A lovely breeze blowing in the windows--cool enough to huddle under the quilt, should have been a great night for sleeping, but I did not do much of it. My back was sore, maybe from being on my feet--or moving the furniture around. I had 12 people to dinner and it was a great success. They didn't leave until after 10, but it wasn't stressful or difficult--maybe just the adrenaline?

Yesterday, everybody seemed to be grumpy at the office. I guess no one wanted to come to work Monday morning. The electrician said he would be there by 9, but he wasn't. The computer guy was supposed to take my computer over the weekend, but he didn't. The budget is still not final. This is the interns' last week...Meredith and I worked on payroll some, but there were some time cards missing. And most of all, I could not find one of my QuickBooks files, fortunately the smaller one that keeps track of residents' savings accounts. It will not be too hard to recreate; we have copies of the receipts. The last backup I have is from September, which is too bad, but it's a relatively small account, with a lot fewer deposits and checks than the main account, which I made a backup of before I left yesterday. The question is, why would it completely disappear? Pretty nerve-wracking.

I took a long lunch break and went to Talbot's, because I had a coupon that expired yesterday for 20% off--everything I bought, even the stuff that was already marked down 25%. I was pretty moderate and bought some dress seersucker shorts and a zip-front casual jacket, but there was a lot I would have tried on if I had more time. I called my Mom and the Captain brought her down. Ray and I picked her up after work and she had found a dress she liked, so that was great. Then we went home and rushed around, cleaning and rearranging furniture. I put the casserole in the oven and took a quick shower and dressed. People started arriving and Ray and my parents left. We had two tables set with real plates and silverware and glasses for water and wine and real napkins and tablecloths, of course. And we had real chairs--only one of them broke during dinner! Alison, the new minister, sat for a while at one table and then switched. She seems very good and I will enjoy working with her and getting to know her.

I only made the chicken and rice casserole; other people brought salads and appetizers and desserts and drinks. Rich made the coffee. I showed off the garden before supper. After dessert, we moved back to the living room and had serious talks about things. People still won't consider that we need to buy a van and pick people up instead of building a bigger parking lot. And two members of the board said people need to just get over it and say we're a church. But I don't have to deal with it any more. Everyone was very appreciative of us hosting the dinner.

Now to face the day--I can sleep tonight.