Comes the 49th
Monday, February 5, 2007
Dad’s 49th birthday – Mom had already put together the makings of a roast and preparations for Dad’s favorite cake – spice cake with caramel frosting.
Dad’s morning, however, was already spent at the hospital with Grandma Snicketts, who was having an MRI. She had still not recovered from her fall the year earlier. And that evening Dad was scheduled for an interview for his next contract position – perhaps a more short-term project, on-sight work four days a week in North Carolina. So there were possibilities that if all went well, he would be flying out there for his first day, the following Monday. Such was the nature of contract work.
The snow began falling so slowly by the afternoon, that it looked as though it were animated. It had begun as a sugar dusting that morning and nothing really began to stick until four o’clock in the afternoon. By eight o’clock that night, it was half an inch thick. It was a dreary gray day, although Collette enjoyed these sorts of days.
Meanwhile, the moms had begun the process of painting the house, completing the kitchen by the end of the day. And Izzy and Frances primed the study.
Later in the day, Grandma Combs had dropped by a gift at the little house: a doormat which she had ordered from Williamsburg, black latticed with a pineapple in the middle, which was very nice.
And while all that went on, Collette and Linnea drove around for various errands, picked up Rose from school, and dropped her off at work for another five hours of crafting sub sandwiches and learning how to use a cash register.
“I can’t wait until I get good enough making sandwiches that they give me the ‘Sandwich Artist’ shirt,” Rose said, almost dreamily.
Although she had flabbergasted the manager that afternoon by giving him six olives on his sandwich instead of the required three. Apparently, it had floored him.
“I think you gave him a heart attack,” Rose’s co-worker told her.
But Rose insisted that there was no point in placing only three olives on a sandwich, when the customer always complained and requested at least three more.
Meanwhile, back on the ranch, Carrie-Bri and Eve, who had no cold tolerance whatsoever, had postponed their shopping outing (for Australia gear) until the following afternoon. Joe came back early from work (as most car wash customers decided to wait on the snow to pass) to get on to his studies. However, he fell asleep for a brief spell on the little couch by the fire with the cats. The fire always made them drowsy, especially Carrie and Joe.
Later that evening, dinner saw many good hearty laughs and they also viewed the slide show from Disney World after the cake had been cut and served.