It was a good day to be home today. I was so tired from the past few days, so it was a good day to nap on and off. We had a major storm that just dumped rain on us. It rained really hard both last night and today. I woke up a few times during the night because it was raining so hard that it made a lot of noise. At one point I thought someone was walking past the house with garbage cans because it just rumbled. The very best part about it though was that my sweet Liesl decided that she wanted cuddles, so she snuggled right up against me and let me sleep with my arm around her. They should find a way to bottle puppy warmth.
I hope everyone who observes Christmas had a lovely holiday. Mine was super special. I was the assisting minister for the candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. This is such a special service and I felt privileged to serve. Afterwards, it was on to my best friend's house for the annual Norwegian Christmas Eve Dinner. The tradition starts with the youngest person in attendance reading the Gospel of Luke. Then my BFF's husband makes an announcement that there is no difference between family or friends at their table. All who are with them are considered family. Then we eat massive quantities of Norwegian meatballs, salmon, veggies, potatoes, and assorted desserts. One of the attendees had made homemade peanut butter-chocolate chip-bacon cookies, which were to die for. We sit for hours around the dinner table laughing and talking. The evening ends in a board game. I look forward to it every year.
My best friend loves dogs and had made little goodie bags for all of her friends' dogs. She sent me home with Liesl's bag of little Ginger Bears that she loves. Now I have to share that Liesl knows people's names. So I came home and gave her a couple of her little cookies and told her who they were from. When she heard my BFF's name, she got very excited, tail wagging and ran to the window to look for her. Liesl thinks my BFF is her BFF, who comes to visit her (not me) so she thought she was going to get a visit.
Yesterday it was the day to be with my whole family, which is my great joy. Liesl was so happy, too, to be with all of her people. My daughter brought a prime rib over and cooked it in my oven, she also made green bean casserole, and brought some awesome appetizers. I made roasted garlic-horseradish mash potatoes (yummy!), hors d'oeuvres and homemade cookies. My son and his girlfriend brought a beautiful pie for dessert. Liesl got spoiled by my daughter who had set aside some small pieces of prime rib for Liesl as she carved. Then Liesl got hand fed. She thought this was awesome. I had also made her some sweet potato, which is one of her favorite foods.
This sign was a gift from my son's girlfriend. (Have I mentioned how much we all love her?!) She also have me a beautiful bamboo salad bowl and tongs. I love this sign. (My son said that she was worried about dogs being plural but I just figure it will scare any potential burglar that may think there is a house full of dogs! ) It is so perfect because, alas, it is so true. Liesl is the gatekeeper.
These are a pair of socks that my daughter knit for me. Hand knit socks are one of the best things ever. I love the colors in this pair and they are super soft. My daughter always encourages me to wear the socks she knits for me out of the house. I just can't do it. I only wear them when I am at home. They are like a warm hug.
Another cool gift that I received was a subscription to Just Cross Stitch from my son. I can't wait for my first issue. The bonus to my day was my son in law who is an IT professional, took a look at my super slow net book and got it running super fast. We all talked, visited, and then watched Mr. Bean's Christmas and New Year's episodes, which are super funny.
Liesl and I were both exhausted from the past couple of days, so we logged some serious couch time today. Tomorrow I have to get back to eating healthy and getting back into the routine. It was a wonderful few days though and I am so grateful for all of the blessings in my life.
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