Unpacking Kitchen Treasures

On Tuesday after Christmas, Dan and I said our good-byes to the Spring Judds and headed to Temple. We had three full days to spend there, unpacking some of our boxes and putting things away. Since we don't yet have master bedroom or office furniture, we left boxes for those rooms untouched and concentrated on the kitchen. I always find the kitchen to be one of the most challenging rooms to pack and unpack, so thought that getting a head start on it would be good.

We were a good team. Dan hauled boxes into the kitchen, four or five at a time, and after I had unloaded, washed, and put away everything from those boxes, he would take the empties out and bring in another four or five. There were a LOT of boxes! I really didn't expect to finish the kitchen completely, but I did! All of our dishes, china, bowls, baking pans, plastics, glasses, tea towels and small appliances have a home in the cupboards, drawers and pantry! When we make our final move, we'll have a totally functional kitchen from the get-go! That might make it possible for me to participate in the February Daring Bakers' Challenge!



Not everything went as planned, of course - it never does. When I was at the house, back in November, our washer and dryer were delivered. They are front-loaders, made to sit on a pedestal (with drawer). Sadly, one of the pedestals arrived at the store broken, so they delivered the washer and dryer, put the washer on its pedestal, and left the dryer sitting on the floor. They told me, at that time, that they'd have a new one for me in a few days. When our Christmas trip was drawing near, I gave them a call, and they said they'd deliver the new pedestal on the morning of December 30, which was perfect for us. We stayed home that morning, waiting, but no delivery guys showed up. I called and talked to a manager, because there was no one available in Deliveries. She said she'd have to do some research and call me back. About an hour later, she called. "Sorry. I don't know who it was who said we'd have the pedestal to you today, but they obviously didn't do their research. I just checked with our buyer, and he told me that we have to get the pedestal for you from KOREA, and that, if I order it today, it won't be here any earlier than late January." Are you kidding me? With all of the big box stores beginning with the letter "L" in this nation, the closest pedestal for my Samsung dryer is in KOREA?!! She assured me that was the case . . . so we are hoping that we will get the rest of our already-paid-for order about the time we make our final move.

On Friday morning we packed up the car and headed back to Albuquerque, via Lubbock. This time it was really hard to leave. It's beginning to feel like home, and we're ready to settle in for good.

The Magic of Christmas Morning

Instead of waiting for the children to wake on their own, Chris and Kelsey roused them at 7:00 a.m., so we would have time for the morning festivities before leaving for the 10:30 worship service. When Chris first woke Clara, she didn't want to get up. Then he asked her, "How many more days until Christmas?" There was only a moment of hesitation before she sprung out of bed with her answer . . . "NONE!"

Santa didn't disappoint! Robert got a train table (he's really into trains, planes, trucks and cars!), and Clara got a beautiful baby doll, as well as the yo-yo she asked for. Robert, sporting an awesome bed-head style, was so smitten with his train set that it was hard to get him interested in opening the other presents. Clara looked cute in the adorable cupcake hat that Santa left in her stocking (I think).



Clara seemed pleased with the world globe that we got for her. Since her Daddy has traveled all over the world with his job, we thought she might like being able to see where he's been.


Here's the carnage that was left after the packages were opened.


Kelsey outdid herself in the kitchen this Christmas. For breakfast she made a pan-full of scrumptious Monkey Bread.


And for dinner (no picture . . . sorry) she prepared a bone-in ham along with all the trimmings.


(Gloria R., do you recognize the clothes the children are wearing in the photo below? You should!)


It was a joyful Christmas for all of us in Spring, TX. Sadly, though, things didn't work out so well for Tim and for my Mom. Before we left, we exchanged gifts with Tim, and handed over Mom's presents, since he was planning to take them down and spend Christmas Day with her. But a huge snowstorm hit New Mexico right before Christmas. (It actually chased us out of the state and on into east Texas, where the snow turned to pounding rain.) Mom said there were 11 inches of the white stuff in her yard, and I-40, over which Tim would have had to travel, was closed down for awhile. Tim had to cancel his trip, so both of them spent Christmas without family. Mom didn't even get her presents, which were still in the trunk of Tim's car! As the snow began disappearing in Carlsbad, ice took its place. On Christmas morning Mom took a fall on her sidewalk, which was a sheet of ice! She tells me she's doing okay, but continues to suspect that she may have cracked a rib. Chris did try to make her Christmas morning a little more cheery by connecting through Skype, so that she could watch the children open their gifts.

Oh What Fun!

We spent Friday night at our house in Temple, then drove on in to Spring on Christmas Eve morning. We arrived around noon, to a festively decorated house and children eager for Santa's arrival.

Kelsey and Clara had waited to bake and decorate the sugar cookies until I arrived, so I could be part of the fun. We started to work on them right away. Kelsey used a family recipe for the cookies, and they were delicious. Clara used the rolling pin to roll the cookie dough out, and did an exceptionally good job. I was really proud of her! After the cookies cooled a bit, we all helped decorate them with royal icing and sprinkles.



That evening the children donned their Christmas jammies, and came back downstairs so Grandpa could read The Night Before Christmas.


Right before bed, Clara wrote a note to Santa, which was left beside a plate of cookies and a carrot for his reindeer.



Remembering my own childhood, and how hard it was for me to fall asleep on Christmas Eve, I was surprised at how swiftly both children fell asleep after snuggling into their beds.

'Twas the Week Before Christmas . . .

. . . and all through the house, not a creature was stirring - especially Linda!

I had planned to work Monday (12/19) through Wednesday (12/21), and then travel to Temple, with Dan, on Thursday and Friday; on to Spring on Christmas Eve day. But my plans had to be altered a bit. On Friday, 12/16, I did a mass-mailing project, at work. Even as I was doing it, I knew I shouldn't be. Whenever I do a lot of repetitive motion using my arms, back and shoulders, I end up with muscle spasms beneath my left shoulder. They are very painful, and usually last for a week or so.

Sure enough, over that weekend I ended up in the Urgent Care Clinic, begging for some muscle relaxants or something to stop the pain. The doctor gave me muscle relaxants and high-dose Ibuprofen. I took them Saturday, Sunday and Monday without any relief. I went to work on Monday, as planned, but by the time my 12-noon quitting time came, I knew I had to return to the Urgent Care. This time the doctor took some x-rays. They revealed some bone degeneration in my spine, which was probably causing a pinched nerve. At least I know, now, why this "animal" returns once or twice a year to plague me. I told him that we were supposed to be traveling, by car, for Christmas, and that there was no way I could do it with the level of pain I was experiencing. He gave me some pain pills to add to my others. Almost immediately I started feeling relief. I stayed home from work on Tuesday and Wednesday, using alternating heat and cold and my meds, and by the time we were ready to travel on Thursday I was quite comfortable!

I usually leave our home sparkling clean when we travel, so that we come home to a nice, relaxing, tidy place. But this time I was so consumed with pain relief that I left the apartment looking like a cyclone had passed through. But that was okay, because the important thing was getting to Texas to be with Chris, Kelsey and the children for Santa's big day.