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The main reason is because our family is not giving gifts--yaay!!! Well, that isn't completely true. We did a grab bag name drawing thing where everyone buys one gift and gets one gift. The only immediate problem is that no one set a money limit on it, so the person who drew my name may be buying me a diamond necklace while I am out getting a schlocky oven mitt for someone else. This will have to be solved.
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Meanwhile, I had a great time in Arkansas, as always. Here is my brother Brian (Big Orange) getting ready to sample that wine bottle. Yum. There was a good bit of that kind of sampling going on. The sous-chef Gretchen (d-i-l of Big Orange) and sous-sous chef (diamond necklace hopeful) tried to keep things organized.
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The meal came out pretty good. Note sweet potato dish at far end placed near my seat at all times. My diet behavior was in a word, deplorable. Frankly, I should be taken outside and shot. My brother has a great big long granite island in the kitchen, big enough for a person to lie down on, and I suggested it could be used for liposuction. There's a garden hose outside and I'm sure we could have looked up the procedure on the internet. I even volunteered to go first. Buncha pansies.
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My dad is 94 and doing okay. He doesn't hear well all the time and we sometimes have exchanges such as:
Becky: "Dad! Remember when you used to travel to Chicago on business?"
Dad: "I wear glasses about half the time."
So I guess we're in the holiday season, dear reader. Try to stay calm and keep the weapons stored safely.
A bientot
love,
becky