Success

I always know my annual Christmas letter is complete when Hugh reads it and says "That's fucked up".

My work is done. 

Now, to stuff the letter in the cards, address them, apply postage, and entrust them to the United States Postal service for delivery. 

Let's hope they don't get lost. 

But, Where Is Otis?

This is a question that has been asked numerous times over the past couple of days. Customers at the hardware store have become accostomed to seeing our furry mascot lounging on the high shelf behind the cash register or lolling about in the front window. Children and old women, in particular, have bonded with the cat and make a point of cooing over him before going about their shopping. So, his recent absence has been very noticable.

Where is he?

At the vet, unfortunately.

Monday evening, Hugh came home and related some concerns about the way that Otis was behaving; he wasn't eating his treats and was meowing in an odd pitch.

When I went into the store Tuesday morning, Otis did not greet me at my office door, eager for his morning treats and chin rubbing. He was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, our store manager found him curled up in his litter box. Clearly, something was wrong.

Hugh took Otis to the vet immediately and we soon learned that he was most likely suffering from a bladder infection. The vet sedated Otis and started the process of flushing his system and checking his kidney function. Today, he is somewhat improved and we are hopeful that he will be able to go home, tomorrow.

In the menatime, he has the prayers of his Facebook fans and his friends and family at the store; not too bad for a professional mouser.

 

 He's also on some realllly good drugs

Hello, December

I just looked back at November's goals and realized that I have failed miserably at achieving most of them. Actually, the only things I did manage were the Christmas present shopping and the hosting of Thanksgiving dinner. I partially succeeded at eliminating Diet Pepsi and sugar from my diet, but only for three-out-of-four weeks of the month; I fell off the wagon during Thanksgiving.

Not good.

As for exercise, massages, and a facial? Ha,ha,ha,ha!

No.

Let's try this again, shall we?

-  Complete my Christmas shopping, including wrapping and shipping out-of-town gifts.

-  Address and mail Christmas cards.

-  Host the Booster Club Christmas party.

-  Eliminate Diet Pepsi, like, for real.

-  Seriously reduce the amount of sugar in my diet (Hey, it's Christmas! Why set myself up for total failure?).

-  Bake Christmas cookies (You see my dilemma?).

-  Spend a relaxing holiday with my family.

-  Finish getting the first eleven months of the year onto the computer at the hardware store (I am already halfway there, which is about 100% farther along than I was this time last year).

I realize that this is a pretty Christmas-heavy list, but, it is December, after all.

First Snowfall

We woke this morning to about two inches of snow, which, for Colorado, is really no big deal. In fact, it didn't even warrant pulling out the snowblower. That didn't stop Hugh from utilizing a leaf blower, however.

He is nothing if not inventive.

Or, lazy.

Whichever.

The Man-Cub got stuck with the shovel and the manual labor. Because he is seventeen and has more energy. And, because we are the parents and we said so.

Right about now, the Man-Cub is probably thinking that it's going to be a long winter; he's probably right.

108 AA Batteries Later...

Have y'all recovered from the turkey coma, yet? Soaked your aching feet, following a Black Friday shopping marathon? Broken out the Christmas decorations? Yes? I have personally done two out of the three; I am morally opposed to Black Friday shopping and the crowds it generates, so I skip that holiday tradition.

I did eat a metric ton of turkey and stuffing (Twenty-three pounds, remember), and, as of ten minutes ago, I placed the final Christmas decoration in it's appropriate location. And, if you think the title of this post is an exaggeration, please think again; I really did use that many batteries, so, the fine people at Duracell can rest their heads peacefully, secure in their jobs.

The best decoration, however, didn't require batteries at all.

Meet Colonel Sugarbottom. He stands six feet tall and I love every inch of him. Hugh and the kids gave him to me for my birthday-wait, did I mention that today is my birthday? No? Oh.

Hai, it's ma burfday! Get your drink on!

Or, however that goes.

But, back to the topic at hand; is that not the coolest nutcracker you have ever seen? He is currently standing sentry over the porch, ready to welcome Christmas guests as they arrive at our door. I have no idea where he is going to live the other ten and a half months of the year, but, that is a problem we can tackle after the holidays.

Now, I am going to relax and enjoy the many, many lighted decorations in my house before going out to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant with my family; we seriously tire of turkey and stuffing and a big-ass burrito sounds like the cure.

Also, birthday margarita, anyone? I deserve some reward for wrangling all those batteries, after all.

This Should Come As No Surprise

A twenty-three pound turkey provides a LOT of turkey meat. I know, who would have guessed, right? That's ok, though; I'm thankful for every morsel.

I'm also thankful for the people that I got to share the meat with; having Mom and The Teenager home was such a blessing and a treat. Hugh and the Man-Cub are pretty ok, too.

I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

And, while we miss those who couldn't be here with us today, we are blessed to know that we have their love, no matter how far away they are-be it in Heaven, or elsewhere on Earth.

I hope your Thanksgiving was equally splendid and that you feel the love of your people.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I Just Got Up Close and Personal With a Turkey

When I picked up my Thanksgiving turkey a couple of weeks back, I knew that it was a large bird. I didn't realize that it was twenty-three pounds large, nor did I realize that my largest roasting pan would be almost too small to accommodate the fowl.

Luckily, I was able to squeeze the bird into the pan, and, once it starts to roast tomorrow, it should shrink enough to make it easy to remove from the pan (She said, with fingers crossed and prayers sent).

The turkey giblets and neck are simmering away on the stovetop, growing ever more tender for their introduction to the stuffing and gravy tomorrow, and I just pulled a pumpkin cheesecake out of the oven. There is still a pumpkin pie baking away in the other oven as I type this, and, I will start on the homemade cranberry sauce later this evening. The meal, it is coming together, nicely.

The Teenager will be home later this afternoon and I can't wait to have everyone here and accounted for, because, as much as I love the food on Thanksgiving, I love having my family around far more.

Perhaps you can relate.