Our New Year’s Eve
Categories: Joe and Seasonal: New Year’s

Joe went to a youth lock-in at the church New Year’s Eve and didn’t sleep the whole night. On New Year’s Day the three of us got together with some friends for a buffet lunch and some fun conversation. Joe fell asleep there, then slept some more at home later.

With Joe gone on New Year’s Eve, Wendi and I had the opportunity for a romantic dinner. We started with some frozen appetizers (mini egg rolls and mozzarella sticks); then for the main course we had sirloin steaks with sauteed onions and mushrooms; baked potatoes with sour cream; broccoli in cheese sauce; and Meier’s Sparkling Spumante (non-alcoholic) to drink. For dessert, we had Football Sundae ice cream, which consisted of chocolate ice cream with peanut butter ribbon, and dark chocolate fudge filled mini footballs. Talk about rich! Wendi couldn’t finish all of hers, so I ate the rest of it (like a dummy).

First Few Hours of 2005
Category: Charlie

I (Charlie) woke up at exactly the stroke of midnight, coughing and choking. Fortunately it only lasted a few seconds. It was stomach reflux from eating that rich Football Sundae ice cream after the steak dinner Friday evening.

I decided not to let this happen again, so I slept on the love seat in the living room, covered up with a blanket and with my head propped up on two pillows, until 4 a.m.

At 4:01 a.m. I checked the website to see if my PHP scripts had made the proper changes at the start of the new year. I was delighted to see that everything was just fine!

The Cats’ Antics
Category: Our Cats

On Sunday, January 2 at about 2 a.m. Shadow knocked the electric wok off the top of the refrigerator, and it clattered to the floor. A few minutes later, Stormy escaped the bedroom and hid under the love seat in the living room. I gave up and moved the adult cats’ food into the bathroom, where it remained until morning.

On Monday, January 3, Stormy woke us up at 3 a.m. She had been mild-mannered all last evening but now roamed about the room making her “Rrrrr” sound and waking me up every few minutes. Wendi never did get back to sleep. We both got up early, at 5:20 a.m.

Sunny has been an easy-going “gentle giant” lately. He used to hiss at me and bop me up the side of the head with both paws, but now he is relaxed when I hold him. And he is a cuddler too! The only problem with him is that he follows you into every room, even (or especially) if you don’t want him to.

Wendi’s Baptism
Category: Wendi

Wendi was baptized Sunday morning at the 8:30 a.m. worship service. Everything went fine, and people congratulated her afterward. Joel Bradshaw, our youth minister, was the one who baptized her.

Wintry Mix of Weather
Category: Seasonal: Winter

Today’s weather featured a wintry mix of snow and sleet, causing nasty, slippery conditions for motorists and pedestrians alike. It took me awhile to clear the snow off of the car before picking Joe up at school.