Boxing up the holiday & our whirl of gaiety

Not wanting to face both going back to work and putting away holiday decorations all at the same time I decided to do something I have never done before: do it before the new year. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings I set aside for this chore. By noon on Tuesday I had all the interior decorations packed up and the plastic bins stowed away on the cellar shelves. A quick vacuuming of the living room and dining room, a stiffer of the woods floors, and a mopping of the kitchen floor and my goal was met. 

Tuesdays are $5 movies at a local theatre so college age daughter, her boyfriend, his mom, and I all went off to see the final movie in the Hobbit trilogy. Tuesday night GF and I joined friends at the newly opened Hofbrauhouse for a festive holiday dinner. A fine time was had by all. A co-worker told me this is a pretty good approximation of a genuine German beer hall. A three piece polka band, long tables with family style seating, on site brewed German style beers and terrific German food. There was even dancing in the aisles and sometimes on the tables. My Bavarian DNA loved it.
Yesterday my goal was to get the tree undecorated and ready to be transported over to middle daughter's home. SIL wants to cut it up for summer bonfires. I got all of that done. I also got a nice surprise. Adult son had a couple of days off of work and he decided to get a major project underway. Due to a bathroom remodel three years ago plus a leaky second floor porch (now fixed) our kitchen ceiling had some large holes. The porch leak also caused a portion of one of the old plaster walls to crumble and break off the lathe. Adult son has cleared out the kitchen, hung up tarps to block off the room from the rest of the main floor and begun the removal of the remainder of the ceiling! He isn't sure when or how long it will be before he is able to start hanging a new ceiling, it isn't a one man job but both GF and a buddy of his have offered to help. Frankly just getting rid of the old ceiling is an improvement. He will also replace the broken plaster wall with drywall. And he plans to get some insulation into the area under that porch. This is the eating area of the kitchen and has always been noticeably colder than the rest of the room. This will be a plus to both comfort and the heat bill.
Tomorrow the exterior lights and decorations will come down and I will be able to go back to work without these chores hanging over my head.
And GF and I closed out the year with what has become a tradition a trip downtown with his brother and SIL to the casino for dinner, slots, and revelry at midnight.  I took $110 with me to gamble and brought $110 home so it was a good night for me. I was prepared to come home with nothing so I am  hopeful that this is an indication of good things in the new year.