Week In Review

Just got home from a night out. My longest-running friend here has a new boyfriend after being terminally single... just found out he plans to be married and have kid(s) on the way within the next year. My friend is of the opinion that words and actions are two different animals so we'll see what happens. Whatever the outcome, I hope she finds the happiness she wanted.

Work is winding down for the season. Just a handful of poinsettias left that only took me 2 hours to water today. Already started on the cleanup for the spring crops, spraying weeds and shutting down most of my greenhouse. We're shut down between next Friday and Jan. 2, so that's a lean week with no pay coming in. Bummer.

Hubby sunk his work truck today. A customer had put fill dirt in his driveway, but it wasn't packed and was covered with snow. B drove over it thinking it was solid and buried the front of the Mack up to the axles. A nice neighbor with a tractor pulled the truck out, wouldn't take any money for the help either. God bless farmers.

We had a soup party at work yesterday in lieu of a Christmas party. I was impressed with the Thai soup (spicy but very tasty) and the ham n' bean soup. There were four soups plus chili; I had to try some of each! Our Christmas gift from the company was a single glass ball ornament in a plastic gift bag. I'm surprised we got that much, really... Angela in Human Resources tries to have a little something for gifts, anniversaries, and birthdays, and it's nice that she goes out of her way to at least give a token of appreciation even if the company itself no longer does. Not that anyone expects anything, but she believes recognition is a morale-booster and people do appreciate the thought.

My buddy and co-worker Ray was having chest pains the other day. I ended up driving him to the hospital in a company car (quicker than waiting for an ambulance, and he refused to let anyone call one anyway). He's okay, nothing serious, just high BP and stress from working out in the cold. I got to drive a new Chrysler, which I didn't like. Too low to the ground and I couldn't see the front of the car. I hate that. I like knowing where the nose of the vehicle is so I can tell how close I am when parking and turning. Whatever happened to hood ornaments anyway?

B and I made our one gesture towards decorating for the holidays by hanging a string of lights on the porch railing (the old-fashioned big bulb kind, not those bitty things) and putting out my Moravian star. It's hanging from the porch and looks absolutely beautiful. I wanted one of those for so long, finally got one last year... it looks so nice! (Below image swiped off Yahoo; mine looks just like it.)

(For background on Moravian stars, visit http://www.mcnp.org/edeb/star.htm )

I have to get started baking tomorrow. My annual tradition of procrastination is going to bite me if I don't. We have no $ for Christmas gifts, so everyone's getting cookies and munchies. It's a gift that's always enjoyed. I make great cookies too... The Amish market no longer sells a certain trail mix I used for my family-famous dump cookies, so I'm going with date-walnut rocks and white chocolate-coconut this year, plus the traditional sand tarts, chocolate chip, and peanut butter. Maybe some chocolate mint too if I'm not sick of baking by then (or sick of eating the ugly ones!). I got an excellent chocolate-chip cookie recipe from the Amish market, which I tried earlier in the year, and let me tell you, the oft-used Tollhouse recipe can't compare. They're that good!

We had two days of sub-zero AM temperatures, with highs in the single-digit range, then a snow/sleet/ice storm that turned the roads into car ballet arenas. Our parking lot was as slick as an ice rink, or maybe more so, since I'm sure if I'd gotten a running start I could have slid from the sidewalk all the way to the fence a few hundred yards away. Of course, temps hit the mid-30s the day after, turning everything to gray slush which then re-froze overnight. I couldn't get into the Bronco tonight because the doors were frozen shut. A 99-cent can of de-icer is a must-have item around here. (I bought two, since silly me keeps leaving the can INSIDE the vehicle, where it does no good whatsoever. Nothing like being iced out of your car and being able to SEE the solution through the frosty window. Now I keep a spare can inside for those "duh" moments.)

Nothing much else going on. I have 8 Christmas cacti that will be presents for somebody, I hope, so I can get them out of my hallway. Anybody want one?