Yesterday

I am being loved to death by Nedi.  Lovey has come to me several times for attention, but Nedi seems to be in real need.  I keep telling them I'll be home tomorrow evening, and that I'll be with them for 5 days before I take off again...  Rosie and Remy both slept with me last night, and I need to tell Nancy and Joel that their automatic waterer has stopped working. (I took it apart, cleaned it, and set it up again, but the power converter box on the end of the plug is very hot to the touch, and the water is just not flowing...)

We had a super family gathering yesterday - between 25 and 30 people - plus 2 family friends.  The big surprise came when Finn' family came home at the end of the party.  They weren't due back from Vail until this afternoon, but there is no snow in Vail.  So they came back while we still had two groups of family members and a friend in attendence.  Everyone was in the process of leaving, so it was no big deal.  But, Kathy and I then had to clean the kitchen, do all the dishes, and wrap all the left-over food - plus I had to get all my stuff together to go back home.  I think the family got home about 6:30, and Kathy, Jim, and I finally left at 9 p.m.   - Even though the family had eaten before they came home, they all ate some of what was still sitting out in the kitchen...  I think we had enough food to feed 60 people without worrying about running short of anything.

Rosie and Remy's folks return to DIA about 4 p.m. tomorrow.  I will make sure they've made it and are on the way home before I leave and return to my house.  Then, other than daily walks, I'm home again until the 8th.  Finn's family was going to go back and ski in Vail again during this week, but as  the resort isn't expecting any snow until this coming weekend, they've decided not to go back.  ....  My kits are outside playing on the snow-free grass at this time.  (And the Broncos lost, 7- 3, yesterday in a defensive battle - but since the Raiders also lost, the Broncos are in the Playoffs.  We face the Pittsburg Steelers, in Denver, next Sunday.)

I hope that all of you have a nice, prosperous New Year.

The Party is Over

The Party is finally over and done with.... Having been on my feet for 16 hours, and having taken my walk prior to the party work, I did not take my usual walk this morning. I stayed in bed and cuddled with Lovey and Banichi. The party was fun... I know the neighborhood kids enjoyed it thoroughly and were constantly playing with Sarah, her boyfriend Mike, her brother Mike, and cousin Adam. Adam's sister, Olivia, and I spent a great deal of time in the kitchen. At one point there were five of us in the tiny kitchen, two making tea sandwiches, one making and cooking the sausage rolls, I was making and baking crumpets, and one was loading up the tiered server with tea biscuits... pure chaos.

Five adults looked at my genealogy/history research display. Only one of them read any of the names and accomplishments; everyone else told me up front that they just wanted to look at the photos I had included - none of the photos were people - they were landscapes from England and the US. The parade lasted 30 minutes, and I had to turn back one car and one truck, wearing my jaunty day-glo orange and neon yellow striped road vest. And I had to laugh - no one I invited attended.

I put out two full feeders of "No Waste" bird seed and a bunch of raw, shelled almonds for the outside critters this morning. The neighbor who complains was not at home, so I guess I'll hear from her either this afternoon or evening. I did feel badly for Jim yesterday, because after he had cleaned all the doggy-doo out of the yard, several people brought their dogs (on a lead) and let them "go" without picking up afterwards. One of the neighborhood boys , running barefoot, encountered a rather large deposit and was not very happy about it.

Today, I am going to vegetate and do absolutely nothing. Tomorrow I'll start back up and get into the genealogy research mode and then on the 5th, I start pet-sitting again... Life goes on...