Whoa!

It's been quite a long time since I've posted on here! There is no way that I can impart all that has happened in that amount of time, but I doubt that anyone cares about my mind ramblings, anyway. Suffice it to say, "Vini, vidi, vici." (I came, I saw, I conquered.) Christmas 2011 is history. So is New Year's of 2012. I can sum it all up as "nice"!

Santa was VERY good to me. I got some things that I wanted and a couple of things that I needed. (Thank you, Megan and Denis!) I had a box of homemade candies that Megan and the family had made. To die for! (Wish I hadn't eaten them all already. Would like some right now!)In my stocking were other goodies, one of which was an IPASS transponder that will allow me to get through the toll booths on my trips up and back. They ain't cheap! I have already used it on the trip back from their house. What a joy to just drive on through the Open Road Tolling lanes without having to fight the semis and/or worry that I have the right cash!

The big ticket present is something that I cherish: it is a console deal that looks like an old radio but has a turntable to play records, and a place to play cassette tapes and CDs, and the ability to record from one to the other! Can also play my MP3 player through it, etc. I had coveted one that I saw but had no idea that Santa would break his piggy bank to give it to me!

(Just got word that my family has returned safely home. That, in itself, is a present...the safety part.)

Christmas Day in Grayslake, IL, was very nice. But first, I have to explain that my granchildren (8 and 9) still seemed to believe in Santa Claus, so my son-in-law, Denis, was careful to keep the secret. When I arrived on the Thursday before Christmas, laden with my gifts and the ones from the Heffelman grandparents, the boxes had to be hidden. There were presents for Robin and Ryan and Denis and Megan, Wednesday (the grandchildren's stepsister), and Lilly (Robin's American Girl doll). Denis stashed them all under the stairs in a secret closet so the kids wouldn't see them. Since everyone went to bed fairly late on Christmas Eve, Denis decided he would get up in the middle of the night to put the gifts under their tree. The secret closet is in the room where I sleep there, so I was awakened around 1:30 AM by a man (Denis) in a full Santa suit, digging out gifts from the closet! (He was afraid that someone would wake up and catch him, so he dressed in borrowed Santa garb!) He asked in all of his Russian accent's glory, "What should I do with the gifts for Wednesday...and who the hell is Lilly??" You had to be there to understand the humor of the moment. The hour...the costume...the accent...the question...it just tickled me. I was still chuckling long after he was done. God bless the man! When everyone got up on Christmas morning, they were surprised to note that the presents took up a quarter of the living room!

Nathan and Kendra, the grandchildren's father and stepmother, arrived shortly after noon to share the day with us. We had lots of good food. In short order, the fathers were on the floor with the children helping them with their gifts. I felt sure that someone would want to play euchre, but the kids took precendence.

The whole crew caravanned to my house in Indiana on the Wednesday after Christmas. Wish I could say that they were all coming to a clean house, but they weren't. Still, it felt good to have them all on my turf. Poor Denis almost immediately came down with a cold or whatever...fever, sneezes, feeling yucky... We did our best to help him feel better.

New Year's Eve is a big holiday in Russia--bigger than Christmas--so we endeavor to make Denis feel at home. Traditions include certain foods. We made Salad Olivier which requires brine-cured pickles which you simply can't buy here without going to a Russian store--which they did. They also have "mandarins"--small oranges, as tradition--and champagne. We did it all. Connected with Denis's parents on Skype at their midnight, then again at ours. Denis and Megan fixed "French meat" and rice pilaf. It was a heavy dishwasher day!

At 9:00 PM, Phil and Judy Heffelman joined us with sweet/sour meatballs and pineapple upside-down cake. We ate and visited. Played a game or two of Jenga. By 12:15 AM. the Heffelman grandparents had departed...but Ryan was wound up and Robin had the giggles. I think we finally all crashed by 1:30 AM.

My family departed for Chicago-land this morning and have arrived safely. God is good. Now my house is back to boring normal. Let winter begin.