Pardon me ....

.... while I do nothing. Really.

I am a bit tired today, and my back is stiff. So I'm doin' nuttin' today.  Oh, I'll probably change my mind later on, and get into some project to task, but right now, I'm loving having my tush parked on my couch.

Last night was a potluck at my house. We had SO much fun! Originally it looked like I was going to have 17-18 people in my house for dinner. My house is small, so I usually refrain from suggesting dinners here in the cold months so we can spread out to the deck. But for whatever reason, I suggested one here in December.

So I was trying to figure out how to make room for everyone. I had enough tables, and with donations from friends, we had enough chairs. I was planning to move some of my smaller pieces of furniture from the living room out to the deck to make room to set everything up for the dinner. That was when I also decided to not put up a Christmas tree, because I needed the floor space. That was OK with me. I don't mind putting the tree up, and I love the lights every evening, but ..... I hate taking it down. Really, I hate that task. So anyway, I had an excuse.

Beginning on Tuesday people began calling to cancel, all for good reasons. One friend's mother passed away; another called, sounding just awful with a cold; a third has a table collapse on her foot, and was having trouble walking; another had a fibromyalgia flare up; etc. By Wednesday, the list was down to just eleven of us. I hate that we missed some people, but my job was simplified. I didn't have to move furniture out!

We were joined by two new couples, and what marvelous additions they are to our group! Everyone was having a great time, so great, in fact, that we didn't sit down to eat until more than an hour after our usual dinner time. We had a plethora of appetizers, so no one was going hungry, but it is still out of the ordinary. I'd fixed a ham and a baked spaghetti squash, we had herbed roasted potatoes, a Caesar salad, and there was a fabulous chipotle pasta soup. We ended with a delicious homemade lime cheesecake with chocolate ganache. OMG, everything was scrumptious! This morning, I'm having crackers, pimento cheese spread, chili cheese rolls, ham, and stuffed dates for breakfast!! It's good being me today!!

I had such a good time. Being the host was good, because I could drink wine without worrying about driving. I still had just three glasses, but I enjoyed the luxury. But the best part is that everyone else had a good time, too. Nothing pleases a host as much as knowing the guests have enjoyed themselves. And I know for sure they did. They all said so, but that's not how I measure it. People can say anything, sincere or not. The way I know is that everyone lingered and lingered. We usually break up around 8:30 or 9:00; last night no one left until after 10:30. And I hated to see it end!

Last night I loaded the dishwasher, and this morning I did the second load. Everything is back to spic and span. I have to deal with the few things I stuffed in the closet at the last minute (do you do that too?), but that's nothing. And this morning, the pups were very happy when I put a couple tablespoons of the ham juice on their food! Thought they'd died and gone to heaven, they did!

When I woke this morning, my back was hurting. It was actually hurting a little yesterday afternoon, and I couldn't stand for long at the shop. Standing still is the worst thing in the world for me. Anyway, it clearly wasn't because I moved furniture to the deck!  A friend suggested it was probably stress, and that makes sense. Anyway, I'm certainly stiff and creaky. That's a good reason to be indulgently lazy today, don't ya think? If not, don't tell me!  LOL! I'm enjoying my state of inertia, period!

OK, I need to get back to work. You know, the work of doing nothing!

Later!