STEWART LEFT AGAIN

Stewart left this morning to return to Baghdad. Reagan and Mathieu took him to the airport. It was sad to see him go again. One good thing is his vacation this time was a little longer than usual. He gets a vacation every 4 months, so he'll come home again in either 4 or 8 months. The photo above is a year old, but I didn't have another new one on the computer. Thankfully, he's lost the beard since this photo was taken, and his hair is natural again.
Amy came by for a little while, and then later Reagan and Mathieu came by to get the recipe he always borrows for hunting camp - Quick Sausage Supper.
I went by the parish office to pick up my mail from there, touch base with the secretary on several things, go to the rectory and talk to Father Sebastian about some plans, spiff up the turkey boxes, and check the amount of food and toiletries donated so far, spread out the boxes and start distributing the donations, and take care of some odds and ends in my office. The new feathery angel wings are in and they look 'mmaahvelous'. Mr. and Mrs. A. were in Lydia's office, helping, and Mrs. A. said she'd provide the kids' breakfasts for next Sunday. Also Lydia and Ava asked about old-fashioned goodie sacks to give the kids at the Christmas party, and said they'd provide the various goodies. So I said I'd decorate the sacks.
I was still there when Lydia was leaving for the day, and we made plans to meet for an early lunch tomorrow at the cafe. After she left for the day, Annie came to discuss some things with me about fundraising, ordering some supplies and some future plans. Everything took longer than I thought it would today, so I didn't get the Posada booklets ordered like I intended to. Speaking of the Posada, I still have to convince 6 more people to have a party on six of the nine nights. But things are shaping up. I felt better when I left than when I got there.
I made stew for dinner, and Amy, Zachary and Mathieu came by while I was starting to prepare it. Amy left the boys while she ran to the store, so they helped me add ingredients and stir it. I found a stew recipe on the internet and printed it out, so it actually tasted like stew this time - unlike when I made it a couple of weeks ago. When they left, they borrowed my new dvd of Christmas with the Kranks.
That's about it for today. I have a huge list of things to do and places to be tomorrow, though.