I'm feeling a bit more cheerful this morning. Perhaps I slept better. Amelia is here. Maybe my cold is getting better?

Amelia was here yesterday morning before I had made the pancakes. She arrived in Gainesville on the train at 7 am and Kevin's mother brought her home. My Mom cooked bacon and then washed out the electric frying pan before we made the pancakes (Amelia is a vegetarian). Unfortunately, the frying pan is old and has lost its non-stick quality in the last week or so, since we have been using it so much. So the pancakes were a little rough, but tasty. My Dad is dieting, so he had toast and egg instead. The hot plate gave up the ghost on Saturday, so he couldn't really have a boiled egg. We were trying to figure out how to boil an egg in the microwave, but ended up not doing it. I was afraid it would explode and make a mess.

Ray and Amelia and I headed to UUFA. I decided I really couldn't sing, but Ray did. There were only about a dozen people. Amelia and I enjoyed the service greatly. Rev. Allison spoke about peace and her despair of its being achieved. She is very accessible, almost naive, and I appreciate her. Also, her quiet and supportive husband.

Ray had to stay for rehearsal for the UUFA dinner theater he is working on, so Amelia and I went to Goodwill looking for a new hot plate and some other items. No hot plate, but I did buy a crockpot. I also bought a few things for other people and a couple dresses for me that almost fit. I am being optimistic about losing some more weight. They are both purple and I liked them and they were only $5 each. I know better, but I couldn't find anything I liked that fit me. Actually, there was a stretchy red dress size 14 that looked surprisingly good on me. It was all covered with sparkles and great for the holidays. But the sparkles were scratchy and uncomfortable. I guess that's how it ended up at Goodwill. It is my experience (and Amelia's too) that if you buy a scratchy uncomfortable dress, no matter how great it looks, you will end up never wearing it.

Ray called and we said we were almost ready. We picked him up and went home to eat leftovers. Most of them had meat in them, but there was some potato curry that Becky had made. Amelia made some rice in the microwave and we sat on the porch some. She was really tired and sleepy. In the sunshine, it was just about warm enough. She enjoyed the chickens. Amelia and I talked a lot about the menu for the engagement party and studied cookbooks. I was thinking about other meals, too. Amelia was finishing up a knitting project, and I worked on mine some, too.

At 3:30, I took the ziti over to Lindsays' house to cook. The progressive dinner started at StipeMaas's with appetizers, but Amelia and I stayed home. Ray and Captain and Vanessa came to get us on their way to the main course--there were about 60 people at Lindsays'. People asked me if I had found another job yet. Good grief! It's only been a couple weeks. One neighbor said they were looking for child care workers at their church. Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights--not a really good fit for me. Amelia and Vanessa and Ray went to Campbells' for dessert, but I rested in front of the TV, trying to stay awake long enough to say good night to Amelia.