The week of celebrations

The week after Christmas has always been on of dragging out the holiday spirit. I used to joke that in our family we'd celebrate from Dec 20th through the new year. So may Christmas parties with the extended family, Christmas with the fam, then my birthday, then New Year's eve. It was always busy and by the time the new year came around I was done seeing family for some time. 

This year I realized how much I missed that. Be careful what you wish for. 

The birthday this year was relatively uneventful on the day of. In fact, it was a little lonely later in the evening. I used to make a big deal about my birthday and ALWAYS had some type of gathering. That ended during Covid and it's never come back. I'm kinda ok with that and kinda not. 

The birthday celebration started the day before. We usually do the Keg for our birthday dinners, but I neglected to make reservations for mine and we couldn't get in. Not wanting to NOT go to dinner, I rallied and finally decided to go to Kidd Valley for a burger. 

I used to work at Kidd Valley and have always enjoyed their burgers. It's simple. It's easy. It's delicious. And it's something I knew we'd enjoy. Just getting together is fun so I knew it would be worth it. 

Bacon cheeseburger with mayo, ketchup, and tomato only.
Mushrooms and the rare chocolate/pb shake

My favorites.

The actual day of the celebration of my birth, Sherrie and I had lunch at Mod Pizza. I had to work so I had only about an hour to spend, but it was fun to get out and have lunch with the BFF. 

After lunch, of course, I had to go get my birthday Starbucks. I ordered what has been my recent favorite - Venti Chocolate Cream Cold Brew with extra Chocolate cream cuz it's my birthday. The barista said because it was my birthday I should have ordered a trenta! Oddly enough, I never think about going bigger and more expensive when it's free. I just get what I usually get. 

After work s when the birthday turned glum. I didn't plan any fancy dinner for myself (had Shepherd's Pie Soup). Didn't really do anything but watch TV and read. It was boring. And a little lonely. 

What I missed the most was my phone ringing at 7am and my Mom on the other end singing Happy Birthday to me so off key that most dogs would howl. This was her thing and I missed it every year. This year I missed it more than I care to admit. 

My sister called later in the day and sang to me. She said she remembered how much she loved getting that call from mom and thought maybe she'd pick up that tradition. She and I aren't overly close, but this meant a lot to me. 

So, here we are on the last day of the year. I have to get my goals together and have been thinking about who I am now, who I have been and who I want to be. I've let a lot go in the past two years, and not in a good way. Stay tune for more on my "goals" for the next year. 

Here's wishing you all a Happy New year and I hope 2023 brings you much love, laughter, and joy. 

That's a Wrap

Christmas 2022 is done! 

I didn't do a whole lot yesterday. Janet and Ashley were coming to dinner so I had the whole day to just hang out and do whatever I wanted. Normally, I'd be up in the scrapbook room doing something, but just didn't feel it yesterday. 

All day I felt like a dark cloud was hanging over me. I felt lonely. I felt like the loss of both my parents was really real. I felt like all the traditions we had for Christmas are gone. No one to share them with anymore. I was sad most the day. Even as I type this I can feel the tears wanting to come. 

I kept trying to tell myself it was just another day. Nothing to be sad about. It was only a Sunday in which people were coming to dinner. And no matter how I tried to convince myself, it didn't work. It was a Sunday but it was also Christmas.

Despite the sadness and grief that was boiling inside of me, I had a pretty good day. I made lasagna for Christmas dinner. In all my life I've never made lasagna for Christmas dinner. It has almost always been a nice cut of beef of some sort. But with so few of us here I decided something new was in order. The recipe for this lasagna is over on the cooking blog. 

We started the celebration with the traditional Clam Dip. This batch turned out so good. I swear I follow the recipe every time for this dip. Sometimes it's spot on. Sometimes it's not. Yesterday it was spot on. 

After all was said and done, it was a nice evening. Good wine. Good food. Good conversation. Good TV (we watched Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives all evening). 

Now I turn to the birthday celebration and the new year. Bring it!

Merry Christmas Eve

Here we are. Dec 24th ... already. I know we have a week left in this year, but my god this year went fast. 

The "excitement" over the last week has been the snow and ice. Yes! Snow! And Ice. Y'all know how much I loath snow and ice. It's beautiful. But it really doesn't belong on the roads. 

But before I get to that, let's talk about wine. 

Janet and I went wine tasting for like the second time this year. Far cry from years past where we got out a lot more to taste wine. I bought us the wine passports for next year so hopefully we'll get out more. 

We hit three wineries and I ended up bringing home 3 bottles of wine. And Janet actually bought a bottle of wine. 

As we sat at the first winery the snow started coming down. I was freaking out internally because I didn't want to drive in it. Thankfully it was still to warm so nothing was sticking, so we continued on to the other two wineries. 

I decided on the way home from wine tasting that, based on the forecast, I should probably go to the store and buy a couple more meals and the ingredients for Christmas dinner. The last thing I wanted was to NOT be able to actually cook Christmas dinner because I couldn't get out to buy ingredients. 

I'm so glad I did. Sunday afternoon the snow started. Just a skiff, but snow all the same. 

The snow started in earnest on late Monday night into Tuesday last week. I had 6" again on my back deck. It just kept coming. All....day...long. I shoveled my drive way three times during the day. Learning from last year that if I don't shovel as the snow comes down, then it's too heavy to shovel when it's done. I'm so very glad I did shovel. Kept my driveway nice and clean...for no one. I mean, I wasn't going anywhere, but just in case someone came to see me. 

On top of all that snow was frigid temperatures. It got cold. One day I woke up and it was 16 F outside. SIXTEEN! Reminded me of the days in Minot, ND and how much I hated snow then (I was in 2nd grade. You'd think a kid would like snow. Not this kid.)

The frigid temps caused freezing rain and all the roads in the Seattle area were covered in a thick layer of ice. I went out briefly just to see it and my clear driveway looked ok, but it was slicker than slick. I couldn't believe the number of people who were out on the roads too. Even though the advice was to stay inside. So I spent a good part of the day watching the news and seeing all these cars slide down hills and crashing into other cars. 

So, I've been stuck inside for almost a week. A week! Gah. While I've gotten out to walk around, it's not the same as getting in my car and going anywhere I want, like to go get coffee. Blueberry stopped by on Wednesday with a hot chocolate for me. She knows me too well. 

So here we are, the day before Christmas and it's finally raining. It's a balmy 41F outside this morning. My drive is slowly melting which means maybe, maybe, by tomorrow I could go out. Which is ironic since there's no place to really go that'll be open. 

And so on this melting Christmas eve, I wish all my friends and families (and my enemies) a very merry Christmas! Enjoy being with your friends and family. Hug them all. Tell them you love them and remember that before you know it, it'll be 2023!!

Sunday Funday Dinners

In Aug 2010,  I started this "Sunday dinner" thing. I invited a handful of friends to dinner and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Here we are at the end of 2022 and I'm proud to say my Sunday dinners are going strong. The guest list has certainly changed over the years. Added some new folks. Tossed other folks aside (for reasons I won't mention). Lost a few, sadly. And have what I call the "standard gang". My main peeps. They are invited every time and show up almost every time.

The "dinner" portion has changed over the years too. In the beginning I did the whole dinner. Everything from appetizers to desserts. And I liked that. I controlled the meal. I could plan accordingly and I could, of course, make sure everything "went together". 

But over the years the family wore me down. They kept offering to bring things. They wanted to participate. And a couple of them felt bad that I was forking out all the dough for the dinner. Even though I was ok with that. So I started allowing people to bring things. I tried to contain them though by assigning a list of "what was needed." So then every Sunday dinner, I'd make the "main dish" and I'd put the list out of Appetizer, salad, side, bread, and dessert. Or a combination of that. It's worked. 

I'd like to also add I got less "controlly" about Sunday dinner and begin to just enjoy how it turned out every time. 

This year I introduced themes. I LOVED the theme idea. It was a ton of fun to branch out of our norm and try new things. The "rule" was that if you were contributing to Sunday dinner it had to be in that theme. And surprisingly everyone followed the rules.  

We had this year's last Sunday dinner on this last Sunday. Mexican was the theme! The additional bonus of the December Sunday dinner is it's also a cookie exchange. Mexican food AND treats? Whoa!

The "standard" gang

The new "tradition" is to pick the next year's themes. And am I here to tell you next year theme's are going to be WOW! 

So if you want an invite, you gotta let me know. We might be able to squeeze you in.

I often wondered if Sunday dinners would run it's course at some point. The thing is, though, I think they might be here to stay. And I'm ok with that. 

Stealing and such nonsense

I was thinking about a childhood memory this weekend that first made me mad and then made me think how easy it is to accuse someone of a wrong doing without all the evidence. 

I had someone try to steal from me and it made me think about when I was accused of stealing. 

Now in the spirit of full disclosure, I did shoplife ONCE in my life. I lifted a big comb when I was in 5th grade from the 7-11. The owner caught me. Called my mother who had to drive 45 minutes from work to come and pick me up. Oh boy was I busted! Like beyond busted. I think I might still be grounded. 

When I was in 3rd grade we lived on base in Great Falls MT. Our neighbor had a teenage daughter who used to babysit me on occasion. She was a ton of fun. We'd dress up in her "adult" clothes and play "high school". She was just awesome. 

One day we were playing and she gave me a little purse and put some chapstick/gloss in it. She showed me how to put it across my chest and carry it. She said it was "cool" and so I thought it was too. 

While in her room her Mom popped her head in and said my Mom called and they were home. So I headed home. 

When I got home, I went straight to my room to change out of my school clothes. Mom went in after to gather up the clothes and found the little purse. She came storming out of the room and I got the "Jennifer Joy get in here" voice. 

She shook the purse in front of me and yelled "What is this?" And I explained what it was and why I had it. She then accused me of stealing it. 

I swore I didn't. 

She didn't believe me. She pulled me next door. Hammered on their door and tried to force me to apologize to the babysitter for stealing it. By this time I was crying and afraid (Mom could get a little intense sometimes). After a moment the babysitter explained to Mom that I hadn't stolen it just left with it. She told her about how we were playing "high school" and she showed me how to wear it. 

Mom handed the purse back to the babysitter and apologized for bothering them. 

She marched me home. We sat down to dinner. She never apologized for accusing me of stealing. 

I asked her many years later why. She said she made such a fuss about it that she didn't feel she could. 

I tell you this because recently someone tried to steal from me in my own house. I was shocked and a little sad. I didn't make a scene. I, instead, stewed on it. And stewed on it ... and stewed on it. 

Still stewing by the way. 

Thanksgiving and all it's memories

I've likely made or helped with 40+ Thanksgiving meals. It's a day that is full of traditions and memories of Mom for me. She and I were the cooks on Thanksgiving and I miss that. 

I was trying to remember back in my life the first time I remember helping mom, or rather wanting to help Mom, cook Thanksgiving dinner. I can't really pinpoint it. It feels like I've always been standing at her side prepping and cooking. Then eventually we'd be cooking over the phone when they moved to AZ.

Back in the day, I do remember us getting up at the butt-crack of dawn to get the turkey ready to cook what felt like all day. That was before they made those turkey bags that Mom quickly fell in love with and used every year. Cuts down the cooking time and makes a good bird. 

Mom and I used to sit and talk about the plan for the day the night before. Once I was older it may not have been in person, but it was always a conversation we didn't miss. I'd ask her things like, "have you made your clam dip yet?" and she'd ask me "what time are you serving dinner?"  Our conversation every year was almost exactly the same, but it was something we had to do. In fact, we joked about if we didn't have this conversation, the turkey gods would take offense and burn our turkey. 

Then the day of I made sure I'd call Mom while I was making my dressing. We used to taste it vigorously when we cooked together. We'd laugh and say we were making sure the seasoning was right. So when we weren't together I'd call and ask her the same thing. It makes me smile even today. 

When Mom passed, my first Thanksgiving without her was difficult. I wanted to call and laugh and taste and laugh some more. 

The Niece was my helper for a couple of years. We made our own traditions and we laughed at our own new jokes. We had a turkey bag blow out one year that we still talk about today. It came up in conversation when I got the turkey out of the oven. She and I'd make a special drink and we'd try to wiggle a oiled up 20 plus pounder into a bag with all it's limbs sticking out here and there. Oh man we laughed. 

But now, she's moved to the other side of the country. So the last two Thanksgivings have been just me. And that's ok. I still have my memories. And thankfully, I talk to myself and always agree with myself. 

This year I opted for a smaller bird. I was only feeding 6 (turned out we only had 5) and I figured a 17 pound turkey was fine. And it was. It was WAY easier to get into that darn bag. 

My Thanksgiving meal is simple: Clam dip for an appetizer, turkey, dressing, broccoli casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, black olives, sweet pickles and cranberry sauce. 

The broccoli casserole has been tradition for - gosh I don't even know how many years. It has always been on the table. Until it wasn't. 

It makes a ton and is impossible to cut in half. So this year I opted for my Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole. It still has broccoli and cheese in it and it is easier to make in smaller amounts. I still had a ton of leftovers.

Dinner was right on time. We were minus one as Janet's mom was sick. We ate. We drank. And we were merry. 

I think next year I can even get as small as a 15 pounder (if you can find one) and maybe even cut the casseroles in half. Though, to be fair, I did cut the dressing in half and we still had a ton, so maybe I'll need to do it in half again. But I do love leftover stuffing. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the trimmings and all family and friends you can manage. 

Nashville - Day 6

 Hello November!

Last day in Nashville! We used the hop on hop off trolley to get to the Ryman so we can go through the museum. Only...we didn't know they closed at 11 today! Sherrie was very bummed. We missed it on Monday because it closed early too. So we planned on doing it Tuesday, only we didn't know it closed early again. 

So we walked over to the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum. I absolutely didn't want to waste my time in that, so I opted to sit in the lobby and people watch. My knee and back were still acting up and I just didn't want to push it. I was also starting to not feel great. 

After the museum we went to Gumbo's for lunch. I had a shrimp po'boy that was yummy yummy!

When we finished lunch we headed back to the hotel. It was getting late and I wasn't feeling great. We figured we'd have a downtime afternoon. 

I got the chills a bit and decided I needed a nap. I slept a bit and then it was clear I was coming down with something. 

We ordered pizza in and watch a movie. Pizza didn't sound great - which told me I was really not feeling good. I still ate two slices, but that was because I was hungry-ish. 

Our flight is early tomorrow and it's gonna be a long flight for me. I'm ready to go home though. It's been fun Nashville. 

Nashville - Day 5

 Happy Halloween! Today we're doing the hop on hop off trolley around Nashville. But it's way more fun this time. Why? Because my friend Tracy from my Quartz Hill High School days lives in Nashville now and is joining us!

Tracy was on the rifle team with me at QHHS. She was my right hand rifler. She was good. Solid. And had all the leadership skills I needed to help captain the team. She was clever with her new rifle stunts and we both pushed each other to be better. I moved to Washington and then TASIS and we kinda lost touch a little. It was harder to keep in touch before social media. 

The last time I saw Tracy was in 1992 (or 3) at her wedding. I was her Maid of Honor and then that was it. We lost track of each other. I always wondered what happened to her. Turns out her life has turned out just fine. She's doing quite well with a little company of her own focusing on quilting and embroidery. 

The Hop on Hop off trolley was entertaining. We got to see a lot of Nashville, some huge parks and Music Row. 

Nashville has a ton of murals

The capital building

I'm sure they said, but I don't remember why they
have a Parthenon replica.

After all that fun on the bus, we went to a Triple D restaurant for dinner. Finally. We hadn't hit but one restaurant on our list so far. Sad. We really do pretty well with food, but this trip, not so much. 

The Grilled Cheeserie was on point. I had their Quesabirria grilled cheese and Oh...My... God! There's a reason they're a Triple D.

 

I should also mention that after the hop on hop off and lunch, we had to find the angel wings in The Gulch. Sherrie had heard about them and it was on her list. Luckily they weren't too far from where we ate lunch. 

Tracy and I - both angels

Crabs are angels too.

While we were taking this photo Tracy said something to the girls in line behind us about "have you ever worn crab hats in Nashville?" Then suddenly they wanted to wear our hats. So we let them. 

Nashville - Day 4

 Ahh Sunday. It was a day to rest. And rest we did. 

Though we decided to head out and try the Loveless Cafe which is about 30 minutes out of Nashville. We loaded up and headed out. 

We drove through some beautiful countryside. Nashville area really is quite pretty. The leaves were all changing too which just added to how gorgeous it was. 

We got to the Loveless Cafe and saw hundreds of people mulling around. Well, maybe not hundreds, but a lot. I hopped out - yes the gimpy one - to see what the wait was. An hour and 45 minutes! There was no way, we were all starving and no one wanted to wait that long. But we did take advantage of these peep hole photo ops. 

We found another restaurant near by and decided it was good enough. Not great, but good enough. 

After a few wanted to go check out this mansion on the Vanderbuilt campus, but I had had enough of seeing things and just wanted to head back to the hotel to rest. So I hopped a ride with the Nieces and then promptly took a nap and just hung out by myself for a bit. It was glorious. 

One of my nieces was headed back to Seattle and we had to drop off the car, so after we did that we decided a simple dinner would be best. Enter Cracker Barrel. OMG. What is it about this place. The food is just ok, not really great, and yet I'm drawn to it. Mom used to love to take me to Cracker Barrel. Maybe that's why I feel like I gotta go there. 

At any rate, dinner was good and filling. We were carb-loaded up and ready for another day in Nashville. Tomorrow we'd be doing the hop on hop off bus! And spoiler alert - a good friend from my Quartz Hill days would be joining us. Yay.

Nashville - Day 3 - The Wedding

 Today's the day! The Big day! I'm so excited for the Niece and new Niece. I'm sure they're excited too. 

But before we drive to the venue we had a leisurely morning then out to Uncle Bud's for lunch! Blueberry didn't have any options for lunch here but a baked potato! I'm not sure why I find that so amusing, but I do. The food here was amazing. 

We sat down and was immediately given a bowl of beans, hush puppies, cole slaw and sweet tea! Those beans! Lord, I cannot even explain how delicious they were. Beans are often too salty for me, but these were seasoned perfectly. I thought of dad and his love of this type of food. I sure wish he could be there with us. 

The hush puppies were the bomb as well. I like hush puppies, but they aren't always moist or flavorful enough for me. These were amazing! They actually had corn in them and were seasoned perfectly. 

When were full and happy we got back to the hotel in time to change our clothes and then head out to the venue. We were told to get there early so that we could take the shuttle up to the venue. We met the fam in the lobby and we were off. Man we clean up nice.

The venue was a place called Annie Acres and man was it beautiful. The farm house style venue was perfect. I loved it immediately. It felt so much like The Nieces that I was glad they found it. 

The wedding went off without a hitch. They were both so happy and so beautiful. The vows were so them and so lovely. I'll admit I teared up a bit. 

The reception was no slouch either. They had BBQ for the food, music, a photo booth set up, specialty drinks, sweet tea and more music. Oh and some cup cakes! 

The reception hall

A nice set up of photos of the loved ones not with us. 

The photo booth we took full advantage of. The brothers and I got it started, then it was our family taking over the booth for a bit. 

The funniest part of the evening to me was when the latin music started up. See The New Niece's family is Puerto Rican. And boy or boy do they party. At one point her entire family was on the dance floor cutting up the rug. Meanwhile the Germans were all sitting watching. It was pretty amusing. 

The entire wedding was beautiful and so memorable. I'm so very happy for the two of them and can't wait to see how their lives turn out.