Sunday...

Woke up early again (4:00 AM) but stayed in bed reading until 5:30 AM. Then got a cup of coffee and started thinking about breakfast. It may sound silly, but decided I really wanted two more chili dogs (fries are gone) so warmed up the leftovers and chowed down. Thus fed, I got to work on the Christmas tree (it's too early to call Melissa, er, I mean M______ and get out of this).

Used my "decorate the tree" method in reverse. Moved the rug and moved the coffee table into the middle of the room to allow 360 degree access. Wrapped all the glass bulbs in paper towels, packed away the other ornaments, then finally got down to the wood beads. Took them off, and put the tree in the attic.

Next was packing away the other decorations, including the outside mat and wreath. With everything gone, started cleaning the room. Dusted, vacuumed, and washed all the glass surfaces with Windex and paper towels. By 9:00 AM, I was ready to put the normal decorations back, so I did. Stopped for another coffee, then went back to work!

Vacuumed and dusted each bedroom, then went over the wood floor with a dust mop and End-dust (picks up any cat hair and dust I might have missed, and give the floors a nice shine). Washed the bedding and my dirty clothes . Swept the kitchen bathroom and downstairs floors, then mopped them. While they were drying, I shaved and showered.

When everything was dry, I went out to Farmer Jack's. I need some buttermilk for tonight's fried chicken. Chilly and damp out. I hate to say it, but it feels like snow. We'll see...

Got back and covered 10 chicken legs with buttermilk and put them in the fridge to get happy. For my lunch, I heated up some soup. Watched some TV while trying to nap, but never fell asleep. Gave up and wrapped up Riese's birthday present and Luanne's tree-top angel for mailing on Monday.

At 5:00 PM, started heating up the oil for the fried chicken. Drained the buttermilk, patted them dry and then they went into an egg/water/hotsauce mix, then flour and pepper. After that, it was just a matter of adjusting the temperature of the oil up and down (trying to keep that magic 350 degrees F.) and waiting for the timer (on average, 11 minutes for white meat, 14 for dark)

While they were all resting, cored a cauliflower left from the Holidays (veggie tray that never happened when the ladies were here) and steamed all of it. Good Sunday dinner! I would have liked mashed potatoes and gravy, but trying to lose these Holiday pounds I picked up somewhere (sigh).

Watched my usual Sunday shows and then went to bed...