Today is the beginning of the end. The New Years weekend. Day one, Saturday. Emily went to work out. I made coffee and breakfast for me. Then had the pleasure of two newspapers to read. I missed yesterdays.
What now? Spend 30 mins finishing yesterdays post and start todays. Yikes. Its like my lifes work is typing.
I do have work planned for the holiday. Sweep up the leaves and water the lawn. Also a little laundry. 
First load, of many. Oh well. I need to take a shower and get dressed at some point as well.
Well I managed to do just that. And I am now in the yard sweeping leaves off the driveway. Of course, the driveway is very long and covered deep in leaves. Lots of tree detritus and dog poop. Was at it for a few hours but now all clean and done. That only leaves the overlarge lawn covered in a heavy layer of leaves. I rake all this crap and dump it into the back of my truck. The truck serves as my wheelbarrow of sorts. And its a handy size too. Very large. Still a pain in the butt to get it clean.
Emily and I went to Vacaville at this point. She needed to go to the bank. Then Target for some essentials – detergent, milk, etc. We also stopped at the Restoration Hardware outlet to look at furniture. We are thinking ahead to the new house in Auburn. We found a few things we liked but really are not ready for furniture buying yet. We dont even know the room sizes, etc. so we look but dont buy.
After I got home I quickly loaded up all the propane cans Jim loaned me diring the Sheldon Incident. He wanted them back. Go figure. I promised Cindy, Jims wife, to come over and help her figure out how to use her new espresso machine. Right before Christmas, Jim had asked me to find a good espresso machine for her. I did. But she was intimidated by it to the point she refused to take it out of the box. This is where I step in and explain the not so complex apparatus and how to operate it. Cindy is not at all technically capable. Not at all. So I had quite the time with her getting it ready for use. Cindy is a little crazy. But we managed to get the little thing smoking. She was happy when I left. Not happy that I left. Big difference.
I got home and started raking the lawn. In the dark. I was not able to finish. Thats tomorrow. There is plenty of work left. I also had to water the lawn. No rain in the last month. Very dry. I have to get all the leaves off before I can water.
I should mention, once I move to Auburn there is no lawn and leaf dropping trees. Just evergreens. So this exercise in yrd care is one of the last times I will be doing this crap. Are you excited for me?! I am getting closer to thrilled everyday. And with every last task I get a little lift just from knowing its coming to a screeching halt.
Next up dinner. Wait, first lets roast a few pounds of candied pistachios, walnuts and pecans. And make three cakes. Then we send all the nuts and the largest cake to the Tanakas. They are Carlys parents. She is Michaels girlfriend. We work hardest for others.
Ok, next up dinner. For the dogs.
Ok, next up dinner. Ours. We had leftover beef wellington, yorkshire pudding, and I made potato patties. I put the shallot gravy on top of all. We also had a nice salad, I insist on some veggies. All incredible even as leftovers. Still had some of the wine left from last night too.
We are watching TV now, having finished the dishes. Emily is drinking Grand Marnier. I am blogging. Nicely. Watching really bad TV. Horrible. The Match Game. Bad.
We get to have cake next. Emily did leave the smallest cake for us. Its her famous rhubarb cake. And I love rhubarb. My favorite. I am going to cut cake now. Dont miss me.
As advertised, the cake es incroyable!! Emily has outdone herself! Again! Very nice. And btw, the large cake left of the two is going to Marika. So we only get the little one. But thats probably enough. We dont want to be fat.
Its now legal bedtime. And I cant handle another citation. So off to bed for this little one.