Happy New Year!
It is 2016 as I’m writing this, and if
you’re wondering why I’m on my computer at all instead of sleeping; it’s simply
because I’ve decided to just stay awake instead of bothering to try and nap for
the bit of time I have left before morning anyway. I have been multi-tasking some Jacuzzi time
and doing a bit of self-healing while working on my computer; so part two of
that will take care of the lack of sleep issue – and my need for getting clean
after a very long, busy last day of twenty-fifteen that included a lot of work
at the Inn and home along with the fun.
After a really amazing day out with so many
of my favorite people; New Year’s Eve day did not start out particularly
exciting. Tai Chi was optional, but
while Mom and Dad skipped it after needing to do all of the driving along with
everything else yesterday; Michael and I did have four junior Tai Chi buddies
with us to help get our day off to a great start – even though we both had long
to-do lists to get started on as soon as we finished cleaning up from
breakfast. Mom and Dad – and Violet and Dillon
– joined us for that; Dad got ready for work and headed out before the dishes
were finished; and then Michael went home while I got to work on helping Mom
out around the house with chores that included an extra-special clean-up of the
main floor so that we’ll be ready for the New Year’s Day football party we’re
hosting again this year.
That took most of the morning; we had help
from Violet and Dillon because they took Ethan and Ehlana to the lab with them
after Naomi and Aiden were picked up; and then we wrapped up that part of my
day by making lunch for six that we had ready by the time that Violet, Dillon,
and the twins were home again – after the lab was closed for the day.
I was then rented out to Aunt Leanne to
help her out with both some holiday weekend guest chores and kid control for
Brianna – which was only needed when she woke from her nap. Zack was with Eli for most of the afternoon
to give Aunt Leanne a break – and so that Philip could return the favor for one
of Eli’s babysitters yesterday and last night; so we actually managed to blast
through the work fairly quickly with a bit of Magi-powered cleaning that
Brianna loved watching us do – and trying to help with a bit too!
Michael had to work the lunch shift and
helped out most of the afternoon there too, but we were both booked to help
with the New Year’s Eve dinner and party; so I was home by a quarter-to-four
and cleaned up, dressed, at the Inn, and ready for the work and fun by
four-thirty. The buffet dinner had a few
gourmet options that took time to prepare; and Jacob had me on the prep line
working on those specialties instead of doing the usual basic veggies and meats
work. I’m not going to be a future world-class
chef, but I do have the memory for detailed instructions on the fly; and can
repeat processes exactly as shown.
I’d be worried about being stuck on the
prep line and dishwashing because of that talent, but Miranda definitely wants
me on her server team once I’m old-enough for that in a year; so that won’t be
an issue – no matter how much Jacob would like to keep me with his gang in the
kitchen. He’ll only have to be
disappointed for a few months when that happens; since Jake and Stephanie will
be home to stay from college that following May.
That’s taking a look past the year that’s
just started, though; so let’s get back to the party and work story.
Miranda closed the dining room to walk-in
business at four o’clock; and the last afternoon breakers were gone by the time
I got to the Inn. While I was working in
the kitchen with Michael and the rest of the gang; Miranda had her servers
decorating the dining room and getting everything cleaned up and ready for the
social hour that started at six. I
stayed and worked in the kitchen until after the first wave of buffet food went
out to the dining room, and while that meant missing out entirely on that
social hour; Michael and I did get to have dinner with my parents, the twins,
Rowen, Tim, and Rowen’s parents. Patrick
was there too, but he sat with Scott and his family; and we were at two
adjoining tables with the parents at one and the teens and kids at the other.
There’s already a lot that I’m skipping; so
let’s cover a few things that I wasn’t in on; but happened during my work time
in the kitchen.
Away from the Inn, Aunt Leanne, Aunt
Deborah, and my uncles and cousins were already dealing with incoming family
guests for the long weekend. Not all of
them had been able to take time off from work to leave early; but more than
half could – so they were here in town in time to eventually get together at
Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house for a family New Year’s Eve party. Two groups are driving here overnight – after
spending New Year’s Eve in their own home towns; and the rest will be driving
up first thing in the morning so that they’ll be here in time for the Johnson
family Christmas tomorrow afternoon. I
would have liked to spend some time with Uncle Adam’s family tonight too; but
didn’t have time for that. Grandma and
Grandpa weren’t at the Inn tonight either; but that’s only because they picked
going to a different party with some of their friends this year. I know it’s shocking, but yes; my
grandparents do have a life that doesn’t require their kids and grandkids to
constantly be there for them. They will
be spending most of the day with us tomorrow, though; so I will get to spend a
bit of time with them – if we have time for that at all with a house full of
family and friends.
Back here at the Inn, while work was
keeping us busy, the guys were watching the college bowl games – with the one
on the television when I got to the Inn being the first of the two playoff
games to decide the teams that will play for the National Championship. Though I think that Michael’s been really
good about football season this year; he was as much into the games today as
any other football fan; so I went with the flow for this one; and did my best
to support him. Michael wasn’t rooting
for any of the teams today; but he did enjoy watching the games – and it did
keep the guys entertained while they worked.
There was a big screen television in the dining room that was tuned into
the football games too, but our tables were about mid-way between it and the
back windows where the music videos television was set up to eventually watch
the New Year’s Eve shows on after dinner.
Except for congratulating Clemson and
Alabama for their big wins tonight that earned them the trip to the
Championship game that I’m sure that Rowen and I will end up watching with
Michael and Tim; I am so not going to spend more time writing about college
football bowl games. I can comment on
the action around the Inn that watching those games created, and even for
non-fans of the sport; that was usually entertaining. Bets in the kitchen included job swaps
depending on the winner for both games – with those job swaps lasting for up to
a week of shifts. If money was involved,
I didn’t hear about it; and Jacob and Miranda would have had something to say
about it if they heard anything. I can’t
say that didn’t happen with the customers in the dining room; but the bets I
did hear about were more along the lines of buying drinks; and the bets weren’t
only made on the final scores of the games.
Mom or I could have had fun with bets on the outcome of individual
plays, but we only do that kind of thing for fun; and I was only asked to
demonstrate that twice tonight. Finally,
the last football action I’ll mention is of the video gaming variety. Michael didn’t have much time for that
tonight, but Tim, Ethan, and Aiden all got to take turns at the gaming console
that was set up with the third television in the dining room. That area of the room was especially popular
with the kids and teens before and after dinner – which was why Michael didn’t
get to do that much while we were busy helping out in the kitchen instead.
Dinner with my family and our friends was
one of the best parts of the night for us, but we also only had time for one
trip to the buffet table because the kitchen and server staff needed to split
our dinner break times so that we could all eat – though not all of us did that
in the dining room. Rebecca and Jenny
sat with Lucas, his family, and Peter and her family; but not everyone had
family or friends at the Inn; and some of the staff was only there until the
post-dinner clean-up was done – though everyone had been invited to the party
even if they weren’t scheduled to help with the midnight buffet.
Michael and I worked in the kitchen from
seven-thirty until nine-thirty; we got to play in the dining room until ten
forty-five; and then we helped with the midnight buffet until a quarter to
twelve. We were back in the dining room
in time to share our first kiss of twenty-sixteen and do a round of hugs and kisses
with our favorite people in the room; and then we were back to work helping
with getting that buffet out to the dining room and then cleaning up in the
kitchen again. We had one more break as
the party wound down between then and two o’clock; but we also needed to stay
until the dining room was cleaned up and ready for Saturday morning and the
kitchen was ready to go for the planned breakfast buffet that Jacob and Miranda
were having for the only morning meal they’d be serving for this holiday weekend.
The good news is that we got all of that
work finished; but it meant that some of us needed to stay there until
three-thirty or so to make that happen.
I went home with Michael after that for a while; but that was only so
that we could have a bit of alone time in the living room while winding down
from our very long, busy last day of the year and start to the New Year. We were too tired by then to do anything more
than cuddle and share a few kisses after his parents went to bed, and since
you’re likely wondering why I didn’t include Rebecca yet; that’s because she were
set free early so that she could go home with Lucas and his family for the
night.
My parents, brother, sister, Violet, and
Dillon were all in bed and sleeping by the time I got home, and while I could
have woken them by running my Jacuzzi; I just used a sound shield to make sure
that wasn’t a problem. I really needed
to get cleaned up by then, so it’s just as well that Michael and I were too
tired to play; and I’m sure that Mandy appreciated not having me in bed with
her while smelling a bit too fragrant for her sensitive nose. Having a long soak was an option, since I’m
skipping the sleep time anyway; and my multi-tasking included a fair bit of
family business work that kept me busy beyond the tub time and while I took
extra time doing my hair and getting ready for our New Year’s Day fun. We won’t be doing Tai Chi today; but I am
going to get an early start on making breakfast so that Mom and Dad can sleep
in a bit longer than they expected when going to bed. I’ll send that empathic signal to Mom through
our link when she starts waking up; but I still have a bit of time before
that’ll happen.
I still have a bit of time left before I’ll
need to get started on the cooking, but that’s pretty much all I have for this
update, so I’m going to wrap this up; head downstairs; and enjoy a bit of quiet
time in the sunroom with a hot drink before getting to the work again. Twenty-fifteen ended on a high note, and I’m
sure that twenty-sixteen is going to be amazing too, so I’ll again wish you a Happy
New year; and, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
