It's that never ending spiral of doom. One thing goes wrong, then another, which leads to another... That about sums up my Monday, the only day off between the weekend and Christmas. It was a productive morning: Mailed off my remaining gifts, got supplies for baking, and even did a load of laundry. All before 10 am. It was my only day for baking, and I had gifts to make, so I went the easy route this year: seasoned pretzels, fudge, quick bread, and maybe cookies if there's time. I'm sad that there will be no cardamom bread, but maybe mom will come through and bring some over.
Anyway, back to the spiral. The pretzels were first, since they take an hour, but with minimum labor - mix up seasoning, pour it on, bake and stir. That went well, and I had time to clean up. Next up - fudge. First ingredient: sugar. How can I not have enough sugar? I have a very well stocked pantry, how could I have not noticed I was low on sugar? Well, back to the grocery store, I guess. On the way out to the garage, I decided to move the grill, since it was a bit close last time I backed out of the garage. I should have used two hands. Down went the grill, barely missing my toes. But all the ash spilled out right on my feet! ARGH! Squeeze in to the "passenger" side of the garage (small garage - big car) for the broom and dustpan, sweep up, and take it back to the compost. Luckily the grass was wet, so it cleaned off my shoes a bit. What's that I see in the neighbor's yard, under the pine tree? Oh, it's our sleds. Guess who didn't put the sleds away after using them over the weekend? That kid is supremely lucky somebody didn't make off with our sleds! So I dragged the sleds up to the patio, where they still remain ("I forgot I had to put them away").
I got the sugar, made the fudge (it's delicious!), and on to the next thing: last minute shopping. I needed to go to Madison for some "stocking stuffers" for Katrina. Let's just say that the local Wal-Mart has a skimpy sock selection. Katrina loves fun and funky socks, so I schlep up to the nearest Kohls, and their socks are even worse than Wal Mart's! I am not happy. There is a Shopko nearby, and they came through for me. A couple pairs of socks and a shirt. It's almost time for Katrina to be home from school, so I hurry home, and realize I hadn't had any lunch, and I'm STARVING! But, it's too late for lunch, so I grab a couple pretzels and soldier on. I promised Katrina that we would bake some cookies, so I quick throw together some sugar cookie dough. The remainder of the day goes as you would think - cookies get baked, dinner gets made, I nag Katrina about leaving the sleds out, etc. By 8:30, I'm exhausted, too tired to finish dad's Christmas sweater. I'm am in a stereotypical "holiday stressed-out slump."
Tuesday is a new day, and with it come new challenges! I work short hours, helping out where I'm needed. A regular customer calls and needs a gift basket put together in a hurry "I'll be there in half an hour" she says. So, I put on my personal shopper hat, and choose some things for her basket with time to spare. I put the basket together, and she loves it. My spirit: lifted.
I leave work just in time to pick up Katrina at school. No homework this week, so she relaxes (no nagging is required tonight!) until her piano lesson. Easy dinner, and hooray! I get to work on my knitting. It's not long before I'm done. I'm actually finished knitting, and the ends are woven in! I can't believe it! I still need to put in the zipper, but that requires a sewing machine, and mom repossessed mine (I rarely used it anyway). So, zipper installation will happen after Christmas at Mom's house. But wow - I have a whole new attitude! Maybe I'll get Karl's mittens done in time to sneak them into his stocking.
A full day of work today means not much knitting time, but I'm well rested, and an extra hour of late-night knitting might do the trick tonight. I'd better have a afternoon coffee just to make sure.
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