After a month of planning, prepping and decorating, I was finally ready for our Christmas! On the 26th of December I declared everything as done! Check marks were all made, cookies were all baked, menus were all planned, and supplies purchased.
The trees were all up and decorated, the spare bedroom (aka the kid’s playroom, aka my bedroom) was all ready with freshly laundered sheets and bedspreads. The presents were all wrapped and under the real tree in the living room.
My oldest son, Jason was set to arrive later that day with his family. Our youngest daughter Brittney and her two little ones were not able to join us as she had recently moved to Virginia. Our youngest son Josh and his family lived nearby. Grandson Willie, Torri’s little guy, was not able to be here this Christmas either. It was the first year not to have all of my family together since we lost Torri. Last year had been the first Christmas without her, but her son Willie had been here. This year there were even fewer that could come. Life is always a challenge, and we have to make joyful moments where we can.
I could relax for a few hours and enjoy the Christmas spirit of the house. I had turned on the lights on all of the various trees and was admiring my handiwork. My husband Jay had decided he would make broasted chicken for supper (yes, we have an actual genuine restaurant chicken broaster in our basement) so I was off the hook for supper! Small victories!
Jason and family arrived with smiles, suitcases and presents all bursting in the door at once. Within 5 minutes all the preparation, cleaning, organizing, making sure all the details were perfect were lost in the joy of children running through the house and adults bringing in packages and suitcases. Oh well. I had the joy of seeing my house at it’s finest for most of the day, and now family was here safe and sound and that’s what matters. I had also taken photos of each room as proof I had it all perfect for a while.
After supper (yes, in Iowa we farm folk still call it supper for the evening meal. Dinner is what you eat at noon and lunch is what you eat at 3:00 in the afternoon for your break.) the kids were to sleep in two plush sleeping bags on the bedroom floor – A 9-year-old and a 3-year-old – but it ended up the two of them slept in the bed with their mom and my son Jason slept on the couch. The best laid plans once again in my life…
The next day my son and I took his 3-year-old daughter with us to town, while her mom and her step-brother stayed home relaxing. We ran a few errands and picked up additional groceries needed for that night’s supper. We were having a chili cook-off of sorts. between our sons Jason and Josh and their dad, Jay. The plan was to take the chili to La Porte City to Josh’s newly purchased home. It was about a 30-minute drive from our house. Supper was to be the three chili soups and sub sandwiches and let the kids all play together in their heated garage.
Again, the best laid plans…my son Josh called in the afternoon to tell us that the kids were all sick at his house, his 2 girls and his fiancés 2 boys, so if it was alright they’d cancel tonight but come over the next day as planned for Christmas. I told him that was fine, and we’d see them tomorrow. In my head I was wishing now I had gotten my flu shot.
We were home by dinnertime (aka lunch) and I had gotten some smoked pork chops to make. I have a Jenn-Air stove so was going to grill them inside and make some potatoes to go with them. I had the chops grilling on the stove top and went into the living room to save a Christmas ornament from a grandchild when my I heard someone in the dining room say my pork chops were on fire.
I was not immediately alarmed by this because almost every time I cook on that grill something catches on fire. It’s usually just a tiny flare up that can easily be blown out. I came back into the kitchen to see flames leaping off my chops reaching the underside of my microwave!
My husband and son were attempting to put the fire out and had I grabbed some tongs and was attempting to save the chops from being totally crisped. Jay put a large cake roll pan over the top of the burners and we finally managed to get the fire out. Both smoke alarms in the kitchen and dining room were wailing and the grand-kids were looking at us with grave concern.
I reassured them that this too was a pretty normal and regular occurrence in my household. The good news was I had managed to save the pork chops and all but one were overly charred, which I ate, and the potatoes were also done, so we all sat down to eat before something else happened.
We decided to go ahead with making chili for supper that night only just Jason would be making his for us. While making his chili recipe, Jason had cooked some exotic chili’s (anything that does not come out of a box or a can is considered exotic at my house) in a pan and then poured the hot mixture into my blender. My blender is seldom used (ok, rarely ever used) and is one of those with a plastic top and rubber lid. Apparently pouring hot liquid into it caused the lid to warm and warp and while he was holding onto the top of it the plastic cap popped into the blender and was instantly ground into the mixture!
We looked at each other like now what? I suggested we might strain it through a tea strainer I had that had microscopic holes in it. That way we could get the flavor of the juices without any of the plastic shards. So, there we stood over the sink carefully straining and re-straining the liquid. The chili turned out great, the blender not so much.
The next morning was our Christmas day, starting with me making a big breakfast for everyone. It’s the one time I enjoy cooking. Josh and his crew showed up a bit late and the boys were still pretty sick. We made the best of it and had a nice time together. After dinner (noon meal for you city folk) we passed out presents and the kids had fun playing with their new toys. Light naps were had by both adults and kids and then we all enjoyed Jay’s homemade spaghetti for supper.
Josh and family headed for home afterward and the next day Jason and his family headed back to Missouri. Later as I walked around the house gathering up any left items and toys to give back to people, I was struck by the sheer silence of the house once again. I think our dog Kutter was thankful for it.
I would leave the Christmas trees and decorations up for a few more days and then put them all away again until next year. Next up was my birthday, and boy did I have big plans for that day!
Until next time…Toni