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make no mistake, there were no days "off"
November 29, 2016, 8:14 P.M.

I ended up making fruitcakes, fudge, pumpkin and chocolate pies, and nut clusters, in addition to 3 different kinds of cookies--spicy fruit gems, spritz,  and Danish butter cookies (a new "gun" one this year, easy and tasty, but not many cookies in a batch, unfortunately). Looking at what was produced, it doesn't seem like much--especially with Spouse laying into the Spritz cookies every time I turn around. 

But between the baking and the candy-making and the endless stacks of dirty dishes to be washed took pretty much all the time I had left after my darling boy got done planning out my "free time". Less said about that, the better. 

Okay, I just have to say it anyway: When I take vacation time in order to accomplish certain specific tasks, that means my time is accounted for. I may not be at the office, but I am busy working. SO:
DO NOT tell everyone you know that I'm "free", or  "off work", or "not doin' nuthin'"!
DO NOT schedule me for a bunch of random errands that make your life easier by creating a giant time-suck for me!
DO NOT invite guests over to visit me at home!
and
DO NOT give dinner orders for pasta with meat sauce, and salad, and garlic bread, and leave MORE DAMNED DIRTY DISHES for me to do!

Some of his plans, I managed to turn to my advantage--like when he invited Nephew and NIL to come over on Wednesday afternoon. They showed up just as I finished mixing the Spritz dough, so I put them to work with the cookie gun and the oven! (the downside was, I had to send a bag home with them in payment, so there went about 25% of the batch right off the top!) We had a long, lovely visit, and I had a great time with them, and I DO value that immensely. But there is no denying that I lost time I'd already earmarked for something else. At least Spouse treated me to dinner on Wednesday; we went out for very superior burgers at our favorite sports bar.

Thanksgiving at Spouse's cousins was very nice. I love that branch of his family; they are genuinely nice people. (Food was great too!)

Friday, Spouse managed to burn through my entire morning--but again, it's one of those weird situations that make me sound kind of ungrateful. We went out to the county and submitted our passport paperwork, and then had breakfast and met a travel agent at the restaurant to discuss--and ultimately book--an Alaskan cruise! (and have a quick visit with Niece, to boot!)

Followed by "grocery shopping" (at Costco and a superstore, of course) and other errands. 

And there's the rub.  I don't ever want to go out of the house on Black Friday. Nothing new, that. It has been my rule since I escaped from retail in the mid-nineties. And on the few occasions I've broken it, I've done so after 12:00 noon, once the doorbusters and the nutjobs are out of the way.

I am delighted to be going on an Alaskan cruise, don't get me wrong. But there was absolutely no reason that all those things had to be done at that particular time. (Except that he like to f**k me over every chance he gets.) And since I'm paying for at least half, it isn't like it is some grand gift he's giving me, so I think I'll skip the gratuitous gratitude, too.

Anyway, after wearing me to the bone all morning, he finally, graciously allowed me to go home and put away the groceries, do the laundry, and--squeezed in among all those things he's perfectly capable of, yet completely refuses to do--bake another batch of the Christmas cookies, while he chatted on the phone with my aunt. Followed by the latest installment of dishes and laundry--while he took a nap.

Saturday, I flatly refused to do much of anything, since "we" had big plans for the evening (he made 'em, but I got stuck with 'em, natch.)

Needless to say, I wasn't too enthused about taking the train to Evanston and going to the Deacon Blues concert at SPACE; a lot of walking in the cold and the dark, loud music, crowds, drunks, and trying to find a place for dinner that wasn't mobbed...and all that just to see what is, essentially, a cover band? Just nothing about that sounded good to me.

So nobody was more surprised than me at how much I enjoyed myself! We got down there with plenty of time to find a place to eat, it was crowded at the pizza place but everyone was friendly and the food was great. we went to Union Squared (Detroit-style pizza), since the Blind Faith Cafe was booked solid. We definitely want to go back to Evanston & try the cafe, though. All the reviews say that it is like the best vegetarian restaurant ever. It certainly smelled fantastic! Even Spouse (the original carnivore) wants to go there.

The show was amazing--they played a lot of Dan, but since they have Pat Metheny's old drummer, they did some Metheny--including an brilliant rendition of my favorite, "Last Train Home". And they also covered Bowie's "This is Not America". Their technical skill on everything was astonishing, and I got LOST in their version of Aja. It was a lot of band for a small room, but they played two sets from 8 to 11, with a 15 minute break. 

We stayed to the end, so we walked back to Davis Street expecting an hour's wait for the next train. But luckily for us, the train back was running juuust late enough to get to the station 2 minutes after we did, so we didn't have to wait at all! We were home by 12:45, but that's some high living and late hours for these old birds.

We were both wrecked on Sunday, and I will freely admit that I was worn out, and fed up, and I didn't do a damned thing worthwhile the whole day long. He insisted on making a Thanksgiving dinner of his own--entirely too much food, too. Turkey breast, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, roasted carrots, dinner rolls, and pie for dessert. I urped all night and was sick on the other end all next morning--which is fun, when stuck in rush hour traffic or answering tech support phones.  I ended up not eating much at all on Monday, and turned around & did the same today--mainly because I was so damned swamped at work that I never even got the chance.

So I made tacos for supper. I know, doesn't that sound weird? But I was hungry for homemade tacos with lots of fresh lettuce and tomato and a big squeeze of lime. and I was feeling pretty good about it--until I went to take the tortillas out, AND THE DAMNED OVEN DOOR FELL OFF IN MY HAND.

So now, in the height of the baking season, I am without an oven until we can get it fixed. IF we can. I'm not too worried about the if, actually. It's a bad hinge, and if we can't get one we will swap it out with the one on the rarely used bottom oven. But when you are married to Spouse, the WHEN is always a big concern. (Said the woman who has been tripping over the stack of new kitchen flooring for over a year now.)



 



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