Squeaky Floors

It was impossible not to be awakened at 4:30am when out guest got up to shower, pack and try to sneak away quietly for his long drive home....ever since our incredibly dry summer weather the wooden floors in this old building have been creaking like rotting trees in a windstorm with every footstep. Bless him....he was, personally, as quiet as a mouse, but the floors gave him away. So, no more sleep for me this morning. Sigh....

We had fun with our friend. The meeting he came here for was a positive, encouraging event for him so he was in cheery spirits during our dinner at Knotted Thistle. We all shared a plate of the delicious but heart attack inducing Irish nachos, then repented with bowls of beef/barley broth (the soup maker apparently forgot all of the beef and most of the barley and vegetables; most disappointing) and Caesar salads with dressing on the side, so we could pretend a teaspoon less dressing would magically reduce the total fat content ingested after the deep fried, cheesy potato nachos. I ordered a chicken breast to go with mine but it never arrived. It must have eloped with the beef that was supposed to be in the soup!

While the meal was not up to the usual high standard last evening, the company was great fun. It was good for my husband to spend an evening thinking about things not related to his job. That is one of our New Year’s resolutions for better coping mechanisms in 2018: to build a better life around non-work related experiences on evenings and days off. Work has been a life focus for too many years and not just during the ministry related positions. It was good to hear my husband laughing and teasing and making jokes.

Today my husband’s office is closing at noon for the holidays. He will likely come home, but go back in tomorrow for the day to close out a couple of outstanding projects. I can do my housework that day so I don’t disturb his last minute final prep on Sunday for the Christmas Eve service he is doing. Christmas Day we can sleep in, call my parents, text or FaceTime our son, talk about a couple of possible plans for the rest of the week’s family visit and treat ourselves to grilled low fat cheese sandwiches and favourite pickles for our Christmas dinner. Yum! So happy the obligatory turkey roasting days are behind me!

We had a skiff of snow overnight and the temperatures continue to drop. Brrrrrr!!!  Finally the real winter weather is upon us, but we will quickly adjust as the deep freeze is normal for this time of year.

I may or may not get a head start on the housework today. I am overtired and unable to sleep so need to try to nap during the day so I don’t get another cold and ruin everyone’s visiting next week.