2008-12-30

Mary had said last night that she would be up by 9:30 and wanted to go out fairly early, so by that hour I had coffee, juices, breads and condiments ready for a continental breakfast. Mick and I did our Morning Offering, and then he went to work for his customer with the forested lawns full of leaves and finally finished bagging them for her. I believe his final total of leaf-bags was 271!

Imagine his surprise when he came back by Camelot to eat lunch at noon and no one was up but me! I told him, “If I’d known, I could have finished my UPI article this morning!" He commiserated with me before leaving to drive to Shelbyville and spend the afternoon cleaning the last of the season’s leaves from Steve F’s estate.

Gary blew in from his Christmas vacation while Mick and I were talking, full of great energy and ready to work at the L/L Research helm. After a full eight hours, he was still massively behind, he said, and he will work again tomorrow. It’s fine indeed to see Iss!

In the event, the last Rueckert awake and stirring was Mary! I think the whole family was just exhausted! So it was good that they slept in. We eventually got on the road to Lynn’s Paradise Café, since Mary had requested a “fancy breakfast place”. Lynn’s takes the cake for that! We all had delicious breakfast dishes there and lingered at table until 3:00 p.m.

Then we stopped by Margaret’s Consignment Shop, since Ted wanted to shop for clothes as well as the girls. I had good luck, finding a purple velvet skirt and a matching top with some pretty bling to add to my closet. I used some of Mom McCarty's gift - cash! Thanks, Mom!

I am grateful for the goodly number of purple and lavender garments to wear with my purple hair. Actually, it is a very dark purple and in dimmer light it just looks dark. However in sunlight, it’s truly purple! I am enjoying the jazzy look and feel of the outrageous color. Every time I see myself in the mirror I grin.

Mary and the kids dropped me back by Camelot and then they went to the malls while Tommy went for a run. Mick and I had a bath and settled in for the evening with the generous dose of football games available today. Everyone arrived back at Camelot by 8:30 and we dined on the delicious ham dinner Mel and Mick prepared last week. Romi joined us and we had a very convivial party of it. It was terrific to see the Ro Man back home!

Then the Craver-Rueckerts and the Rueckert-McCartys played a round of a game called “Imaginiff”. Its silly antics left us all laughing.

It was midnight when the game ended, and Mick and I excused ourselves from the group and went upstairs to bed. We shared a very late Gaia Meditation, with the closing prayer also shared. The Rueckerts stayed up to watch an episode of The Office before calling it a day.

The obvious strain that accompanied their last visit here, two years ago, is nowhere in sight! I think everyone is having a really good time. The vibrations are loving and happy, with no shadows. Praise the Lord! Tomorrow we enjoy a second installment of Christmas giving, combining subjective Rueckert Christmas with New Year’s Eve. And Melissa's coming! We shall ring in the New Year in wonderful company!