The Season Starts off Sour
Friday, December 9, 2011
In which Christmas things start happening…
A weird series of rapid-fire dreams ended with waking 37 minutes late and the fresh remembrance of Albert Pujols leaving St. Louis. It hadn’t just settled in yet.
Over to the house, discussion centered around the shocking news over English muffins.
Homemade truffles.
Dad was out for a run.
Francis was asked to bring up the ground beef from the deep freeze before departing for work and somehow mistook the pork chops for the beef…
And apparently one of the tables at the ladies’ Christmas tea had caught on fire the previous evening.
Meanwhile, it would appear that Puck and Anneliese had announced their recent engagement during Sunday School. News to Collette. Word on the street was that Anneliese had received the tiny glass heart in the mail and would carry it around, clenched in her fist. She would not part with it. She had also prayed for Puck every night since she was two.
As the afternoon arrived…
A haphazard lunch of hard boiled egg, cheese, and fruit salad for Puck, who had been busy most of the morning helping Linnea clean out and organize her room as acting gopher. Carrie prepared bacon-bean soup, cornbread, and salad for everyone else, and passed out a package of grasshopper cookies.
Dad chatted with Joe about computer issues around interviews and considerations and such and discussed professorships, universities, etc.
Mom departed for her annual lunch with Mrs. English and Gloria.
Grandma Combs arrived at four o’clock. She would be accompanying Mom, Collette, and Carrie to the fourth annual Hanging of the Greens at Memorial.
And Carrie prepared dinner in advance for the boys: curried chicken legs, corn casserole and apple spice cake from scratch.
But first, Puck was dropped off with Gloria to spend the night.
Into the evening…
First, down to Rose’s apartment for Grandma’s initial look-about. Her mattress had been installed with her striped crimson bedspread and World Market pillows in black, gold, and Aegean blue. A packing box had been added as a temporary coffee table. The owl clock had been hung on the wall in the kitchen. And the bag of salad was still unopened in the fridge. She was preparing to leave for her office Christmas party.
And then the Christmas program, which included a very docile star who was pretty intent on keeping his arms and legs stretched out in the pattern of his intended shape for the entire service.
Mimi’s Cafe on the way home. French stuff. Somehow Collette’s BBQ quesadilla didn’t seem to fit that bill.
And then back to the house to spend the night, because…
OLeif, who was originally to be camping in the Ozarks with his buddies, had found himself in a change of plans that involved all four fellows camping out on the living room floor of Collette’s house.