Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

It seems like everyone is really happy to say goodby to 2020. ha! Too bad the pandemic won't magically go away when the clock strikes twelve but at least Trump will be gone soon.

It's been weird that counting down to things improving with the pandemic keeps getting further into the future. At least we are getting used to changing our expectations, not that there's any choice! It's kind of like our mantle clock, on the face of it you can tell the time really well but when it comes to striking the hours, it will either strike just once or some random number of times. The chimes do occasionally match the time on the face but you can only trust what you see, not what you hear.

Speaking of time, His Madness embarked upon a lengthy process of producing Red and Green Lasagna for our New Year's Eve dinner. He started by making some spinach pasta from scratch.

Speaking of lengthy, he was lucky it didn't land in the cat's water bowl.

Eventually. it was brought under control and left to dry for a few minutes.

While HM made the TWO sauces I decided to hunt down all the pieces of the fancy Christmas china we never use and set the table with them. I even added extra glasses just to prove that I can fill a huge amount of time as well as His Madness.

Back in the kitchen, the sauces were done and the pasta was boiling.

(Actually, it only takes about thirty seconds if you don't let it dry.)

The red and white sauces along with the Parmesan was layered between the green pasta. Then it went in the oven for half an hour.

Earlier HM made two loaves of really unattractive but very tasty bread.

I should have taken a better photo of it but it was delicious. We forgot to do the crackers on Christmas so we decided better late than never. Who doesn't like reading jokes while wearing a paper crown? 

Salad and bread were also on the menu because His Madness thought it would be fun to recreate the "fancy" meal we used to serve our friends when we were in college. That lasagna was made with Creamette noodles, cottage cheese and the Parmesan came in a can, but nobody complained! Of course, the bread was a lot better looking!

I hope everyone found a way to pass the time while staying safe on New Years Eve.

Thanks for stopping by and best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Some silliness makes the season bright!

A lot of us missed our friends and family during the holidays this year. I was mainly focused on keeping in touch with everyone through cards and phone calls, getting together online and hoping the gifts we sent arrived. It wasn't until I accidentally hit something on my phone and it started showing me photos I'd taken last year, that it dawned on me that Christmas is a lot more than just widespread panic! It was a good reminder not to forget all the little things about the holidays that make us smile, like the Wisconsin Gas Building in downtown Milwaukee. Just the name alone still makes me laugh.

These are the Hanukkah lights. During the rest of the year the "flame" at the top changes color according to the weather forecast and also serves as a navigational light for boats on Lake Michigan. Naturally, I only think to look at it during the holidays, ha!

 

At Christmas time our local art center transforms itself into the story of the Nutcracker and the adjacent Conservatory becomes the Cupcake Cafe.

 The cake pedestals get taller and the selection of treats gets more outrageous each year!

This season, due to Covid restrictions, the Sugar Plum Fairy was given the holidays off along with the dancers and musicians. The rooms of the art center were still decorated as usual and it was open by appointment to keep everyone safe. I did miss seeing those ridiculous cake stands. 

With none of our family nearby we spend a good bit of time in airports but the live music and festive decorations at the Milwaukee Airport make it a very merry place. I first noticed Santa flying around overhead last year, I wonder how long has he's been up there, ha!

Every spinach quiche needs a red and yellow pepper Christmas Tree.

Each year His Madness attempts to make cut-out cookies and ends up with varying results. I have the easy part, adding the sprinkles. Most of the time they turn out just fine.   

    Let's just say there was an issue with the timer this year but we ended up with a few edible ones. We had a good laugh over them. If 2020 was a batch of Christmas cookies it would still look worse than these. 

 Seriously, how did I get out of the store without setting off any alarms? Are they just for show because obviously (and fortunately), it doesn't hinder anyone from opening the bottle. We will probably drink it all before it goes off in the middle of the night and scares the kitties.

Grocery store flowers aren't really silly (not these anyway) but it's just great that they sell them! It will be nice to go Christmas shopping in the stores again. Online shopping is a wonderful convenience but no substitute for wandering around a department store decorated for Christmas. Of course, it helps to have most of your shopping done before indulging in that activity. I even miss those annoying Salvation Army bell ringers but I think they should stop ringing their bells, out of courtesy, while you're fishing around in your purse for cash! Still, grocery stores and Targets are better than nothing and I shouldn't complain. It's three weeks until the inauguration, better days are ahead!

Thanks for stopping by, stay safe and wear your masks! 

Happy Holidays!

 

I'm sure this holiday season, just like the rest of the year, has been challenging for everyone. Personally, it's been a bummer not to be with family and friends but thankfully there's FaceTime and online shopping to keep things festive. Like that weird, brown bow on the wreath, this Christmas wasn't what I was hoping it would be but it came close enough. Now that the vaccines are available and with a new administration in charge, maybe better times are just months away.

Adding to the challenges of this covid Christmas, we had no snow! Not that I actually mind, there have been PLENTY of white Christmas's over the years and I'm always grateful when there isn't a blizzard on Halloween. Still, everything looks much better with a fresh covering of the white stuff. On the bright (orange) side, it's been so warm HM and I have been able to enjoy some spectacular sunsets from our patio, while sipping cocktails. Maybe that will become a new holiday tradition?

There were a couple of weeks where everything came to a stand still however. The artificial Christmas tree we had in our sunroom needed to be replaced so when the new one arrived in late November we set it up and got it decorated. About the same time, news started to trickle in about a number of our extended family members who had tested positive for the virus or had been exposed. It seemed like Covid was everywhere, my uncle was in the hospital and our next-door neighbor had been very ill for over a month. I started to think that maybe we should try to keep it simple this year and stick with one tree. Then my son Andy and his wife, Kristin sent these pretty flowers for my birthday and they reminded me that life is short and we need to enjoy it while we can!

So we put on our masks and went out to pick up our usual Frasier Fir at the Walgreens parking lot.

Then like magic, everything went back to normal Christmas chaos. The tree went up, the stocking were hung, the decorations came out and the Amazon/UPS Santas delivered almost all of the gifts on time. Most importantly, everyone we were worried sick about is okay or getting better and my uncle was allowed to leave the hospital before Christmas.

We are lucky to have our furry friends to keep us company during these times.

They even look forward to opening presents . . . but only after sleeping in on Christmas morning.

To be honest, all they really care about is playing in the wrapping paper!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Holidays!

Pink Pancakes and Leftover Leftovers

It's finally December and the full moon is giving it kind of a spooky start! Not that anything is going to magically be different but November really seemed like an eternity at times. It's good to be moving on and to have it officially announced that Biden won our state and Arizona, too - again, ha! Kudos to whoever thought to charge Trump for our recount. 

I hope that everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving, or a great weekend if you don't celebrate the holiday. Cheers! So, now that the feast is just a distant memory, we are onto the leftover situation.

That doesn't include the pie, of course.

As I've mentioned before, our families are scattered from coast to coast so we're used to being with friends or on our own during Thanksgiving. Still, things felt very different this year. It was oddly reassuring that Macy's put on their parade. Even though we never actually sit down and watch it, somehow it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it going on in the background! 

 A big meal usually leads to serious lounging and that went on as usual, all weekend.

Eventually, Ivy got down to business. She did a little Christmas shopping and then made some donations to local food banks and also a couple of Democrats running for the Senate in Georgia.

On Friday, His Madness concocted this Turkey Pot Pie and yesterday he made Turkey barbecue sandwiches, It appears there is still a serving or two left from the 5lb. breast we roasted plus all the rest of the pot pie. It's going to take awhile to get through the leftover leftovers.

For Sunday brunch, Kibitz and I decided to tackle the remains of the cranberry sauce. I had no idea where to start but Kibitz thought adding an apple seemed like a good idea.

After straining the really runny sauce I'd made from scratch on Thursday, I decided to reduce the liquid part to thicken it up. The apple, that had been simmering in maple syrup and cinnamon, got added in next. Talk about a bloody mess and it was sticky, too.

The cranberry part (that was left after straining out the liquid) went into the pancake batter. Then everything turned pink and I sprinkled the pecans on the top.

Actually, it wasn't too bad.  

Plus, it matched the very un-autumnal flowers.

Thanks for stopping by! Are you still eating leftovers?