Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jig

We arrived in Celina Wednesday afternoon and soon Dan came home from work. He has been doing short days. We were both relieved to see him looking better and doing well. We waited for Brandon to come home and then took them to JTs, their favorite restaurant, for dinner. I was so tired I couldn't make it through the news and gave up and went to bed.

We lingered over coffee in the morning and took off before noon. We made a stop in Findlay at Jaqua Fine Guns and had lunch at Cracker Barrel. Then we drove on to Centerville and found Peter and Ethleon in amazing health for a couple in their 90s. They were so happy to see us and we them! We visited for a couple hours, said our goodbyes and left for Cincinnati.

We had a 5 o'clock reservation to meet up with my friends. Donna #3 was sick and had said she couldn't come. When Donna #1 (I'm Donna #2 based on birthdays) arrived with Jerry, she said Cookie was sick so she and Butch wouldn't be there, so the four of us had a great time catching up since this past summer. Donna's steak and Ted's steak were not as requested so they both got entire new dinners and then they comped the dinner for both of them! A nice gesture from Texas Longhorn and made the evening even better.

We took it easy Friday until it was time to go to Ted's sister Kathy's house. His brother Kevin and Barb also came. We had Skyline chili for dinner and plates of cookies! Once again, we never moved from the table and sat talking until 11:30. His sister Peg didn't get away from her grandson's birthday party early enough to stop by. We see whomever we can when in town but with so many, we just can't see them all.

Saturday we found a message from Peg asking us to lunch but it was 4:00 o'clock by then. Ted called her back and apologized but I'm sure she was plenty busy anyway. We went to Mass and then to the Bier Haus (pretzel bread, turtle soup, hot bacon slaw, potato pancakes - this German girl's dream!) for dinner. Cindy, Tim, Ann, Todd and Nick joined the four of us. We expected them to come back to the house but Brian brought Jameson to the restaurant for Cindy & Tim to take home to watch and Ann & Todd had to deliver Nick (home on leave from the Air Force) to a party in Indiana. So the four of us went home, put the pies away and waited for the ball to drop. We were all in bed by 12:05!

We took off about 8 o'clock the next morning and made it all the way to Benton, AR just south of Little Rock. After a dinner at Western Sizzler, we watched some TV and turned in early. Today we arrived home about 2:30 pm. Ted has a sore shoulder so I'm doing the unpacking. I have things to do until Friday so the decorations will probably stay put until the weekend.

It was a great trip and wonderful Christmas but we're glad to be home.

Happy New Year to all my blog friends. I hope you will continue to read along in 2012.

It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me is made from what I learned from you
You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend...

Beautiful lyrics from "For Good" from Wicked.