I made crackers yesterday morning. I've never done that. The hardest part is rolling them out very thin and cutting them with a biscuit cutter and putting them on the cookie sheet. They were good, but not perfect. The first batch wasn't cooked enough, despite cooking them twice as long as called for, so they are a little soft and biscuity. The second batch is a little overdone, so they are hard and crunchy. But the flavor is good and I like the idea. I will try again, maybe with a different recipe.

Ray gave a final test at 12:30. I went in with him and had lunch with Janna. We did a little Christmas-related shopping that was quite fun and I picked him up again and we came home. I cut all the chard I could find, but the chickens have been eating it. If they would neatly choose one stalk and eat it all, it would be easier, but they had holes in them and pieces missing, so trimming them was a bear. The dish was not as good as the last time I made it, but we were able to eat before 5. This is good because we had to get the chickens in the coop, change our clothes, feed the pigs, and go downtown to volunteer at the production of A Christmas Carol that my Dad was in.

Captain on the far right, with his back turned.

It was the last show and was well attended. My friends Deb and John and Becky and Kent were there, which was nice. My Dad remembered his lines, spoke loudly and clearly. He had a cold, as did Scrooge. As part of the Ensemble, he wore black sweatpants and a black shirt, which was not a particularly flattering look for him, but perhaps I have never seen him look like that before. The play itself annoyed me somewhat. The "playwright" messed with the story, adding narrators and a sort of Greek chorus, as well as Kelly as a somewhat anachronistic bag lady character, who spoke to the audience, saying, "that's my cue" and "this is making me hungry--how about you?" People seemed to like it, but it was kind of distracting to me. I didn't really get into the story. There was a violin in the background, which made some people hard to hear. Of course, as a volunteer, I didn't get the best seat in the house either.

Captain on far left (with his coat on after the show outside)

Anyway, now it's over. Captain can sleep all day if he likes and hopefully he will feel better and not be too let down. We were home before 9. I made it through Wheel, but fell asleep during Jeopardy. So naturally, I woke up again at 4:30. I need to break this cycle--a nap, maybe? Not likely.