Thursday, December 23, 2004

Here we are in Ohio-NOT at the bakery!

Yes, yes, I have returned to my roots for the holidays. I came home and became an aunt again- a girl this time, which seems promising since I never get to buy girly stuff for anyone but myself.


My cousin died yesterday morning. She did not want us to come to Florida for a memorial now- she told my mother to stay home and enjoy the new baby and the holidays so that is what we will do. In my heart at least, I had already said goodbye. It is hard going- everything reminds us of her- and my mother is very sad on top of having a badly broken arm, so I am rushing around like a crazy person trying to be full of holiday-ness and cheer!

heh...

The drive here went well, but we have had sleet all night and now everything is covered in ice. I have to drive out the twisty county roads later into amish country and pick up a ham at Sugar Valley Meats for christmas morning and I am not looking forward to it at all. Hopefully I can avoid skidding into a buggy or running some freezing little kids off the side of the road. But the ham will be good.

My father cornered me yesterday and asked me if I had gotten my mom anything when she and I were out the other day. Since she had been WITH me, I told him no and he informed me he hasnt gotten her a gift yet and thinks she got HIM something even though they werent going to do gifts for each other, etc... ah, the intrigue and drama that surrounds family christmas!! I have no idea what to get her from him- I wish he had asked me before I left Chicago, and I could have found something cool, but here the choices at the local mall are, ahem!, rather limited. Maybe I'll check her Amazon wishlist...

Yes, this is now deteriorating into standard blogger musing aloud to one's self ;)

But something a bit interesting about the bakery: For the past several days our afternoons have revolved around making up gift boxes of fresh bread to be mailed out for people at exhorbitant prices. Some are corporate gifts, some family, and I have been getting a kick out of reading the little private messages we have to write on a gift card when we pack them.

For example, why did ONE aunt get the Extravaganza gift box and 'all our love' , while another got the much cheaper Basic box and just a 'love, so and so'? Has it always been that way? Was there a falling out of some sort? Or the recipients of a box- a couple? sisters?- named 'Fern and Laverrne' I mean, were their parents just cruelly attracted to rhyme or did they meet someplace and hit it off? Try saying Fern and Laverrne fast five times...

But other than the call of the Rat Lady, another Gift Box best was the fact that UPS brought back six of them the other day. One had a sticker on it that said ' could not find address, directions needed'.

??? Come on! You are UPS, for gods sake! Don't you have GPS or something? The box looked pretty clearly addressed to someplace in central Florida- maybe it has sunk into the Okeefanokee swamps or something.
But the others had huge red stamps on them saying 'REFUSED DELIVERY!RETURN TO SENDER!' This also sends my over active brain/imagination into hyperdrive. WHY did you return it? Did you think you had to pay for it, even though the box is clearly marked ' A Gift For You!' all over it? Was there some massive familial issue that we- and perhaps the sender- were unaware of? ( "If Uncle Jim thinks a lousy box of free bread is going to make up for this, he has another thing coming! Send it back!That'll show him!") ??

Actually, Maddy's idea was the best. She said they must all have been on the Lo-Carb diet and the mere sight of a box of bread started to give them the cold shakes as they returned it safely back with the UPS guy so they wouldnt be tempted. Knowing how some of our lo-carb people can be, that is a sadly plausible theory.

Well, gentle readers, there are presents to be wrapped, dishes to do, and I have to take my mother to get her hair cut since she cannot drive anywhere. W is feeling stir crazy and so am I. We will go down to the basement soon and dig out the old little village of houses and nativity that go under the tree. But...

I look out of my icy window and it is snowing. Big heavy flakes that look like they will stick to the ice and coat it and at least make it LOOK like Christmas. Pretty soon it will FEEL like it too.

I promise.
xxxooo bakerygirl


1 Comments:

Blogger ReesieKitty said...

Aw, thanks Yuni! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season as well. Deep down, I would like to think all of us deserve a wonderful time- or most of us at the very least.Take good care and thanks.
xxxooo bakerygirl

2:21 PM  

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