December 24–27, 2017
Posted here March 29, 2022
Taken from our Family Journal with minimal editing.
Alex Jeffcoat, a friend of Joe and of our family, dropped in around 2:20 pm. ~ I made up plates of Wendi’s mac-and-cheese from yesterday, for lunch, using up the rest of it. ~ Watched Bizarre ER on TV.
I went to bed and napped from about 3:40 until 4:30. ~ Joe and Elizabeth contacted Wendi to let her know that they wouldn’t be in town soon enough to buy food, so I went to Woodman’s and bought stuff for Christmas dinner (5:15). ~ Alex put the Christmas bears under the tree; later, I put the boxes back in the mud room.
Not long after I arrived home, Joe and Elizabeth arrived at the house (5:34). The next while was spent just visiting. Joe and I went upstairs for a spell; I brought bedding up and put a sheet on the bed.
We ordered delivery dinner tonight: Pizza Hut Chicken Alfredo and breadsticks for Wendi and me (Wendi shared some with Asha), and gluten-free pizza from Papa John’s for Joe and Elizabeth. ~ Watched some Doctor Who. ~ Elizabeth and Asha went upstairs around 11:00 (I think). Alex stayed until 12:15 am, and then Joe drove him home (he had walked here). ~ I went to bed around 11:45 pm.
Up about 8:50 am. ~ I wrapped all of the Christmas presents before making breakfast; there were seven, mostly for Asha.
For breakfast (at nearly 11:30!) we had fresh side pork (which took quite a while to cook) and Marzipan Stollen, imported from Germany, which we bought a while back at Aldi. I fried some potatoes for Elizabeth. It was a delicious breakfast.
At 12:15 I brought out the presents, and they opened them. We had a blast watching Asha. She even helped pick up the wrappings afterward.
Wendi made a fresh pot of coffee because the one I made earlier was already empty. ~ I prepared the cranberries and the fruit salad for tonight’s dinner.
We watched Disney’s Moana on Netflix, 2:34–4:21 pm. ~ Joe took a nap upstairs. ~ I made natural casing hot dogs for lunch, with chips on the side; Wendi had some chocolate nonpareils afterward, and I had some crispy M&M’s. ~ When Moana was over, they kept Asha entertained with a cartoon show based on Beatles songs.
I cut up the vegetables, then made some No Bake Cookies (using almond butter and almond milk), then started the ham in the oven; next to go in was the leftover turkey* from Thanksgiving (taken off the bone, with a bit of olive oil and extra seasoning), and the sweet potatoes (with coconut oil and brown sugar). Finally I made the Stove Top stuffing (Traditional Sage flavor). Out came the three cold dishes, and dinner was served at 7:15 pm.
(*It wasn’t until Tuesday that I learned that I didn’t use the turkey, but instead I used the leftover roast chicken that Wendi made! See Tuesday’s entry for late afternoon.)
We watched the Doctor Who Christmas special from 8 to 10 pm; then I served pie (Dutch apple and/or cherry) with whipped topping, and/or the No Bake Cookies. ~ Did dishes (chores done just before serving dessert).
Joe and Asha were downstairs at 8:32 am; I got up at 9:00. ~ Bacon, egg, grits with cheese for Wendi; Joe and I had toast with raspberry jam. I made Kharlie M’s for Wendi and Joe; I drank drip coffee myself. ~ Elizabeth slept in. ~ We all had some of the Marzipan Stollen a while after breakfast.
Not long after Elizabeth got up (around 2 pm?), Joe went upstairs to take a nap. ~ I made chipped beef and Muenster cheese sandwiches in the sandwich grill for Wendi and myself; she, I, and Joe each had some of the Stollen after that.
Elizabeth made a bunch of microwave popcorn and shared it with us. I had a plate of Christmas leftovers before work. Wendi had a turkey thigh; I thought it was chicken, but apparently I had used the chicken for Christmas dinner, thinking it was the turkey I had thawed out that was left over from Thanksgiving.
I went to work at Woodman’s from 6:30 to 10 pm. ~ Around 9:15, Joe, Elizabeth, Asha, and Wendi came through my line; they were getting stuff for our special meal tomorrow. ~ I bought coffee, oatmeal, and vanilla after work (10:12). ~ The others all had pizza from the store, at home.
Joe and Asha were downstairs at 8:10 am. ~ I got up at 8:30.
Made breakfast sandwiches: onion bagel with butter, maple sausage, bacon, fried egg, Muenster cheese. Served around 10:15. ~ Elizabeth got up shortly after that; I made her bacon and an egg, and she had a Whenever Bar (they bought them).
Watched a Troll Holiday short on Netflix, then part of the Trolls movie (before Asha went upstairs for a nap).
Meanwhile, Joe started the Doctor Who themed meal. He made an Ood Head Bread loaf that looked pretty convincing, then started some other dishes. ~ They weren’t able to finish the meal before I left for work, so I ate some cereal with almond milk. ~ We hugged and said our goodbyes in case they left before I got home from work; Joe actually planted a kiss on my cheek. I kissed him in return. I remember kissing my dad, even when I was around 40. As I sat in the van, ready to leave for work, I burst into tears.
Work 7-10 pm. ~ I came straight home afterward and found that Joe and Elizabeth were still there, just getting ready to leave. Wendi told me later that they had served dinner at nearly 10:00, and she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. ~ The Sonic Screwdriver vegetable kabobs were delicious. The Ood Head bread was chewy and dense but tasted okay if generously buttered or dipped in ranch sauce. The Slitheen potato dish didn’t work, but the potatoes were fine. Davros’ Third Eye was supposed to be brownies, but they had changed it to a potato and smoked sausage dish with vegetable garnishes because there would otherwise have been no meat with the meal; this was tasty too. ~ Joe and Elizabeth had stuff everywhere to gather, but they managed to leave by 11:15 pm. They would stay overnight in a hotel in Black River Falls, and then drive home from there tomorrow.