Happy New Year

    This post has been a long time in the writing. I had a really hard time since the last time, deciding what to tell you about. Christmas was nice this year, with the new baby and all. We have our family gathering after the holiday, due to the many sub-branches wishing to celebrate with their own families.


    This year, we had dinner out on Saturday the 28th. It went swimmingly, even though my older son, his wife and two kids were unable to attend due to the kids being sick. They didn't want to endanger the baby or my mother. The dinner and gift exchange afterwards at son Jesse's house went better than I had hoped. 


    Everyone loved seeing the new baby, and my nephew Christopher really seemed enamored of him. He really is a sweet kid.

 

    And then New Years Eve came along. It just so happened that I was in the grocery store and found loose chestnuts in the produce section. I had been buying the ones in foil bags until I discovered that they are a product of China. And that is a bad thing. So I had vowed to not buy any more of those bags.


   So I was delighted to find the ones in the produce section! I scooped up about a pound of the little buggers and took them home, vowing to look up on the internet how to roast them myself.


    I was successful, finding two slightly different methods. I tried one last night, and it worked. The chestnuts were even better than the ones from China. Next time, I'll try the other method which steams them a little first before roasting. Supposedly it loosens the shell and skin, and makes it easier to remove them.


    Hubs helped me shell the hot nuts. They were very tasty indeed! Kudos to Hubs for helping, since he doesn't even like chestnuts! Unfortunately, we both fell asleep before the ball dropped at 12. We had been watching the Walking Dead marathon nearly all day. We only stopped at 10 pm to watch The Big Bang Theory. It was really fun to watch the first two seasons again.


    Here's hoping we all have a happy and healthy new year! With the "Big Storm" that's heading our way, I hope all the people I care about stay safe. Love to all!


    P.S. I have made some progress on my crocheted leg warmers, the first one is getting quite wide! I try to do at least two rows a day. So far, so good....

I blew it!

    I remembered to take the camera to the family party, but totally forgot to take it out of my bag and use it!! Wasted opportunity. But wait, it gets better!


    I completely forgot to take it to the parade too. I walked, and about halfway there, I remembered the camera. I wasn't about to turn around and walk all the way back to the house just to get the camera. Especially since I had to stop to catch my breath about three times on the way there.


    The good news is that the parade was good this year! All the usual stuff in it, and even something new! This year we had a woman on stilts marching too. She was very good, obviously had a lot of experience. She walked like it was natural. She even did some dance steps, and leaned way over to high five some of the little kids.


    The better news is that the parade was shorter this year too! I was home by 11:30! I just wish I had remembered to bring the camera!

What a Weekend!

    This has to be the coldest Memorial Day weekend ever. I saw that it even snowed upstate. Unbelievable. I'm sitting here, drinking my coffee, and I'm freezing! I had turned the heat down when it was so warm, and I refuse to turn it back up. It's going to warm up again this week anyway. I was thinking what a difference the sun makes. When it's 64 degrees in the house, that's cold! But when it's the same temp outside, it's on the warm side. And that's all because the sun makes the air warmer outside, and there's no sun inside the house.


    Today there is a family gathering at my daughter's house. Most of my family will be there,  with the exception of my Hubs, who's at work today, and either my sister-in-law or my niece. They take turns looking after someone, and one of them has to be there. I'm looking forward to this, it makes my mom happy to see all her family together.


    I will take my camera, and take some photos for you all to see. It's just too bad that it's so cold outside. We'll have to stay indoors, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.


    Then, of course, we have the town parade tomorrow! I'm excited about that. After all these years, it's still a thrill to see my son with the karate school, doing the demonstrations with the kids. I was going to hang out with my friend Kit, but I hear that she's away. I doubt she will be here for the parade, and that makes me sad. The parade is a big deal here. We have two every year, weather permitting. Memorial Day and Independence Day. Look here soon for photos!!