Jason headed back home after the funeral, as did my brother & Beth, Preston & Krissie. I decided to remain in Charlotte a little longer with my parents. Tuesday night, the remaining family continued to eat on the honeybaked ham, sandwiches, fruit, homemade mac-n-cheese, pumpkin pie etc that Ma & Papa’s friends had brought by. Tuesday night was also the NCSU bowl game, so as you might expect, my Dad & I were glued to the TV. So happy & proud of the Pack’s win!
Mom, Dad & I drove up back to Richmond Wednesday evening. We spent Wednesday packing up, spending time with Papa, & going through Ma’s belongings at the condo {divided between us & goodwill}. I grabbed her Old Navy fleece robe, a pretty lacy nightgown, tall Christmas tree socks, black triple bead plastic bracelets we’d given her last year, and 2 hankies. One of them has a pretty L monogram. I’m going to save that one to frame for our future baby girl nursery.
We’d decided before going down to Charlotte that we’d celebrate our Christmas with my immediate family & my dad’s parents over New Year’s weekend. Anticipating the weekends business on top of the week before, I spent Thursday just chillin’. Richmond still had snow & my parent’s neighborhood was still pretty icy. That was a great excuse for me to stay inside. I slept in while mom went to work Thursday. A couple of her friends stopped by with dinner for us {it turned into 2 dinners, breakfasts & snacks!}. My dad’s parents arrived; it was so good to hug them.
Nana & I made cheese straws & chex mix. She’s one of those cooks who doesn’t really use a recipe, but I’ll try to get a written copy of what she does. We used the recipe from my aunt mother-in-law’s cookbook for the cheese straws, but then formed the dough into rolls, put them into the frig then cut slice-and-bake cookie style. We used the back of the wheat Chex box recipe for the chex mix then added more spices & nuts.
Once Mom got home, she helped us finish cooking the snacks and we caught up with Nana {Nana’s recent eye problems, our travels, work, Ma, our pets, etc}. We read through the sympathy cards from Mom’s friends had sent and Nana, Mom & I shared stories about Ma.
Friday brought more hanging out, more football games, & more family time with Jason arrving that afternoon. Mom, Nana & I also ran a few errands. One good thing about celebrating the material side of Christmas one week late; 50-75% off stocking stuffers! We ate a fabulous chicken casserole that’s famous amoung Mom’s friends. I’m begging for this recipe & promise to share. That evening we gave & opened gifts to/from our spouses. Mom opened her Pandora bracelet & 2 charms. Nana received a belk gift card along with a new robe & 2 Pandora charms. I was thrilled to open a David Yurman ring, a Peggy Ann frame, & a Shey B camera strap. The guys got more boring things like pjs, chill clothes, coffee, a computer monitor & video games.
Friday was also New Years Eve so we enjoyed a little champagne & party hats Mom found that were left overs from parties years ago. I was suprised that Nana & Pawpaw not only stayed up til midnight but also enjoyed a lil champagne toast too! Hope you had a good NYE!
