Egypt Buff

Well New the Year has  come and we survived it. A small party was held, good food, good wine, and most importantly good friends.  Snow fell and was cleared (thank goodness for snow blowers) so no one was snowed in. Most friends stayed over so that breakfast was unusually chatty and bright. I woke up much later than usual and the coffee was hot and welcomed.

Bright sunlight today. No clouds but it is cold and windy, perfect excuse to stay in doors and light another fire. Mulled apple juice is tasty and just the thing to give the kids when they come in from playing. Is there anything cuter than little ones playing in the snow? Some of our guests decided to go shopping at Tangers outlet today. Fine for them I’ll stay indoors until dinner. We Will be out for dinner tonight! Best way to start the New Year.

The New Year is almost upon us and I’m just not ready for it. Christmas was lovely so it’s probably that I’m not willing to let it go. In Latin countries Christmas lasts until Epiphany ( Three Kings Day) and is much more festive. In P.R. the Americanization of the island has made Christmas the gift giving day, but Three Kings is still celebrated. I mean it gives us an other reason for a party after all.

Looking out my window I see the small stand of red oaks that I love. One of them does not let its leaves fall until Spring. The leaves are a red/brown color and stand out against the Arbor Vitae trees in the background. If it snows the contrast is stunning.

This tree is stubborn, it will not lose all its leaves until it can replace them in the spring. It endures. I like that, I hope I can endure as stubbornly as it does.

Well the big day is tomorrow and for once all our shopping is done. All that’s left is to wrap the gifts and put them under the tree.

For many years I have wanted to make the traditional Puerto Rican holiday drink of Coquito. Think of a simplified eggnog with coconut cream. My aunts would make gallons for the holidays so that everyone could take some home. Thanks to the Internet I found a recipe that works. Just a few minor tweaks and it was just like my aunts made.  This is for you Titi Nelly and Titi Lydia.

Now I have egg whites left over so I’m making meringues out of them.  Cooking for the Holidays is so much more fun that shopping.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, and a Happy and Prosperous New Year

This is the second weekend that the snow has made the trees look like picture postcards. The property is ringed by evergreens and they seem to catch most of the snow flakes.  It looks as we will be snowed in although four- wheel drive most probably will get us in & out.  Whatever, the fridge & pantry are stocked, the fireplace has logs in it and we have more  firewood handy. Anyway we have gas heat and will stay warm no matter what.

The kids are chomping at the bit to get outside and play. We have a good slope on the property and sledding is major fun for everyone. Very little traffic comes on our street so it is super safe for the kids to play. Snowmen get built snowballs are thrown and a good time is had by all.

Mulled apple juice is a perfect drink for days like this. For grown-ups wine or  cider can be drunk.    Sounds like an old fashioned way to spend the day I know, but old fashioned is also another way of saying tried and true. Family and good times sounds perfect!

The  wasps are dead mostly, you still can’t go into the closet but that’s because of the insecticide stench not the wasps. At least my son & daughter-in-law can sleep in their own beds now.

The DNC is over & the RNC is about to start,  every 4 years we go through this but the conventions are now a redundant party for the party faithful. As a person who is old enough to remember the 1956 convention (Oh, dear Huntley & Brinkley I miss you) with all the negotiating and back room deal, these conventions are just plain BORING! Have the reforms in selecting the convention delegates produced a better class of candidates? No, they have not. 1960- Kennedy vs. Nixon or 2000- Bush vs. Gore?  Gore at least was Vice President  and most probably would have received the nomination anyway but Bush? Harry Truman please come back to life, he said –I just tell the truth & they think it’s Hell. I’m paraphrasing of course. He would have made mincemeat of the fools slinging mud today.

And  speaking of W.A.S.P.s please look at the top of the Republican ticket. Now you do know how I feel about wasps, don’t you?

I loath wasps. Yellow Jackets especially, they are aggressive, ill tempered, and territorial to the max! Also a “mild” allergy to insect bites makes me especially leery of them. “Mild” allergy because I’m careful to wear insect repellent and walk away carefully so not to get bitten. So what happens? We have a nest of them in our attic space. Now never have I had to be hospitalized for a bite, but even a black fly bite will raise a muscle sized bump on my skin. You don’t want to know what mosquitoes do to me. My son has called an exterminator servvice that will come today to eliminate the problem. Very important as the nest is directly above the master bedroom. We can see it now, peaceful sleep interrupted by marauding wasps!  More anon.

Yesterday we had a great thunderstorm come through our area. I love them and respect them. Please do not ever go under a tree during one. This might seem as common sense, but just this week 6 people were injured and some were killed when they did just that.  I’ll never understand that. I do love the storms, but I’m careful of my life And limb. Here at home I get a terrific view of the storms effects.  The lightning and thunder, the wind and rain make the trees around our house dance. One dead tree in the back was hollow and broke in half. I felt sorry for the squirrels who lived there. One of my memories of my mom was being with her during a storm. My mother & I would always rush to the windows to see as much as we could. My darling mother-in-law was terrified of the storms. As a girl in Europe she saw flooding and fires caused by thunderstorms. The sight of both going on at the same time shook her and to the day she died she would sit in the middle of the room until the storm passed. My mom grew up where hurricanes were frequent and felt that thunderstorms were just junior league. She relished them. As I said previously, just random musings no great thoughts.

The view out of our windows is always lovely, but different each day. Today we had a very dense fog that obscured everything baack of the trees. It felt totally isolated and so very peaceful.Even the sounds of traffic were muted. Then came the mockingbirds, we have at least 3 families of mockers and they are very territorial. One in particular patrols his territory constantly. No other birds allowed! He has chased away all our cardinals and blue jays, even the robins are wary of him. I must say though I really loved it when he chased away 6 crows all by himself. Very cool, the crows just could  not push him around. Now the fog is lifting and all goes back to normal my day now begins.