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Tuesday Evening, December 24

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Plan A was when Jere and Kristen invited us to their usual Christmas Eve party at Penn Cinema – watching an animated or good movie in the afternoon – then back to their house for food.

Plan B was to go to their house because of their children’s schedules. I reminded them that life changes, but God doesn’t. Life is quite different in their house these days with adult children.

Plan C happened when they had to cancel all their Christmas Eve plans because Kristen got sick. That gave Roy, Deb, Cerwin, and me an open evening. What could we do? We decided to find a restaurant in Lancaster (halfway between our houses) and go out to eat. We settled on Olive Garden.

Plan D happened when Deb called and asked if we were at Olive Garden yet. I said, “We are just approaching it.” She asked if we could come get them. Their Jeep’s clutch went out near F & M College. So, we headed toward Lancaster to where they were – about ten minutes away. They were parked in an F & M parking lot. Since it was almost next door to Iron Hill Restaurant, we decided to go there instead.

We (at least Deb and I) had to rewire our brains to go from thinking we were getting pasta to items on Iron Hill’s menu – which did not include pasta for Christmas Eve.

While waiting for our meal, Roy called F & M security to let them know about his Jeep. Security said it was fine to have it parked there until the day after Christmas.

When we are in a “fine dining” restaurant, I like to check out their non-alcoholic beverages because I like to experiment with new tastes. I chose White Grape Basil which included white grape juice, expressed basil, lime juice, simple syrup, and ginger ale – with a few basil leaves for effect. I enjoyed its unique taste while Deb, Roy, and Cerwin got the usual (boring) drinks: iced tea, Coke (or maybe it was Pepsi), and water. 🙂

Deb heard a conversation at the next table as a tall young man prepared to take a picture of everyone at the table, when his mother said, “But I want you in the picture too.” Deb got up and tapped him on the shoulder and asked if she could take the picture. In return he took our picture with our cameras. You can tell he was tall, because we are all looking up at him.

My Herb Grilled Chicken. I especially liked the creamy rice and peas. The other vegetable was broccolini – a taste similar to broccoli or asparagus.

Deb’s meal was Philly Steak Egg Rolls.

Cerwin’s cheeseburger and fries.

Roy chose fish and chips.

To make our Christmas Eve special, we decided to order dessert. This is Roy’s caramel apple dessert and ice cream.

Roy turned his back on Deb when she tried getting a sample. 🙂 The man behind Roy is the one who took our picture.

Cerwin, Deb, and I each got a vanilla bean Crème brûlée,

Because Roy and Deb were waiting for a friend to take them home, we each enjoyed a decaf coffee until he arrived. We would have taken them home, but Roy and Deb didn’t want us driving that far – then having an hour drive home. It was nice that it suited Zach.

We enjoyed lots of Christmas lights as we traveled home.

It reminded me of the quote: It is always good to be flexible – or you will break.

Thanks Roy and Deb for a very fun evening. Plan D was a rather perfect unplanned plan.