Put the Holidays Away

Started a sunny but frozen morning listening to the second half of that "Top 100 of 1981" American Top 40 special. Almost every song I heard this morning was a number one hit that year - "9 to 5" by Dolly Pardon, "Keep On Loving You" by REO Speedwagon, "Kiss On My List" by Hall & Oates, "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang, "Just Like Starting Over" by John Lennon, "Lady" by Kenny Rogers, and "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie. The top song of that year? "Bette Davis Eyes," by Kim Carnes.

I spent the rest of the morning listening to more Disney soundtracks as I took down the Christmas display items and the stuffed toys under the tree. I consolidated all of the smaller stuffed toys used for displays, including the Beanie Baby bears and printed elves that have been around since I was a kid, into one cloth bag. The beautiful box that held the cookies from Mom now holds the small display items for the the music area shelves, like Holly the doll and the tiny basket with the greenery. The big bell with the candy cane cut-out shapes went in the vinyl zipper bag that originally held the stuffed animals. The bears that go on my bed were returned there; the ones that went in the back room went into bags in the container.

I'm clearing out a few items, not as much as last year. The collectible bear in the sled takes up too much room; I never did figure out what to do with the bear in the Santa hat with the streamers. There's no place to hang him up outside.

I didn't want to, but I ended up calling for a ride to work. I wasn't going to chance the roads again on my own after the trouble I had getting to and from Collingswood yesterday. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but it turned out it was; the roads were just as messy as yesterday when Rose picked me up with a sleepy Khai. Rose said that salting the roads caused the trouble. It's too cold for the salt - it just congealed and froze. Frequently-used roads like the Black Horse Pike are fine, but anything that's even remotely a back road is still covered.

Despite the condition of the roads, work was nuts again. I suspect a lot of people may not have gotten out yesterday. There were a lot of folks who were cranky, obnoxious, or just plain rude. We're still dealing with beginning-of-the-month people; others were restocking after the holiday week and the snow storm, or buying food for late New Year's, Three King's Day, or football parties (the Eagles play tonight). I was so happy when my relief turned out to be one of the few older women who work late - she's almost always on time.

Did my shopping after work. Restocking produce was the main concern this week. I finally finished the last of the fruit Rose gave me from her Christmas Day party today as a snack at work. I needed almost everything - cranberries, grapefruit, orange juice, bananas, apples, mushrooms, Romaine lettuce, and the small plastic containers of Brussels sprouts and broccoli florets. The Acme's having a huge $.88 sale on Green Giant frozen vegetables - I bought peas, broccoli cuts, and the green beans and almonds. Replaced the canned fruit I had with breakfast this morning. Was out of brown sugar, dryer sheets (I've forgotten to buy them for two weeks), cereal (went with Acme's generic multi-grain o's on a good sale) and frozen orange juice concentrate. Grabbed a sponge to tide me over until I can get a couple of packs from the dollar store.

Oh, and my schedule is thankfully a lot less stressful than the past couple of weeks. I work 22 hours - far less than I have, but more than the 18 hours I worked the day after New Year's last year. I'm not too concerned - I should have tax return money coming as soon as I can get my taxes done, and then we'll be going into February, the Acme's single busiest month. Three days off (one for counseling) will allow me to finish taking the Christmas decorations down and get some cleaning done.

Jessa drove me home. When I got in, I listened to one of my Classic Disney CDs while making salmon and zucchini sauteed in balsamic vinegar. After a quick shower, I went online to watch the big Eagles-Saints playoff game. The Eagles haven't been their best, but they aren't that far behind in the 4th quarter, 23-17. After the Colts came back to beat the Chiefs 45-44, anything is possible.