What To Do......What To Do.......

                                      


As I sit here, mentally tapping my fingers on a table top, I'm thinking what can I do now?

It's 2 days before Christmas.  All is done.  Well....almost.  Today I will bring out all the gifts from the spare bedroom and place them under the tree, then clean the bedroom.  Easy enough.   Box up all the ones that are going to son's next week.  Easy peasy.  And a couple loads of wash.  No sweat.

Chicken soup is on the menu for today.  Gotta get that started later this morning.  It will also be on the menu for Christmas Eve dinner along with roast beef sandwiches, shrimp cocktail, potato salad, assorted veggies, pickles and olives.  For many years, after all of kids were grown and gone, my mom would fix roast beef sandwiches and shrimp cocktail for her and my dad.  Sometimes my sister would stop in and join them before they headed out for Midnight Mass.

Do any churches still have Midnight Mass?  I don't know.  But that is a memory of Christmas that is still with me.  I, long ago, switched from Roman Catholic to Lutheran.  Lutherans do not have Midnight Mass.  That's a shame.

I make special cookies every year to give to the kids as part of their Christmas presents.  I have each one's nicely packed in aluminum cake pans with lids.  Their names on the lids...because some of them have certain favorites, so more of those cookies are added.  However.....I've been craving the cut-out cookies each morning.  So.....I've been raiding one kid's pan.  I think it's down to 2 of those cookies left.  I hope I remember to replace them before we take them to him.

Oh, there's more cookies stored away for our home.  But they're out in the van....which we use for kind of a "walk-in freezer" during the winter.  Good thing we live in northern Minnesota!  We also have 2 picnic coolers on the deck..."mini freezers", if you will.....loaded with breads.  For more gifts.  We have 2 regular size freezers in the house, one upright, one chest.  These, too, are loaded with not just our monthly food supply, but more breads, cookies, fudge and candies.

We got and email from almost daughter-in-law with pictures of granddaughter.  She came in last night!  She posted a message on FB that she flew First Class thanks to a wonderful woman at the airport.  Granddaughter had to travel in her Army fatigues.  Thank you to that woman...you made granddaughter's trip even more special!

So....I want to make something to take to son/fiancé's next week for dinner.  Then they won't have to spend the whole day preparing a meal.  I think the chicken soup will go; there may be enough roast beef and turkey breast (Deli) and cheeses left; I could probably whip up a Pasta Salad; there's assorted tub cheeses, pepperoni and crackers; I'm going to make a new recipe....."Turtle Cake".....chocolate, caramel and nuts...yum!  A new recipe called "Crab Rangoon"....a hot cheesy dip for crackers.  And I found a recipe for Honey Nut twist pastries that seems very easy.  It uses the store-bought crescent rolls.  I think I'll try those, too, for a breakfast while we're visiting.

Let's see.....that'll be HUGE boxes and boxes packed with gifts; our duffel bag; boxes and coolers packed with food....we have a mid-size care......geezzz...we might have to empty out the "walk-in freezer" so we can drive it to the Cities!!