Home and Party Prep - Monday and Tuesday.....

As is her custom, Jutta was up early and out to greet the sunrise.

She is known for her famously beautiful photos!

This one is a real winner!

We were all packed in with room to spare!

Jutta laughed and so did we when we made our first stop across the street from Casa Del Mar!

Summer ordered breakfast from McDonald's on her phone app - but forgot Jutta's coffee.

So Jutta went in to get it and I went in to use the ladies room.

We loaded back up in the car and she said, "At this rate - it will take us three weeks to get to your home!" Hahahahahaha! We laughed all the way to Houston where we dropped Summer off at a hotel near the airport for her flight home to Puerto Rico the next day.

She was still feeling pretty rough but had put on a brave face and marched on as best she could.

It was around 10:30 when we arrived and her room wasn't ready yet so she had to camp out in the lobby. It felt so wrong to drive off leaving her there like that.

They said it would be able four hours but it was actually 30 minutes when she sent me the text that she was in her room and a photo of what a nice room it was!

I felt better.

Jutta and I made good time stopping only at Woody's in Centerville.

**Source**

I love that place!

Jutta bought some Jalapeno Shrimp Poppers and I bought some cheese and iced tea.

We already had olives from the Kroger Olive Bar in Galveston, grapes and come good crackers....

so we snacked our way home without having to stop for a meal.

We arrived in Irving shortly after 3:00 and had time to do some errands and shopping before we got to the house. Jutta needed to buy a new suitcase as her expensive hard case one did not fare well on her international flight. I had been telling her that I did not want to leave the house on Tuesday. At all.

And yet I knew exactly where to take her to buy luggage....Tuesday Morning. She seemed confused but didn't say anything. When we pulled up in front of the store yesterday afternoon - she burst out laughing!!! "I had no idea that Tuesday Morning was the NAME OF THE STORE!!!"

She was no longer confused!!

Oh, we had the very best time driving home together!

Even when we got into radio range and I looked down at the station and noticed the blinking 'Get Fuel NOW!!' sign! I admit to being rather stressed for the 15 minutes it took us to find a station and profoundly grateful to God for being so gracious and us not running out of gas! I'm driving Summer's rental car and MY car dings when it's time to refuel so I was not paying attention to the messages on the dashboard. More laughter - AFTER we fueled up!!

She bought a nice piece of luggage and we stopped at Aldi for wine and sparkling water for my friend. I even tracked down a beauty supply place to get wig shampoo. My hair has thinned so much I bought a crown wiglet and it was time to shampoo it. I want to look nice at the tea party!

Louis Dean helped us unload our by this time bulging trunk and we settled in.

I ran around doing damage control and putting things up while Jutta made herself at home - as old friends do and that's what we feel like - life long friends.

Louis Dean had a ham all baked and warm in the oven.

Jutta chopped things for the potato salad and I made a pan of baked beans.

Dinner is served!

Louis Dean was in heaven when Jutta joined him in his music room later in the evening.

It was a wonderful homecoming!

WE all slept well and, once again, Jutta was up at first light.

I had left enough lights on for her to feel welcome as she came out from the bedroom area.

My friend, Virginia, has a friend who is a driver. I love having friends who have friends.....

Charlotte is the friend of Virginia and we had arranged for her to pick Jutta up at 10:00 and take her to Northpark Mall for some shopping. I felt good knowing that she was with a safe person. 

Northpark is beautiful any time of the year but especially so at Christmas.

I slept in until after 10:00 and as soon as I woke up I texted Summer asking where she was.....

thinking she would be in Miami by then on her layover to Puerto Rico.

Summer Davis checked in to William P. Hobby Airport.

15 hrs · Houston · 

Well, well - I thought my Spirit flight was out of Hobby but no it’s out of Geo Bush and I can’t make it so I’ll try again tomorrow. Thanks Sabrina for helping me through this ordeal.

What an ordeal she has had!

She knew how concerned I was and sent me this pic of her watching Hallmark Christmas movies and sipping Starbucks ice tea. Another day to rest before flying is obviously a good idea.

She sure rolls with the punches!

However, I felt terrible that I had left her there like that!!

We were watching a Hallmark Christmas movie this afternoon as we took a break from all the party prepping and decorating. A Shoe Addict's Christmas was really good.

Louis Dean had chopped up some firewood and I had lit some candles......it was wonderful.

Jutta has been such a help in the kitchen with chopping and cutting up everything from onions to celery to cheese to apples to ham!

I had put some brownies in the oven and, thanks to her, they didn't burn.

It was a recipe using brownie mix with a layer of mint patties between two layers of the mix.

They are cooling overnight and I will cut them up in the morning.....and taste one to see if they are good. I made two crack cakes - one chocolate fudge and one pistachio.

Louis Dean and I hung the last of the lights in the gazebo tonight while Jutta manned the kitchen.

Dinner was a vegetable beef soup Louis Dean made while I was gone.

Jutta added a salad with her own special dressing and I made garlic bread.

I think we are winding down and will be more than ready to party tomorrow.

It's nice to be able to sit here in the sewing room and write tonight's journal entry.

And it also feels good to have so much done this early in December.

The rest of the month will be so relaxing!!

So I am going to bed with a happy heart tonight and hoping to see many of you tomorrow at my annual Cup of Christmas Tea Party!