the turkey was a bit tough, as turkey often is no matter what. And the broiled pineapple did not cook through as I'd hoped - but not expected. Yams were tasty, cranberry sauce as good as always. D's dad very happy with artichoke hearts - gotten especially for him. D's mom seemed to relish the pumpkin scones, D ate a lot of olives, I felt better after chips and con queso from Red Iguana (picked up yesterday.) Green beans got over cooked, but still edible.

We walked over to the Potential House, yes we live that close to it, and it still looks good. A mild day, a chance to stretch our legs. We can see all the flaws, and they are all minor. Enough, though, that if it doesn't work out, we can focus on the drawbacks to console ourselves. Either way, we wait patiently. We are craving space so deeply, though. One way or another, this is going to be a hard year, waiting or moving.

I cleaned up after we got back, which is the good part of this kitchen, I can stay in the conversation while putting stuff away. Used every single container for leftovers we have. I just really did not want to have to scrub crud later. Neither did I want to abandon guests for the sake of a clean kitchen, I'm no Martha*. I tried to balance the two. MIL of course offered to help, and I welcomed her, but with a tiny kitchen, there was nothing she could do. Funny, how none of it seemed like work, just things to do. I wonder how much of that is just the change in my attitude over the past couple of years. Simply not letting routine bother me. Or anything else, really.

The other great part about this holiday? I get two days off, then the weekend, standard. Even when I worked call and holidays, this was usually a good long weekend, with maybe a few hours of call on a day when the surgeons were reluctant to schedule anything non-life threatening during the football. A good weekend to have an anniversary, as well. We get very squishy. We get enough rest.




*Luke 10:38-42. Yes, I do know my bible stories. I just don't take them literally. Nor particularly seriously.