Yesterday was a little less fun, but it had its moments. Cold, with some sun, we had a fire most of the day and the heat ran in the morning, as it has for most of the week. It started raining in the night again. I'm not complaining about too much rain yet.

The plan was for some people to get up at sunrise and walk the trail. I was not surprised that didn't happen, but Ray had believed the advance press and gotten up about 7. Molli got up around 9. We had breakfast and got dressed and five of us were in the car by about 10:30.

We spent almost two hours at Goodwill, getting a coffee maker that worked. Ray also bought a small color TV ($6) to replace the old black and white one in our room, which works fine. And a VCR. I bought a sweater and a really nice rain jacket. Amelia picked out a dress for me, too, but I haven't tried it yet. Ray bought a couple pairs of pants and a bright yellow vest for walking in the woods. We went for Adrian, who bought a couple blazers and shirts. If you've been shopping with Amelia, he has the same stamina and patience for shopping that she does. He picked carefully through everything, tried on many items, and only bought a few. It is great. He ends up with bargains and items he really likes. I, on the other hand, and Ray and Molli, to some extent, lose interest after about the first hour. This is compounded by Goodwill issues, like long lines and a slow system.

I was ready to go home, even though the plan was to go to two more places plus the grocery store. We went and ate lunch and I started on dinner--macaroni and cheese with the biggest pork roast we had from our pig. They headed out again and Ray and I settled down for some quiet time-wasting. My Dad arrived. He had talked to Molli and believed they would be back soon. I knew differently.

Ray and I took a short walk and then played a new game Kevin had given me. It's called Exactica, and can be played a little like other card games. Each card has several suits, however, and the distribution of values is odd--4 through 12, with more 8s than anything else. We did not love it, but I am willing to try a few more times.

Molli and Amelia and Adrian arrived about 5:30. I had put the pork in about 3 and the mac and cheese in at 5. (I made a giant batch and froze one 9 x 13 pan.) I also sliced up some peppers and onions and sauteed them. Ray cut up the green beans and we put them on to cook. Kevin arrived and we played Bezzerwizzer. With 7 people, we had 3 teams of 2, plus Ray. Guess who won by a lot? Some of the questions were easy and some were hard.

By the time we finished, I was hungry and it was almost 8. Unfortunately, the pork was still a little pink. Molli fried slices of it to make sure it was edible. She made gravy too. The macaroni was amazingly wonderful and Kevin ate evertything! We finally finished the squash from Christmas.

I couldn't wait for my father to go home and the young people to head downtown. I sat down to knit in front of the TV, but was too tired and uncomfortable to make it through Wheel of Fortune. This is when it's good to have a nice "new" color TV in your bedroom. Of course, it felt so nice to be in my pajamas in bed, I still didn't stay awake long enough to finish that show!