It was weird to do the breakfast dishes with the water pump on but the temperature is still freezing at 9:30. Our pump is loud and sounds like the pipes in the bathroom are going to erupt. I pack up my cookie stuff and leave Bob regripping his two new golf clubs.
It is sunny and cold and the traffic is mounting as I near Austin around 11:00. I guess all of the last minute shoppers are out on their lunch hour. I stopped at Randall's for a paper and a few groceries. I got to Liz's just at noon. I can't help but think how nice it is to know exactly where things are. We have used a map everywhere we've been this year.
It was great to give Liz a big hug when she opened the door. I got a little misty-eyed for a bit. There are just some people in your life that you don't like to leave behind. Connor looks amazingly older and more mature. Liz and I catch up on news and shortly her sister, Trish, returns from taking her husband to the airport. She said there was a big wreck and tie-up on 183.
We get busy and dig into our pile of ingredients. I start with a batch of my new Christmas Mice. Liz makes Peanut Butter Cookies; Connor helps 'smash 'em' with the sugar fork. We follow up with Cinnamon Chip, Oatmeal Scotchies, Scharffenberger Triple Chocolate Delights, Raspberry Brownies, Mint Chocolate Chip and Magic Cookies Bars.
In the middle of this avalanche of sweets, Liz served a great chicken salad sandwich for lunch. Later we broke out the Tappel deer sausage I brought. Liz couldn't believe it. She was just telling Trish about it last night; hoping I had returned from Missouri with some. I remembered how she raved about it last year and brought her another hunk.
It was a great treat to do girly stuff all day. I was in heaven baking tons of cookies in a 'real' kitchen. We had photos at the end and agreed to meet for lunch after the holidays. It was another Twilight Zone experience driving home around 6:30 that evening. I passed right by EDS' old site on Parmer and felt like I was driving home from work. It was weird to turn north to go to Pleasant Grove rather than south to Cedar Hills.
However, my spirits soared as I turned in the front entrance to Pleasant Grove. Manuel's office Christmas lights were blazing, along with several other festively decorated RVs. And there, behind Manuel's white net lights, glowed our red, white and green candy cane in the window of The Beauty! It was good to be home. I unloaded the cookies from The Beast in 30 degree temperatures. Bob had a few samples and we watched TV with both heaters cranked up. It is supposed to get really cold tonight.
It's 11:40 p.m. and 31.7 degrees.