About the most miserable day ever yesterday--the temperature never got above 40 and it rained off and on and was never sunny. The Captain is even more committed than Ray and I are to not running the electric heat, so he built up the woodstove in the morning and Vanessa and I baked all day. By supper, it was 72 in the house and very pleasant. Of course, it was pretty cold in their room and the TV room. We keep the doors to the upstairs rooms closed sometimes to maximize the heat.

In the morning, I felt pretty lacking in energy and sick. I ate breakfast and lazed around, reading old issues of Gourmet (now that they went out of business) and listening to Christmas music. I started some bread--it is called War Bread and I made it before. It has 1 c. cornmeal, 1 c oats and 1 c whole wheat, plus about 5 c. white flour. I try not to eat much plain white bread--it's not as good for you and tastes kind of bland. But my parents don't like anything too heavy or hard to chew, so this is tasty and easy to eat and we all like it. I needed almost all the white flour and all the wheat flour that we had. I measured out 2 c. white flour because Vanessa was going to make cowboy cookies and used the rest. It came out very well. Vanessa also made a loaf of banana bread and froze it. She made lots of cookies last week, sent some to my sisters in their Christmas boxes. We are trying to get ahead on baking, so we will have some to sell next week at the choir bake sale and some stored up for when Molli and Amelia are home. In theory, we would do lots of baking all winter and freeze things so we don't use the oven in the summer. In reality, it is hard to make enough cookies that we don't eat them all.

I have to add, it is a real joy to see my Mom, baking and cooking all day (well not too much) without her back bothering her or being too worn out. She does sit or lie down on the couch or in the recliner and doze off, but she seems to be quite healthy. My Dad has digestion issues and mood issues, but in general he is also healthy and happy. We have adjusted to living together quite well, although there are changes I would make if I could. It's hard to know for sure, but some days I would like to have a private kitchen and dining area, where Ray and I could sit and talk without being observed. And I am sure they would too. On the other hand, that would somewhat defeat the purpose, if we had two kitchens. The house is very open.

Yesterday, I was cross at Ray for his typical overly fussy criticism. He seemed to overreact because I got some food on the (plastic) tablecloth. I just got up and left, so as not to have a "public" fight. He did not follow me up to our bedroom, where we could have talked somewhat privately--if we kept our voices down. I can't very well say to my parents, "could you leave now, so I can fight with my husband?" sigh. Perhaps it is just as well to learn not to argue about things. It doesn't usually resolve the issue. Sometimes Ray ends up by apologizing and I say, "I don't want you to apologize. I want to know what I can do to keep from setting you off all the time." Of course, the answer is be more careful, be neater, be tidier, be like me. And I can't. I also suspect that I could be a lot closer to his ideal of perfection and he would still be angry about something. When I try to explain this, he ends up saying, "I'm a bad person." I don't want to make him feel bad about himself, but I do wish he would just lighten up--and it's hard for me to accept that there isn't anything I can do about it.

In the end, it was quite a productive day. I made spinach-mushroom lasagna and froze it for a future occasion. We had a lot of mushrooms left from trying to make stuffed mushrooms last weekend and picking out the biggest ones from several pounds.

And I finished the insulated shade (or window quilt, but that is trademarked) for my parents' room. It was a bear. I do the sewing part and then Ray strings the strings and puts it up. My sewing skills are far from perfect and it drives him crazy. In this case, I had somehow not cut it long enough and it was really hard for him to deal with. I think I must have confused the length and width---I don't know how it happened. Anyway, he suggested I cut a strip of fabric and sew it on and I was able to do that and it looks surprisingly good, at least when it is closed. It bunches up oddly when it is open, as most of the bigger bulky ones do. It is a major production to make one, and expensive, and I keep thinking I will get better at it. But my parents are very pleased. It makes their room much cozier--looking and feeling.

After supper, we went to see Mousetrap at Town & Gown. Ray and I volunteered--he helped in the box office and I was an usher. The other usher did not show up and lots of people wanted to buy season tickets, so I was quite busy. My parents came later in their own car and watched the play. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and Dad was quite complimentary, which he is not always with our community theater. Personally, I dozed some in the second act, and Ray had to keep poking me when I started snoring. There were many lines to learn and they did well, but I thought they seemed a bit stiff--maybe that was them being British. I did not figure out whodunnit, but Ray and the Captain both said they had thought that's who it was. On the way home, we stopped at Kroger and bought flour and eggs, so I can make pancakes this morning. And we can bake more later if we want. More rain today and high of 42 predicted. Neither of us has to go to church, so we could stay in. On the other hand, we might go stir crazy.