Whew. The MADHOUSE is over! It's peaceful and silent in the old house again.

My Christmas meal turned out great (no applause, please). Turkey (which I like to freeze), a veggie roast (potatoes, parsnips, onions, Brussel Sprouts, garlic, celery, etc.), scalloped corn, and a very sweet "hell of a yam pone" sweet potato casserole. Plus red cabbage slaw and a fruit salad(apples, raisins, pears, black walnuts with yogurt). Desert was persimmon pudding and a blueberry cheesecake. Nearly everything was grown or gathered by me (all but the turkey, raisins, and celery).

It's always nice to see my daughter from Honduras, but her hubby and two kids (ages 4 and 6), are more than I can take. He's a poor excuse for a husband, and a worse excuse for a father. The kids (as I've mentioned before) are totally out of control, sassy, disrespectful, sneaky, and boisterous. They couldn't leave fast enough. What a shame I feel that way. Evidently, they're in Honduras to stay, as they're looking to buy a house. Their "income" is totally from donations--U.S. charity--since they run a medical clinic slash mission house. This means the house will be bought by donors to support "the cause". To me, this is totally wrong. I'd like to support my daughter, but not this way. They're not getting a cent from me.

Compare this to my other daughter and her husband (living in Indiana), who have worked like crazy refurbishing houses to resell, only to have the housing market collapse, forcing them into bankruptcy. They even have to leave their own home/farm. They're the ones I loaned $35k to, in a futile attempt to save them. There's no justice in all this.

Anyway, my blood pressure will eventually drop, as solitude returns to my way of life. Deep breath and a long sigh. Whew!