Kids were gone...

So, what did I do? Clean! Actually, to start with we had an adult + Hannah holiday gathering at our home with fondue. Gretchen made a cheese/garlic fondue that was to die for and I made chocolate - you can't mess that up! Kim chopped all the fixings for a killer green salad - which tasted soooo good after the rich cheese and chocolate. Monday morning I blissfully woke to the sound of (no, not the kids arguing) Kurt snoring. He'd been fighting a cold all weekend and I talked him into taking the day off to rest, which he gratefully did. I hit the beach with the neighbors. It was cold, but not windy and the waves were perfect for throwing big chunks of pottery and sea glass toward the shore. I took a turn using the scoop that Jim and Gretchen are so skillful at. Then, went back to hand picking big chunks. It was a real workout, dodging the waves as they'd come in (so they didn't knock you over as the riptide went out.) You kind of have to plant your feet and bury your toes in the sand so you don't wash out! I decided to quit once my hands went numb. But it was definitely worth it! Just the sound of the waves crashing was relaxing. We saw 2 surfers that day and a guy walking his dog - that's it!

So, today was cleaning day. Yes, uninterrupted cleaning. I cranked up the radio, lit a few candles and went to town with the vacuum - attachments and all! It was amazing once I got started how dirty the place was. I even cleaned the carpets and finally attacked the mountain of clean laundry.

Kate was brilliant - she suggested we meet at the Burger King in Greenfield in the evening. We had dinner and were home just in time to put the kids to bed. They practically fell into bed! Now, Kurt and I are blissfully watching Scrubs reruns and munching on rice crispy treats the "Elves" left us. More on that later!