Secrets

 It was a long day. The wrapping is done, except for one thing that arrived tonight. And another thing which I found upstairs that I forgot, which should have gone into the package that I mailed. Oh...and a gift that was larger than any gift bag I had. (At this point, fearful of what I will find, I'm not looking around much.) 

Can you all keep a secret? My sister's birthday is Saturday. Her favorite baking dish was a yellow pyrex one, probably from the late 40s. She loved it. It had a glass lid. Somehow, under very tragic circumstances, that dish came up missing after a family party. She had her lid, but the dish itself was gone. She sent out a mass message to the family, but no one ever got it back to her. Every holiday, once again, she does a message about her dish, just in case someone comes across it in the course of getting ready for the big day.

Vintage pyrex is pretty pricey, and she's a practical sort who is not going to spend $30 on an old dish (it is genetic, I suppose), but she really did love that dish. Out of curiosity, I was looking on line. I found the same dish, the same size, even the same color! It was going cheaply because the woman did not have the glass lid that goes with it, which made me laugh. So that is my sister's birthday present and I honestly think that I'm more excited about this than I am about any Christmas present I have bought. I cannot wait until Saturday! If you see her, DO NOT BREATHE A WORD!

The day started early. I was up at 6:30 for an appointment. Then we went to the school to see my husband's grandson receive a special award. He is a math genius, in the true sense of the word. He loves numbers, and when other kids were learning to add and subtract, he had taught himself to multiply and divide by watching you-tube videos. He's a neat kid. 

Then it was off to take care of the cats and crows at the new build, and Tim had an appointment to get two new tires on the car. Johnny works at that garage, and it always gives me a chuckle to think that an Amish man is making his living working on cars. 

A nothing day, really, but I kept myself busy and I got a lot of nothing done.

 Tomorrow is a big day too. I've got pulled pork barbecue to do, a cake to bake, a pan of macaroni and cheese. At 5:30, we are headed over to have a Christmas party with Levi and Mattie and the kids, which is always a good time. When we pull up in the driveway, the kids coming running out. They are excited to unload the car. They carry in the gifts and stack them on a table in the corner, chattering away in Pennsylvania Dutch. We eat supper by lantern light, and the kids' eyes keep darting over to that stack of gifts while we eat.

It is just fun to watch their excitement. The big box on the end is something that will tickle everyone...it is full of books, and it delights me to no end how thrilled they all get over a simple box of books. There's probably 40-50 books in there, books for everyone, even grandma. The gift I am most excited about is a game. It is called 'Shut the Box'. I can't wait to teach them how to play it. I know that they will catch on very quickly. They all have very quick minds. 

On that bright note, I'm going to bed. I hauled the wrapped box of books out to the hall to put with the other things. It was heavy enough that it really aggravated my knee. I will let Tim haul it out to the car, and as I mentioned, we won't have to worry about unloading the stuff from the car.