The Dynamic Duo

Okay, be honest, you thought I would not finish this post, didn’t you? From past experience, when I say ‘to be continued’, or I’ll finish this later, I usually get bored or tired and don’t get back to it, you are saying, and you would be correct. But in my efforts to turn over a new leaf or two I’m going to finish this, by gumbo.

Sunday was a very nice, family oriented day spent with Panther and John. We went to church, came back home and Panther and I decorated her Christmas tree while John assembled the lighted Christmas village on a high ledge.  Mostly, I was decorating the tree while Panther pursued other decorating tasks while trying not to aggravate her old ‘war wound.’ About a month ago, Panther, who works as a nurse in Cardiac Intensive Care, hurt her back after repeatedly lifting and turning an extremely overweight patient. The inflamed sciatic nerve causes intense pain down her right leg. As I added small, gilt-framed photos of young Sara and Michael, brightly colored balls and candy canes and numerous stuffed Disney characters, Panther eyed the tree with satisfaction. “Are you sure you want all of this stuff on the tree? “ I asked, adding a 4th Sebastian ornament (you know, the crab from the Little Mermaid) “Yes!’ she exclaimed. “That is my favorite one!” This was a phrase I would hear repeated many times as the tree reached and exceeded the ornament saturation point. We had one moment of panic, when she was sure I had left off yet another favorite ornament, ‘Gonga’, apparently some sort of monkey, but eventually she found him and we all heaved a sigh of relief.  “Looks good. I don’t think I’ve ever put that many ornaments on this tree before,” Panther said. If she hadn’t already been hurt, I think I would have hit her.
A bit later, John’s daughter Kelly and friend Mandy came over to dine on John’s famous roll-up pancakes (crepes) and homemade chili. Afterwards, we all trooped over to Emmett’s tree farm (in the town of Emmett, Idaho, no less) for the second annual choosing of a Christmas tree for Kelly and roommates. The girls had lots of fun running amongst the trees while the more mature followed more slowly while chatting with Emmett about the varieties of trees he grew and about the finer points of Christmas tree farming. Then we heard a shout “We’ve found it!” The girls had helpfully marked the tree with one of their mittens, and with Emmett’s help, were soon sawing the tree down.  Later, John would help the girls cart the tree back to their home in Boise.
The concert was at the Taco Bell Arena at Boise State University. We arrived in more than plenty of time. It seems the performance would be delayed because of the inclement weather. Whether that was for the benefit of the guests of the benefit of the performer, I was never quite sure. The Boise Symphony Orchestra accompanied Michael W Smith, and he played the keyboard like nobody’s business. He had several other outstanding vocalists touring with him: Melinda Doolittle and George Huff, both former American Idol contestants. There were three other backup singers that were never identified, and a musician who seemingly changed his instrument for every song, leaning towards pipes and a modified bagpipe looking and sounding thing. It seemed that the bus had to chain up the tires to arrive from Washington state, and that the vehicle containing costume changes and Cds to sell never did arrive. The performers looked very relaxed in their bluejeans! We had a bit of a time getting Panther back to the car and in end, she and I waited on a sheltered bench while John fetched it.  She finally popped one of her prescription pain pills and was feeling pretty good by the time we got home.
Anyway, the drive home was wonderfully uneventful and mostly lacking in wintertime weather driving drama.  I listened to “Travels with Charlie” for a while, but am now thoroughly hooked on “Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister,’ the events of Cinderella from another point of view. 
Okay, I finished it, proving all you naysayers wrong.  I’ll see you later, when you are inclined to offer me an apology.