She's Home!

Birthday Gift - Beaded Necklace

My daughter came home last night!  After all the uncertainty if she'd be able to come home or not, she and two of her friends drove down, late last night.  While I waited for her to come home, I made her bed with flannel sheets and washed the sheets I had on her bed, earlier.  I had help making the bed:

Dancer Helped

Then, I vacuumed the house and tidied the place, doing all the little things I had procrastinated doing until I was sure that she was able to come down and was on her way home!  

Daughter came home at 11:00 p.m.  I had dinner ready and waiting - sauteed salmon, garlicky sauteed green beans, cucumber salad, and rice.  Then, we stayed up and chatted for a bit.  She gave me the beaded necklace that she had made as part of my birthday gifts from her, a souvenir T-shirt from her trip to Hawaii in February, and a few other items she had picked up for me.  She also brought back all the empty canning jars from the jams and chutney I had sent up to her.  

Today, after a leisurely morning, we went to the Sri Lankan restaurant.  I had called ahead and ordered a meal of stringhoppers (a type of noodles made with rice flour and steamed) which comes with coconut sambol, kiri hodhi (coconut milk based gravy with turmeric) and a hard boiled egg added to it, and a choice of fish, chicken, beef, or mutton curry (I chose chicken) and a meal of pittu (finger millet flour, made into little balls of dough like couscous and steamed in a hollowed out bamboo) which comes with katta sambol, coconut milk, and the same choice of curry (I chose beef curry).  I also ordered some cutlets (the round balls - they have a spicy fish filling and are breaded and fried) and patties (pastries with a spicy fish filling), and for dessert, a pudding called watalappan, made with coconut milk, jaggery, eggs, and spices.  

Dinner and Snacks

Dessert: Watalappan Topped with Crushed Cashew

On the way home, we stopped by the Sri Lankan store (a few blocks from the restaurant) and did a little shopping.  I mostly wanted a bottle of palm treacle, a bottle of chili sauce, and some incense sticks, but, we bought some snacks, as well.  This is the one store where I will buy what I want without looking at the price!  I spent $36.89 at the Sri Lankan store.  

After we came home, my daughter took some of the patties over to neighbor S and visited with S and her daughters for a bit.  

Today, I called and invited my late friend A's husband and two daughters to share Thanksgiving dinner with us.  When A was alive, we used to go to her house for Thanksgiving.  Last year, she was in the hospital on Thanksgiving day and we had dinner in her hospital room, seated around her bed.  This is her family's first Thanksgiving without her.  This is the first time I'm having people over when I know I will be without a mask (hard to have people over to dinner and wear a mask!), but, I couldn't be without inviting them to Thanksgiving.  I ordered the turkey and the rest of the items needed for Thanksgiving dinner this evening and will pick up tomorrow.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- My daughter came home safely
- Her friend for driving her down
- The gifts my daughter brought me
- Having a Sri Lankan restaurant and store nearby

- Being able to invite friend A's family to Thanksgiving dinner

Today's joyful activities included spending the day with my daughter and eating some delicious Sri Lankan food!

Plans for tomorrow (Monday) include picking up the groceries and some WD40 (a lubricant - my sliding glass door has stopped sliding!)