December 21 - 27, 2015, AZ

IIMonday, December 21.  A nice surprise today.  My friend Diane called to say that she and her sister, Barb (a classmate and neighbor from Stoughton) were in the area, so I invited them to come by for a visit.  I quickly called Pat to see if she was available and so she came by too.  Pat and Barb didn't remember each other but I remember walking to school with Barb since we only lived a couple of blocks from each other had some classes together.  We had a nice conversation reminiscing about our childhoods and learning a little about each other's lives today.  Barb (from Myrtle Beach) is visiting her 2 sisters for the holidays.  It was nice to reconnect with an old friend.

Three shorties from Stoughton.

Wednesday, December 23.  Busy, busy, busy preparing for Christmas Eve.  Cleaning, shopping, cooking (more cranberry bread and Tom n Jerry mix), and visiting have filled my days. 

This afternoon, as I was leaving with Connie to go have a drink with Jan and Jim, Loretta shows up at my house - all dressed for Christmas Eve and with gifts and food in hand.  She swore it was the 24th and was thinking that all day. HaHa!  So we all went to wish Jan and Jim and their family a Merry Christmas.

Thursday, December 24.  A busy day! I spent a lot of it on the phone, starting with Pat, then Rita (it's her birthday today), then a FaceTime with Ben, Jill, and the kids and nice conversations with 3 of my brothers.

Preparing for the party was slow paced and Patty came over early to help out but I had most of it done.  We took Frisco for a walk - the day was beautiful - sunny, and about 65 degrees.

Folks (15 of them) started arriving around 4:00 and we had lots of yummy foods and drinks, of course.  The Tom and Jerry's were really yummy.  I had searched and searched for a recipe and this one is a keeper - a pain in the butt to mix up, but well worth it.  I also made the Kings Hawaiian Mini ham sandwiches and they were delightful.  I have another tray left over, so I put them in the freezer and will take them along for New Years Eve.

We played a few games; the right, left Christmas story game, Dale was the winner and then the draw a Christmas tree on top of your head game and Kathy K was the winner.  There were many boxes of chocolates for the gift exchange, but I ended up with lottery tickets that had not a single winning number.  It was a wonderful night with friends and the only thing that might have made it better would be family, especially Mike.

When the cleanup was done and I finally sat down and slowed down, I opened my gift from Ben and Jill - a beautiful photo book of their last year. It's amazing how much those kids change in a year's time. I love it and will keep it right in the living room where I can look at it over and over and over again.

Friday, December 25.  Well, that holiday is behind us now.  Yay!  I had an early day of breakfast with Arlene, Marilyn, and Karin, phone calls with family, and baking my Cranberry cake and the hot butter sauce that it is served with.  I headed to Nan and Dale's about 3:00 and celebrated with them, Monica and Loren and her friend, Mel.  We opened gifts, had Tom and Jerry's and then a delicious prime rib dinner.  After dinner, we played a game of Cards Against Humanity, a game that is described as being "as despicable and awkward as you and your friends". A bit raunchy but fun too.

The Christmas holiday was fun, I definitely ate way more sweets than I should have but being around friends made it nice.  Now, let's get past New Years Eve and move on to 2016 and see what kind of adventures that brings.  

Sunday, December 27.  Connie invited me to see the movie, "Joy" with her this afternoon and it was a good story.  A woman, struggling to make it in her life, invents a product that becomes a successful seller on QVC.

The remainder of the day was spent working on a jigsaw puzzle that I started yesterday and watching the Packers lose to the Cardinals (38-8) - Dang.