Weekend

I haven't been to the Eucharist in 3 weeks. Two weeks ago, I worked. Last week, it was 35 below, and we simply do not travel in such dangerous temperatures. Yesterday, I was broken out in hives, which I get whenever I am at the mid point of a viral infection, plus sneezing and coughing--and oh, I had the grandkids! It did not occur to me to think about church until it was over.

So much for Advent. I'll get to church on Christmas Eve, but since there is no mention of service times on the local Episcopal church website, I suppose I'll call.

Only Son and DIL love to go to Chicago for special occasions. It is their favorite "away" place. And now since they have 3 small kids, a "special occasion" becomes whenever they can get a sitter. I'm happy to oblige them--it is hard to remember why you married when you work as hard as DIL does. She looks exhausted each time I see her. So I want Only Son to treat her, and treat her very well, when he can. This trip they dined at L2O in Lincoln Park. They've looked forward to this since the place opened. So early Saturday morning they dropped off the kids and drove off to Chicago.

Truth be told, I never have cared for three children this young all at once in my entire life. First it became abundantly clear that we did not have enough food, or probably more accurately, the right kind of food. Remember, we just got to this place on Wed and we are not snackers. Since Only Son did not decide to go definitely until Friday afternoon (he thought they might have to cancel due to the weather in Chicago), I didn't have a chance to go to the store. And what food we did have, the two older kids did not wish to eat. GD, who is painfully thin, especially is quite particular in what she will eat. So we just scratched our heads when they cried, "We're hungry!" We flung open the pantry door and said, "See if there is anything here you would like!" For example, GS#1 had pastrami, crackers and a pickle for his last lunch here, his sister had boiled egg whites and a piece of an apple, and their brother had an omelet.

DIL packed lots of toys and art supplies for them, which occupied one afternoon, and Taciturn showed them some computer games which kept them occupied for several hours. Our rental has a fenced in back yard but again, it was bitterly cold so no playing outside was possible. Given the constraints, they actually were pretty well behaved. I'd do it again, but this time at their house. They have food and all of their toys over there.

Our cats were not to be seen most of the weekend. They hid under the master bed.

Needless to say, we enjoyed the grandkids and they enjoyed us but all were pleased to see Only Son and DIL drive up to get the kids. They stated that dining at L2O certainly was worth the drive and the money, and the fact that one has to make reservations long in advance.
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My six foot seven inch brother JME, grandfather of the previously mentioned new baby also initialed JME, had a bad fall on Saturday at the local military commissary. There was one patch of ice on the sidewalk and he found it. I mention his height because what hit first was his right elbow and the rest of him fell on top of that. Needless to say, his poor elbow shattered into 3 pieces. Saturday he cheerfully told me over the phone that he did a Humpty Dumpty and the surgeon would put him back together again, which he did on Sunday morning. Already he is discharged from the hospital and is resting at home.

I've not heard a thing from my brother RCE in Denver, who has the heart issue. My parents haven't said anything either, and he keeps them posted. Taciturn really likes RCE and has mentioned that he is a bit concerned that he would be so closed mouthed about what is happening with him. He thinks RCE would have open heart surgery and THEN tell everyone he had it. Who knows? We don't even know if he had his angiogram yet, or if it was decided to hold off. I pray for him nevertheless.