Christmas Eve

Tuesday

I got up at 7:30. I got dressed and brushed my teeth. I put the beans in the crock pot. I called Chris to ask what else to put in. Then I added spices and leftovers. I chose some ribbons for the Christmas crackers. I tied one end, stuffed it with potpourri, then tied off the other end. There were 12 so it took a while.

I went to 638 to clean. I only stayed an hour because there were other things to do. I took the Christmas crackers for the colonel up the hill to his house. I delivered them and stayed to chat a bit with him and his wife. He gave me a mug from Polar Express night. When I got home, I ingested half of the fiber gel. I read a few messages, then made more breakfast mix, and finally breakfast. Keli texted wanting to get into the swap shop. So I ran down there and unlocked it. I also picked up a package of bone broth.

When I got home, I had breakfast and listened to Christmas music. I walked down to the swap shop to lock it. I whipped up a batch of seed crackers and threw in some leftovers. I melted two chocolate bars, then made a banana/coconut paste and rolled it into bite sizes. I dipped them in the chocolate. I also rescued the dried sweet potatoes from the dehydrator and dipped some of them in chocolate. Then I sliced up two bananas and drizzled the remaining chocolate over them. I had to put all the chocolate items outside to harden.

I laid down for a bit and tried screaming to relax. Then I remembered my blog and got up to jot down what I did all day. I also got an invitation from MeryAnn to dinner tomorrow. I warmed up the trombone. Do I bring snacks or not? Might not have enough and I didn't promise snacks.

I played through Sleigh Ride and decided it wasn't ready for prime time. I put on my green dress and was gratified to find out that it fits. I hunted for my red light bulb earrings to go with it. And my red embroidered jacket.

Just as I was leaving for the church, Jenni started texting me. So I had to text her back when I got to the church. I unlocked the doors and went in. I turned on all the lights, including the tree! What a treat! Then the Popken family came in, probably thinking they would have to turn on the lights and all that. Saronna and family came next. Then Jenni came and handed out Christmas cards. So I handed out three Christmas crackers: Saronna, Keli and Jenni. Then we talked about the order of service

People came in and settled down. Cpl Popken welcomed everyone and said a prayer. Then he read passages from the Christmas story and asked us to look inside and see if there is room in our hearts for Jesus. He invited me up and we began our hymn sing.

I started with 249 and selected the the others in order till we got to 285. My lip was shot and I had trouble reading the music. Also, when I needed to empty the spit valve, I realized it was on top of the crook, not on the bottom. I couldn't figure that out till after the next song. When I soaked my slides, I had put the outer one on in reverse. So I had to fix that right in front of every one. My lip was thankful for the break.

We played We Wish You a Merry Christmas to end the service. Cpl Popken said a few words. Then while we packed up, Keli played some more modern pieces on the piano. People came up to say they appreciated it and they sang with the piano. Leilani asked me for fabric scraps so I gave her what happened to be in my music bag: a bunch of small pinwheel blocks. Her dad invited me to supper tomorrow but I had a previous invitation. It's my 4^th invitation for Christmas.

We turned off all the lights and locked the doors and went home. I changed into my night gown. I put some bean soup in a bowl and ate while I jotted notes for my blog. I investigated some invoices that were sent to me, then paid them. I was shocked that one was charging me $16 extra for using a credit card as opposed to ACH or something called SplitIt.

I read message for awhile.  Then I went to bed early and used the headphones.  I slept at first, then woke at 4 and couldn't go back to sleep.