Roast chicken and other things

Tonight Jordan, Christian, and Jacob came for supper, along with Jay, who's alone beause Susan is out of town. I dry brined a roasting chicken, something I'd never thought of. But you rinse it, dry it thoroughly, and rub it with salt (I used Kosher, which I almost always do). One of several recipes I read said to leave it uncovered in the fridge for eight hours--drying it out makes for crisper, drier skin. I know the skin is bad for you but gosh this was good! And the meat was moist and good. The recipe I followed said to fill a 9x13 pan with vegetables--it called for Yukon gold potatoes and artichokes but Christian hates artichokes--I used the potatoes, a sweet potato, and carrots. One flavor secret--slice two Meyer lemons and put most of them in with the vegetables--put the rest of the slices inside the chicken. When Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, turn the chicken and bake at 350 for another 30 minutes. Then bake the vegetables 10 minutes longer, stirring them. At that point I added some green beans. The point was for the chicken to drip on the vegegies, but I wasn't all that sure it did, and the veggies were crisp, which I liked with the green beans but I would have liked the sweet potatoes and carrots mushier. Still it was really good. I dressed the lettuce with a dressing left in the fridge which apparently had anchovies in it--not a hit. Jay brought chocolate chip cookies--a real hit, especially with Jacob.
This morning I lazed over the paper, did my yoga, got stuff out for dinner, and still worked on my novel a bit. I'm delighted at the way I'm finding motivation for people who didn't quite fit and really, in my mind at least, weaving the whole thing together. Late this afternoon, I read someone else's novel, figuring couldn't concentrate with Jacob running around.
Jacob and Jordan came for lunch, then she went her merry way, and we napped--for about an hour and a half, which was good. But Jacob was bored when I had to cook. Christian, with help from Jay and Jordan, put lights around my front door and put all the extra decorations up in the attic. Inside I have the fireplace going, white lights on the mantle, and it all looks very festive. It's cold outside but not too bad but inside feels cozy tonight. Jacob is learning to keep his hands off decorations, but he still tosses Baby Jesus around like a football--the small cradled figure is part of a creche made in South America that decorates my coffee table. I'm ready for Christmas and, I hope, for my party next Saturday night.