Birthday Lunch
4:36 p.m. - 2008-12-07


We finally had the Thanksgiving for my side of the family. My dad ordered prime rib dinners from the Safeway, you know, those complete dinners you can buy. We were totally surprised but the meat was great, and the rest of the dishes were pretty good,too. I used the dinner as an opportunity to broach the subject of a change in the Christmas gift giving, so we discussed the whole thing endlessly until I handed the control of the meeting over to my husband who is used to chairing meetings in an efficient manner. He quickly laid out the different choices and had us vote, and presto, everything was decided. The whole thing hinged on the fact that I, the person who writes the 'who you have for Christmas' name list, refused to write another list for this year since it is a chore I love so much. Next year we are going to phase the older grandchildren into adult standing and put them on the list as they have requested. They will, of course, have the option to opt out but then it will be no gifts for them. We set a price limit on the gifts for this year since times are tight. It should be fun to see what you can get everyone for under $10.

Now that that is all decided, I am not dreading the whole Christmas shopping season so much.

Today was the birthday of the spouse, and we had a nice luncheon attended by the four of us plus the EGs. The burgers turned out very well, except that I had splurged on some expensive hamburger buns from the local bakery, and really, I could have saved the extra $3 because they were no better than the $1 package you get from the supermarket. Abby made sauteed corn which was fabulous, and she also made the cake, a chocolate cake with raspberry cream filling and frosted with a luscious chocolate frosting that had a bit of raspberry syrup added (that Italian kind you use in coffe drinks or Italian sodas). There was also a very good fruit salad that EG brought, my potato salad, some Jojo potatoes for Abby, and some sauteed Brussels Sprouts. I was feeling a little over scheduled since I had to cook this big luncheon, then go to a Christmas party at 7:00 in the evening of the same day. Plus, Amazing Race finale tonight which I would have to record. However, spouse's cousin called and canceled the party because his wife was sick today, so we are having a relaxing afternoon.

I totally had a case of internet confusion this afternoon. I was reading my daughter's blog, then noticed that she said it was very cold and snowed a little last night (I was thinking, what snow??, did I miss something??), and then she said that it was supposed to be down to 14 degrees tonight (holy cow, I am thinking, I have to go cover the outside pipes). Then I noticed that I was no longer reading Melissa's blog but the blog of someone in Virginia and had scared myself for nothing. Brilliant.