I have few photographic images from today, but some great emotional images. The highlight so far is napping on the sofa as Clemmie slept under my arm.
Because "Oma" can no longer travel much at 97, Renata will not be in Vista for Christmas. Instead she left this morning for LA to spend the next couple of days with her mom. Before she left we had a brief gift exchage with her and Danny. They gave us a neat ceramic "avacado" ornament that we can put on our Christmas tree and then decorate the kitchen with the rest of the year. We gave Renata some See's candy, soap from a little store in Vista Village, and a stained glass hanging for her window.
Danny love American history so we selected three books for him: A book I've read and love, Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals; a book I've wanted to read, Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis; and a book I happened on that sounds interesting, Forgotten Americans: Footnote Figures Who Changed American History.
John and Brannon had Christmas Eve duties (requiring some major rearrangement of the girls' bedroom) and needed Sheila and me to babysit Clemmie and Ruth. They didn't need to twist our arms. Sheila sent me out with a list of needed items for her cranberry relish that I love, for materials for cookie-making with the kids, and for some packaging to finish up some little gifts we are preparing. Dollar Tree would do for the packaging but I knew the nearest one has shelves mostly stripped by the holiday crowds, so I asked Siri to direct me to the one across town. I found the necessary items there, then visited the nice Albertsons next door for the grocery items. No luck! Not a fresh cranberry in the place, and none of the cookie stuff Sheila wanted, though I bought a substitute. So I visited three other grocery stores, finally finishing at the Stater Brothers store just a few blocks from where I started. There they had all I needed and more!
Back at Gamma and Papa's dough was rolled out and stamped out in a plethora of shapes by Renata's many cookie cutters.
Meanwhile Dan and I sat around the den and solved the problems of current politics and the discussed the insanity if the Civil War.
Then the girls, finishing their baking, brought us cookies and instigated the umpteenth reinactment of "Sleeping Human". Sometime in ther the girls wore out and collapsed into sleep -- Clem under my arm on the den couch and Ruth against Sheila on the living room couch.
When Clemmie awoke she cried for her Mom for a while but then went back to sleep on the couch with Granny.
When both girls were awake again. Sheila has plied them with mac and cheese, and those calories ignited their amazing imaginations once more -- we have acted out another Big Bad Wolf story (I resent the type-casting that has plagued my grandfather career!) We still await the return of the parents, but cheerfully this Christmas Eve.
We had thought we'd make it to Faith Lutheran's service this afternoon but that didn't work out. I did tune in for Trinity's Christmas Eve service online 2000 miles east and got a little homesick. We'll head that way in a few days.
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