It's Friday afternoon and I had a big lunch and I'm tired and I can't focus on anything. So let's blab on the blog, shall we?
So, the promised tale of chocolate. It's the story of Sunday, really, so it's not as exciting as it might be. So I had my fit of knitting Sunday morning, and then got the times mixed up. My friend was coming to pick me up so that we could go to a potluck an hour away. She was coming at 12:30 - the potluck started at 2. The extra half hour was scheduled in there because we are both chronically late (she's worse - she doesn't read this so I can say that without being proven wrong). So I was sitting and knitting and it was 12, and I was thinking that I still had time to shower, wrap gifts, make my fondue mix, dig out my fondue forks and kit, get dressed up, do my hair and make up, go out and get a coffee and go to the grocery store to get all the fruit and cake I needed. If there were fumes from knitting, I would blame them. Of course, at a few minutes after 12, I realised that I was apparently on crack if I thought I could get any of that done in time, let alone all of it. I jumped up and into the shower, had dressed, and was in the process of madly (choosing and) wrapping gifts - tape, scissors, ribbon, paper and presents flying all about the room (I was lucky the cat wasn't hit) when the phone mercifully rang, and my friend told me (very apologetically) that she was going to be late. I confessed that I was going to be terribly, terribly late myself, and we agreed to both just do what we could to get there as soon as we could. I did all I could in the time it took her to cross the city, but still wasn't quite ready when she arrived. But I did manage to make it out of the apartment with my:
- gift for Secret Santa
- gift for Rose
- gift for hosts
- gift for Dana (completed!)
- fondue kit and forks
- fondue ingredients (dry ingredients mixed and in a plastic container, plus others tossed into bag)
- camera and spare battery
So we were off! We stopped to buy my fruit and cake and cookies, and paper bowls for Deena's soup. (Should I make up funky nicknames for people in here? That would be fun - not 'Deena' and 'Rose' but something like 'SuperD' and 'Yertle'. Maybe another day). Then a quick stop at Timmy's, where I did NOT get my large double-double, but instead a large tea with sugar. Sadly, I did not notice this until a while later, as I'd been waiting to let it cool. An experienced coffee drinker such as myself should have known by the double-cup! I had NO coffee that day people!
Anyway, we finally got to the house at about 2:40 - and we were about the third set of people there. It was kind of annoying, actually, having people not show up until 4 and 5. Yeah, I know - what right do I have to complain, being the perpetually Late Person? But, really - to plan to come several hours later than everyone else? Is this just me? Maybe this is how people do things, and I'm just someone who doesn't know. Probably - just a social nuance I never picked up on. That and small talk.
So I go to make my fondue, only to discover that my dry ingredients have entirely disappeared. Luckily, our hostess had what I needed, but where did the chocolate and sugar mix go? And my tupperware? I thought I'd maybe forgotten it at home, but it wasn't there, either. Must remember to tell Deena to check her trunk. Or maybe it fell out of the bag as we got out of the car, and there's some hyped-up, jittery little squirrel who had a really weird day somewhere in Caledonia.
The party was okay, but the real killer was the food. Somehow, we ended up with an overabundance of desserts - and very little real food. I've never seen a potluck fail, but I'd have to say this one did.
My highlight, though, was in presenting my gifts. When my recipient saw that I was her Santa, she said, "You're my Secret Santa? Sweet!" Warm fuzzies. I have a good gift-giving reputation, apparently, which makes me very happy. I try hard to get the right gifts for people, and I'm not always sure that I do it well, so this was very good to hear.
Then it was time to give the little one her gift. She made me laugh. First, she didn't want to just pull the tissues out of the gift bag and throw them on the floor - they were solemnly and sternly given to me to take care of. At first, the hat and scarf were unceremoniously pulled out and set aside. But then the bear came out. First, the hat and scarf were removed and dropped, but then the bear was cold and had to be redressed, and so did Dana. This continued for quite a while, which made me very happy. Then we realised that the hat for Dana was WAY too big. But THEN Dana figured out that that made it a perfect hat for peek-a-boo, so it was all good. I never thought I'd miss spending time with a kid, but I really, really do sometimes. I was glad we got to spend a bit of time with her and her parents after everyone left, even if I did feel a bit guilty keeping Deena there later than she really wanted to be.
My overwhelming sadness for the day, though, was again my camera. I got some really good shots of Dana, with the hat, the bear, and just sitting and reading on her own and with her dad. And the evil camera demons took them away. I think it's time to invest in a new camera. I'll let that be its own story. (gotta stretch for them, here)
So that's today's Boring Entry. I told you you'd need caffeine - my life isn't even interesting to me, most days.
Happy weekend!
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