"You must have been at Koko's!"

After church today, as I left the grocery store, Twila was pulling out of her space at Publix, spotted me coming and hollered through her open car window, "Are you just now going home?" Yes, I was heading that direction when she said, "You must have been at Koko's or something...." Oh, busted again! I did have lunch at Koko's nice buffet before going to Great Hang Ups for their Trunk Show. It was held-over from Saturday so I was delighted to be able to attend it anyway. Saturday was too full to squeeze in one more thing so this was my chance for an appearance! Dee told me it was not the same without me being there to serve as Hostess, which made me feel very good, and missed!

*

Yesterday morning, I think it was morning, was nothing but rain and cloudy skies which made the bed feel so much more welcoming than when the sun shines through the room. And it was cold! Only the mid-40's overnight which made for quite chilly rooms in my house. The HVAC ran intermittently during the night and I decided that was silly since I did not need all my rooms warmed, only the one I use! After unpacking my luggage, one of my least favorite jobs to do, I put the suitcases away in my closet and brought out the electric heater to plug in to warm the room. The doors are now closed between the river room plus the door to the hallway in order to contain the heat in my room. Then I can set the thermostat much lower for the rest of the house and do my version of conservation! My rooms are 'green' but my bedroom is tropical!

*

While it was cold, gloomy and rainy most of the day, I did manage to get warm when I was vacuuming at church. About ten minutes into the cleaning, it occurred to me to slow down, pace myself, as I typically go too fast with this job and ruin my back. It made a difference and even though I got hot, my back was okay to proceed the rest of the day. Whew! Instead of going to the cemetery as originally planned, since it was yet raining, I decided to stop at Donna's house to drop off her ticket for last night's event. Twila and Judy C. would get theirs at the Advent by Candlelight service but Donna would not be there. Due to the crowds and all that, I thought it best to get hers to her before the Clay County CHRISTmas show later on.

*

Once home, I worked on my CHRISTmas cards for a little while before having to get ready for the Advent service. Martie was not going to be able to join me for that because she could not get off from work but would come here after work to wait for me to get home. The host congregation asked me to be there early in case something came up needing to be addressed so I arrived at Victory right after 1:00 pm. Suzanne pulled up at the same time as she was going to practice her viola with the violinist and pianist. The Ladies' Advent Tea went off without a hitch, with only six of the Good Shepherd ladies showing up. Whether it was the date or time or distance, whatever the reason, it was too bad but hope to make up for that next year when we host it at Good Shepherd. The music was fabulous, Suzanne and Stephanie on the stringed instruments accompanied by Bonnie and Rachel on the grand piano-----lovely!

*

It was about 4:30 or so when I got home, to be met by Martie at the door, like a little puppy! She was just heading to the guest room to take a quick rest and I encouraged her to go ahead and do that, since I was quite tired as well. I'd already had a big day up to this point and still have a full evening ahead of me! I rested in my room for a bit and then went to wake Martie, who was fast asleep. We decided to have dinner out instead of eating my leftover spaghetti and Martie treated me at Applebee's. We just love their chicken sliders, which was just right to have before heading to the Thrasher-Horne. I ate all three of my tiny sandwiches and she ate hers plus the fries and some of mine! She was right about starving!

*

We had to park in the back of the building and hike up the hill to the front doors where we found the rest of our group. Kelly T. plus her mom and son were waiting for their tickets which I distributed as we waited for the doors to open. A bell choir entertained us from the balcony before we were allowed to go sit down. Our seats were excellent ones, not too close but still centered so we could see the entire stage area. The Clay County Band is really quite good, on the order of a "best kept secret" in our area. The grand finale was the live nativity accompanied by my neighbor, Donna Wissinger, on the flute. Another neighbor, Judee Brooks, was dressed as a shepherd for the nativity. The animals were not live but looked quite realistic. A local community church pastor read from Luke 2 as the story unfolded and it is just fantastic! The closing portion was the audience singing of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" which was quite moving as well. The lady next to me asked me why I was not on the stage singing with the others, which was a high compliment to me. She gave me a big hug and wished God's blessings on me, and I wished the same back to her. I have been so blessed, and yesterday's event are evidence of just that!