holiday rush
Dec. 10th, 2006 11:30 pmIt's now the second week of Advent... this was a busy weekend for me. Socialness Friday afternoon with ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cyan_blue and Friday night at Wine and Song, more socialness Saturday morning at a brunch for tenacious_snail, her mom and stepfather (visiting from New Orleans) and patgreene, baiku (who was the designated Les-escort that day, as I'd been on Thursday ;), _counterculture and the near-voiceless pusifoot.
Afterwards, Les and her folks and Alex joined Pat and I and the kids at Obester Winery, in Half Moon Bay off of 92, for a bottle-your-own event. After a half-hour waiting in line, I filled a dozen bottles for $3.75 each with a nice 2002 cabernet from Lake County (near Harbin). Alex also got a few bottles.
Then... off to cut down a Christmas tree, with Pat and the kids, at a hillside farm in the Santa Cruz mountains. We drove down Skyline Drive, arriving just as the weather worsened. After 45 minutes of tree-searching, by the time we found the one we wanted it was a downpour... I had my rain gear and boots, but everyone else was less equipped. Pat fell down twice. Then on the way home, I was nagged incessantly because I'd tied down the tree to the luggage rack with the top forwards rather than aft. Finally I lost my temper, pulled the van over, and singlehandedly in the pouring rain untied, moved around, and re-tied the tree. Afterwards, the 3-way nagging stopped. No one said anything, for awhile.
More socialness Saturday night at LH's holiday party, carpooling with Les... but we'd forgotten to bring ornaments to exchange.
Church this morning, myself and the kids...patgreene spent the whole day until 4pm volunteering at the Pacific Art League. This meant that I took the kids back for pageant rehearsal at noon, so didn't get started in kitchen remodelling until late. I removed the counter, cleaned the grout from a slate backsplash, and applied 2 coats of lacquer. Trimming and putting up the Christmas tree while the second coat dried.
However, the kids came back home during this, while the house was stinky with volatiles from the lacquer. Thenpatgreene arrived home and left again, angrily because the kids were home and the fumes had given her a headache. She picked up pizza rather than traditionally cooking chili, then after dinner we decorated the tree. I snapped at David for strewing a towel and clothes all over the bathroom, Pat then angrily went out and loaded towels in the wash (since I'd complained about David).
However, the slate backsplash project is done, and our tree is up, so I can point to something useful accomplished even as tempers frayed.
cyan_blue and Friday night at Wine and Song, more socialness Saturday morning at a brunch for tenacious_snail, her mom and stepfather (visiting from New Orleans) and patgreene, baiku (who was the designated Les-escort that day, as I'd been on Thursday ;), _counterculture and the near-voiceless pusifoot. Afterwards, Les and her folks and Alex joined Pat and I and the kids at Obester Winery, in Half Moon Bay off of 92, for a bottle-your-own event. After a half-hour waiting in line, I filled a dozen bottles for $3.75 each with a nice 2002 cabernet from Lake County (near Harbin). Alex also got a few bottles.
Then... off to cut down a Christmas tree, with Pat and the kids, at a hillside farm in the Santa Cruz mountains. We drove down Skyline Drive, arriving just as the weather worsened. After 45 minutes of tree-searching, by the time we found the one we wanted it was a downpour... I had my rain gear and boots, but everyone else was less equipped. Pat fell down twice. Then on the way home, I was nagged incessantly because I'd tied down the tree to the luggage rack with the top forwards rather than aft. Finally I lost my temper, pulled the van over, and singlehandedly in the pouring rain untied, moved around, and re-tied the tree. Afterwards, the 3-way nagging stopped. No one said anything, for awhile.
More socialness Saturday night at LH's holiday party, carpooling with Les... but we'd forgotten to bring ornaments to exchange.
Church this morning, myself and the kids...
patgreene spent the whole day until 4pm volunteering at the Pacific Art League. This meant that I took the kids back for pageant rehearsal at noon, so didn't get started in kitchen remodelling until late. I removed the counter, cleaned the grout from a slate backsplash, and applied 2 coats of lacquer. Trimming and putting up the Christmas tree while the second coat dried.However, the kids came back home during this, while the house was stinky with volatiles from the lacquer. Then
patgreene arrived home and left again, angrily because the kids were home and the fumes had given her a headache. She picked up pizza rather than traditionally cooking chili, then after dinner we decorated the tree. I snapped at David for strewing a towel and clothes all over the bathroom, Pat then angrily went out and loaded towels in the wash (since I'd complained about David). However, the slate backsplash project is done, and our tree is up, so I can point to something useful accomplished even as tempers frayed.
