Reverend Ref +

WHAT A DAY

It was a full day around the Ref household. Saturday is the only day of the week that I get to sleep in, so I did. I rolled out of bed around 9:30, and Mrs. Ref chose to sleep until 10.

We needed a Christmas tree. I think, if memory serves, the year The Kid was born we purchased an artificial tree. It was really nice. The great thing about artificial trees is that you can leave off certain branches so that it sits flush against the wall. This is a cool thing. The other thing about them is that you can bend the "branches" anyway you want and they stay. This is very helpful for heavy ornaments.

When we left SWTS, we chose not to move the tree, so we donated it to the seminary since they didn't have one. We thought it would be nice for the people on the block to put it up in the lounge. I hope nobody forgot about it.

Anyway, we needed a tree. So we walked downtown and bought one from the FFA kids. This necessitated a tree stand, which we purchased from Ace. I carried the tree home (remember, this is a small town). While I worked on cutting the trunk, and only doing minor damage to my left hand, Mrs. Ref worked on assembling the tree stand. I got the better end of the deal. Finally, the tree was up. Let's just say that you can tell it's the real thing.

After that, Mrs. Ref drove up to VC to practice for the women's choir that will be singing at Lessons and Carols up there next week. While she was out, The Kid and I set up the parish hall for services (due to losing the furnace to the church building). I spent the rest of the day doing laundry and a little plumming. The cold water in our bathroom faucet decided last week (or maybe two weeks ago) to not shut off completely. This is a new faucet, so I wasn't real happy. Mrs. Ref and I picked up a new one yesterday while in Bozeman, and we'll return the old, defective one later. Anyway, those of you who know me know that my reaction to anything remotely mechanical is along the lines of, "Look -- it's magic!!"

Well, I finally screwed up enough courage to attempt this little adventure. I managed to get the water shut off, the old faucet removed, the new faucet installed and the water turned back on with minimal drippage and only one instance of improper language. Although, in the context of the moment, maybe it was totally proper. Either way, I got the thing on and it works like, well, like magic.

And to make the day even better, inbetween the sink and the multiple loads of laundry, I got to watch the Montana/Sam Houston State game. For those who don't know, these two teams play at the Div. 1-AA level, where they have a playoff system. This was the semi-final round, and Montana managed to win the game! That's way cool! The final score was 35-13, but honestly, I think it was closer than that. Anyway, Montana is in the Championship game. They play next Friday night on ESPN2, at 8 ET, 7 CT, 6 MT, 5 PT. Mark your calendars. I'm going to watch most of it, but not all. Sometime during that game I need to make a trip to Butte and pick up my preacher for the ordination on Saturday. Hopefully the Griz will have the game well in hand and I can relax.

Finally, we ordered pizza from the best pizzaria I have ever eaten at, including Chicago, and decorated the tree. It was definitely a full day.