July 22–24, 2016
Posted here March 18, 2022
Joe and Elizabeth arrived sometime around 8 pm with Asha. After I came home from work, they sprang for Pizza Hut for all of us. The pizza had sausage, mushrooms, onions, and extra cheese; they also got cheesesticks and cinnamon sticks.
They had trouble getting Asha to go to sleep; they had planned on spending part of the night upstairs (though it was 92° with 41% humidity) but opted to sleep in the living room instead.
Asha woke up crying at 6:50. They got her fed, and everyone else fell back asleep while I was out running.
For breakfast (11 am) I made gluten-free pancakes with bacon, and coffee.
My brother, Dan, arrived around noon. Joe and Elizabeth went to Walmart to buy some things and got stuck there by a thunderstorm. Dan was outside for a while, and I took Asha and went outside; all three of us watched the storm with the rain, lightning, and thunder. Asha loved watching the storm!
Wendi’s friend, Shayna, came after 4 pm. I baked a wacky cake using gluten-free flour and a bag of cinnamon chips that had been on the shelf for years (they had expired in 2012 but were okay; I tasted one). Later, I made Mom’s fluffy frosting and frosted the cake. Shayna helped me peel the eggs for the deviled eggs.
Dan brought two farm-fresh chickens over; I roasted them between 5 and 7 pm. Dan carved the chickens. Dinner was served around 7:45, including Stove Top turkey flavor stuffing, deviled eggs, and a blend of carrots and corn. I did dishes and then served the cake around 9:30. Dan and Shayna both left after that.
Wendi woke us up at 11:36. We were supposed to meet the family at Hometown Buffet for lunch at noon! Hurriedly, we got ourselves together; Wendi and I had to take medicine, and Joe and Elizabeth had to get themselves and Asha ready. Dan phoned shortly after noon, asking if we were going to make it. It was after 1 pm when we finally arrived. Everyone else (Dan, Ruth, Christine, Becca, and Rob) had already finished eating. Rob stayed only a couple of minutes and said he had another stop to make and had to get going. The others stayed and visited with us during our meal. Ruth held Asha for a while.
I decided to download Pokémon Go while we were at the restaurant; I had considered it before, but Joe and Elizabeth are heavily into it, and it looked like fun, so I did it. The game is a lot of fun, a pleasant distraction, but can be somewhat addicting.
The meal was supposed to the “Dutch treat” with everyone paying for their own meals, but Joe and Elizabeth surprised us and paid for ours as well as theirs. They said later that this was in return for staying here; otherwise they would have had to pay for a motel.
Joe and Elizabeth stayed at our house until around 7 pm, when they left for Winona.