The Last Saturday of the Year

On the last Saturday of the year, I was expecting a visit from my aunt and cousin in the afternoon.  Aunt had called me on Thursday morning to say they wanted to visit on Saturday afternoon, around 1:30 p.m., and I was not to cook any lunch for them.  When I mentioned it to my daughter, the first thing she asked was, "What are you going to make for lunch?".  I said, "Nothing, Aunt told me not to make anything for lunch!".  When I mentioned it to one of my friends, in an email, she emailed back, saying, "But you will have some food for Aunt, just in case, won't you?"  LOL.  I assured her that I would probably cook a fish curry (I have plenty of beef-based items in the fridge, but my aunt and cousin don't eat beef) and there were vegetable curries leftover from the almsgiving in the freezer that could be reheated and served.

Saturday morning, I concentrated on cleaning up the family room.  Daughter had tidied up part of it and I had cleared the small dining table on Friday night.  Saturday morning, I tidied and cleaned the coffee table and vacuumed the family room, while daughter straightened up the sofa covers.  Then, I cooked a pot of rice and a fish curry with daughter's help - I had her add things to the curry while I washed the dishes and cleaned the sink.

Then, we waited.  We are used to Sri Lankan time.  You say 1:30 p.m., but that is just a general idea of a time frame.  It actually means anytime around that, but most probably 2:30 p.m.  So, I wasn't worried when 1:30 p.m. came and passed.  Or when 2:30 p.m. came and passed.

While waiting, I put away laundry, read blogs and posted comments, and began my month-end review of my monthly goals post.

My friend who was hosting the monthly prayer gathering called to ask if I was still coming, because, apparently, my cousin had called to say that she was not coming because she was still recovering from the flu.  I assured my friend that I was coming and my daughter, too.  I guess my friend thought I might not drive all that distance by myself, especially in the night, but, if that had been the case, then, I would have called her and ask to be excused.   

Then, I called my cousin to ask her how she was feeling and we chatted for a little bit.  Earlier, I had offered her a ride to the prayer gathering, but she said she didn't want to go because she was still coughing, although she was feeling much better.  I agreed with her that she should probably stay home and rest.

When 3:00 p.m. came and no aunt, I decided to have my lunch!  Finally, around 3:20 p.m., I gave aunt a call.  Apparently, she had got the dates mixed up!  Even though she said Saturday, in her mind, she meant Sunday!  Apparently, too, she had called me around 2:00 p.m., and left a message on my answering machine, but I hadn't received the message.   It might have been when I was on the phone with my cousin - usually, when I am on the phone and another call comes through, I hear a beeping to alert me to the fact.  Then, I can check my phone to see if there are any missed calls.  But, this time, I didn't hear the alert, and there were no missed calls showing aunt's phone number.

I do have a phantom answering machine, though, which is the weirdest thing!  It is the answering machine that I had before I got my current one.  That old machine had a voice mail recording with my daughter's voice (my present one has a generic male voice that came programmed into the answering machine).  Sometimes, people say they get that old recording when they call me.  How or why, I don't know, but it seems to happen when I am on the phone!  I have told all my friends and family, including aunt, that if they get an answering machine greeting with my daughter's voice, to disregard it, because I am unable to retrieve that message (the old answering machine was disposed of at least 3 years ago!)    

Anyway, the long and the short of it was, aunt was unable to visit on Saturday afternoon.  She apologized for the mishap and I assured her it was nothing to worry about (I didn't tell her I cooked; after all, she had told me not to cook and the food won't go to waste).  Aunt is in her 80s and she's allowed to get her dates mixed up!  Besides, it was the catalyst I needed to get the house tidied, so it was a good thing!  We agreed we'll visit sometime in the new year.

After that, daughter had her lunch - rice, fish curry, cashew curry, and tomato chutney.  Then, she suggested we go for a walk (she wanted to catch Pokemon as she finally has a phone that allows her to play Pokemon Go).  So, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and every now and then, we paused for her to catch Pokemon and for me to catch my breath!  I walked with her for about 30 minutes and then, came home (my left ankle started to hurt), while she went in the other direction for another 30 minutes, or so. 

After I came home, I did a load of laundry and, after daughter came back, we both had tea.  Then, it was time to get dressed to go to the prayer gathering.  We left the house at 6:30 p.m. and arrived at my friend's house at 7:30 p.m.  She had said to come between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m., so we were just in time and, in any case, we weren't the last to arrive.  We socialized for a bit, then the rosary was recited, and we all had dinner.  Daughter and I left soon after dinner, as I really didn't want to be on the road, too late at night, and, besides, practically everyone there was sneezing and coughing, and I didn't want us to catch anything and get sick!  I have had my flu shot, but daughter hasn't (not that I haven't told her to get one, several times).  I had taken my friend a gift and, just as we were leaving, she gave my daughter and me gifts and asked me if I could take my cousin's gift to her, as she had been unable to attend the gathering. 

Coming back, there was a detour to get on to the freeway.  I always get disorientated when there are detours, but daughter was able to help navigate and we got home, safely.   After we got home, daughter and I opened our gifts from my friend.  Daughter received this cat-shaped ceramic air freshener:

Cat Shaped Air Freshener

Isn't it cute?

I received a ceramic air freshener, too.  But I will do a separate post on that, I think.

On Saturday, I was grateful for:
- Aunt's non-visit wasn't due to any emergency or accident, just a mix up of the dates!
- It provided me with the incentive I needed to tidy and clean the house!
- An afternoon walk with my daughter
- Getting together to share a prayer with friends and family
- A safe drive to and from the prayer gathering

How was your last Saturday of the year?