Games Night

Friday was all about preparing for the visit of my neighbours. I cleaned and tidied everywhere and, flushed with energy derived from the joy of seeing everything look so shiny and clean, I decided to get my big ladder and to clean and fix my two Tiffany-style ceiling lights/fans. Oh, the dust, glued with kitchen grease, to the top of the blades, and cobwebs everywhere.

The switches didn’t work that changed the speed of the fan, and one of six light bulbs had never worked. Now everything works, all repaired with my grand nine lessons learned on electricity in my industrial arts class. I’m absolutely chuffed that everything is working now. But when I finished, I was cleaning again in the kitchen and moved a table and a small rat, but not a mouse, ran into my laundry cupboard. The cats are on it now. It’s my first rat-in-house experience, but I lived through the dead-deer-on-the -front-lawn experience, so this is something I can handle.

I was pooped by the time I had to go into the village to get the pizza for my guests. I could not believe how I was entertaining: bought pizza (but delicious gourmet pizza), bought potato chips (yum, but a sin) and bought apple pie. Yes, bought apple pie. Not a lovely French tarte aux pommes. Instead, an industrial apple pie (yum again, but a sin again). But it was an easy way to entertain on a night of games with comfortable friends.

We had a. blast playing games. We had lots and lots of laughs. Speech wasn’t terribly easy for me, but I don’t stutter at all when I want to be funny. I was beat when I went to bed, and so today will be a very gentle day. Cold weather is back; we may get snow during the coming week. But I don’t care because the clinic is kind of on hiatus until the new year. I shall be fireside today.

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I’ve become a Gaviscon junkie. I have GERD—like I need another medical issue. But Gaviscon brings instant and total relief. I’ve never experienced such immediate and effective relief from a medication in my life. And thank God!