Christmas Day

Dad hadn't yet made Mom's breakfast when I got up, so I made her the same breakfast I eat. Dad have her pills, and we discovered that she choked on them less if we gave her a spoonful of apple juice instead of letting her drink from the cup. After we both ate, we had 20 minutes until time to leave for church. So I quickly got myself dressed and woke up Kurt. Mom and Dad went in one car and Chris, Kurt and I went in another. When we arrived at church, only one other car was there - the pastor's car. I was a little worried that maybe no one was coming, but eventually people did come, just not as many as last night. There were refreshments after church, and we stayed late talking to Wister Vernon. By the time we got home, it was late and things moved slowly. William was here. I made the cranberry cream salad that my mom wanted for Christmas. It is a jello salad and we had to put it in her bedroom to jell because there was no room in the fridge. Then we pulled out leftovers to put on the table for people to eat for lunch. That made room for new leftovers for this evening. We cleared the diningroom table and made more space in the livingroom by putting stuff in our cars. Chris put chicken and rice in the oven to bake. I think William and Kurt each took a nap. Around 5 Faye and Kevin came over with presents. Kevin played his dulcimer. Faye and I cut up vegetables while Chris made a yogurt-based dip. At first it was too bland, so I added some sea salt. But it was not enough, so Chris added some red pepper flakes. Then it was fine. He put it in the fridge. We organized everyone into the livingroom for opening gifts. Dad played carols on his accordion. Then Faye handed out her gifts, I handed out mine, and those from Mom and Dad. Faye got one with a baggie of water in it. I guess the baggie was leaking, because Kurt said "I've heard of taking a leak, but never of giving one." The gift also contained a gift card, wrapped separately. Finally it was William and Kurt's turn. Then we gathered around the table for Christmas dinner. The dip had turned extra-spicy during its sojourn in the fridge. What a kick! Still, the cut-up veggies were all eaten, and most of the chicken, stuffing and cranberry salad. Dad passed around the cookies. As Faye and Dad cleaned up, Kurt went back to his computer. Kevin was taking a nap. We had a chat about the new Tuesday plan. Kurt took Patrick out to see Christmas lights. Faye and Kevin left. Mom had me put her to bed. Chris brought in our suitcases back in from the car. I posted to my blog and we went to bed (at least, that's the plan).