Holiday highlights, the finale

Spouse & I remarked to each other that this was probably 1 of the best holiday seasons we can remember.  We never felt stressed, and everything just seemed to fall into place.

We got our tree up, our interior decorating done, and our exterior lighting all done before our tree trimming party.  (That has not always been the case.)  Our tree trimming party was fun, as always.  We attended the town Christmas parade which wasn't rained out as it has been in some recent years.  While our holiday shopping got off to a slow start, all ordered items arrived on time so I could wrap them without feeling rushed.  I got to attend the town's Christmas home tour for the 1st time ever.  I spent the good part of a day baking cakes, brownies, and breakfast casseroles to take with us.  We enjoyed our annual pizza and hippie roll luncheon with our dear friends Kerry, Hugh, Kelly, Carl, Lisa, Alex, Kim, and Danny.  We had dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant followed by cookies at the home of our old buddies Ron & James, along with Mike & Clark.  We had a lovely visit/lunch with my cousin Nez and her husband Steve.  We saw most of the family on Christmas eve and/or Christmas day.  Once we returned home we debriefed with our friends Steven & Thad over dinner.  We went to a lovely post-Christmas party at Marty & John's home. We did a lot, saw a lot, and ate a lot; pretty much the perfect holiday season!

Here are a few photos of some of our special/unusual tree ornaments:

Purchased in Palm Springs Oct 2018

1 of 2 clear snowflakes purchased at the Dollar store several years ago, and a Paris ornament from 2003

Large, silver snowflake from Joey & Glenn

Lenox sleigh from my friend Dawn

Eiffel Tower purchased in Paris Dec 2003

Translucent chicken from our friend Megan 15+ years ago, Lenox bear from Dawn, and clear rainbow swirl ball from Calvin

Another clear rainbow swirl ball from Calvin, and Chihuahua from Dawn

Blue glass ball with white swirl from Calvin

 Here are some of our interior holiday decorations:

Although not visible in this photo, the snow-covered trees have glitter on them and were found inside our very 1st home together in 1996.  I adore them and suspect they're pretty old.

The reindeer were from my cousin Nez, the snowman was from our friend Clara.  The old school ceramic tree is actually not old; we bought it at the QVC clearance store about 5 years ago.

Red truck pillows purchased about 3 years ago

Red truck floor mat purchased this fall

Red truck wall hanging purchased 2 years ago

Without any knowledge of our red truck decor Spouse's sister gave us this red truck cookie jar which coordinates perfectly

 And last but not least...

Marvin & Walter in their Christmas bow ties on Daddy's lap on Christmas day

I hope all of you had a great holiday season.

Holiday highlights part 2

On my the 24th Spouse & I made our annual trek about an hour west to my cousin's house.  Inez (Nez) and I are less than a year apart in age and have always been close.  She and her husband Steve live in a 200+ year old stone house which is the perfect Christmas house.  They always decorate it so nicely for Christmas and its just so incredibly cozy to sit with them in their kitchen/keeping room with a fire going in the giant stone fireplace.  Nez made shrimp chowder and Steve grilled steaks for lunch, which were delicious.  I brought an experimental cake for dessert but unfortunately the experiment was a flop, which gave us all a laugh.  We talked and laughed and just really enjoyed spending time together.  Unfortunately I neglected to take any photos of this visit, which is probably evidence of how present and in-the-moment I was.  This annual visit is another highlight of the Christmas season for me.

When we returned to Spouse's sister's house abound 4:30, Spouse's brother Paul and 1 of his daughters Evelyn were already there.  We had a nice visit with them while Spouse's sister and her husband and adult kids were at church.  Once they returned home Spouse's other brother Louis and his wife Karen arrived and we had a casual Christmas eve meal.  12/24 is also Spouse's mother's birthday, and although she's no longer with us, we still thought of her on her birthday in a happy way.  She was a unique, delightful woman who inspired lots and lots of funny stories and remembrances. I only took a couple photos that night.  Here's one of our brother-in-law Eric with Marvin & Walter in their Christmas bow ties, courtesy of the lady who trims their nails:

After a long, active day Walter was tuckered out so he snuggled up on my shoulder for a nap.

Spouse's sister displayed all her nutcrackers on the mantel this year.

Christmas recap

Since Thurs is my regular day off, I planned nothing else but wrapping and baking.  I mean, we were leaving the next day so I really couldn't put it off anymore.

This was 1 of the few gifts I actually wrapped with paper and ribbon. I think its beautiful but it was really time-consuming.

Most of the gifts this year where wrapped in tissue paper and went into reusable shopping bags.  Without really planning it, we ended up with this shopping bag concept which worked well and saved a lot of time.

I made 4 pans of magic cookie bars.  The 2 in the foreground are the original recipe with coconut flakes on top.  The other 2 were variations; 1 with crushed candy canes and the other with peanut butter chips.

I made them in these aluminum pans with lids so they would stack easily for transport to VA.  We had them both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and they were a big hit!  I made so many that I wound up bringing some home, which is definitely NOT a bad thing.  I also made 2 pans of breakfast casserole (not pictured) to take with us too.

On Fri our former neighbors dropped off a gift and card while I we were at work.  They have 2 young boys whom we love and who were so sweet to our dogs.  The envelope of the card touched me!

Their card was added to our growing collection which I staple to wide ribbons hung from the top of the molding with push pins.  I love displaying cards this way and incorporating them into our holiday decorations.

Spouse & I both came home from work early (unexpectedly) so we decided to have a very early dinner out, then packed our bags, loaded the car, and hit the road.  We arrived at Spouse's sister's house at 9:30.

Sat we hung out with Spouse's sister and her family all day.  But that evening I drove back to DE to perform in the last holiday LEGENDS show, then drove back to VA afterward.

Sun Spouse & I drove out to my cousin Nez & Steve's house.  

They live in a 250 year old stone house that's really cool.  Its been our tradition to spend some time together on Christmas eve.  We had lunch and a lovely visit together.

When we returned to Spouse's sister's house they were leaving for Christmas Eve mass, so we helped set up while they were gone.  Shortly after they returned, the rest of the family began showing up.

Our niece Anna's daughter Gabby with her dad Randy

My handsome husband

Our nephews Tommy and Eric

To be honest I was a more than a little concerned with how Christmas Eve would turn out.  As long as I've been a part of this family (20+ years) we have always celebrated Spouse's mom's birthday on Christmas Eve.  With her passing last April, this was our 1st Christmas Eve without her and I hoped it wouldn't be a sad time.  But her 4 living children were all there, with their spouses and their children, and everyone ate and drank and visited just like before.  I really think Spouse's mom would have been supremely happy about this.

Christmas day was very relaxed and fun.  The boys & I enjoyed coffee in the quiet before the rest of the family was up.

We had breakfast casserole and then opened our gifts.

It was a nice day spent hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

Our brother-in-law and 2 nephews chilling

That afternoon I picked up my aunt Mary and brought her over to join us.  

Mary with Marvin

We exchanged gifts and then had dinner.  Spouse's sister made rigatoni, gnocchi, sausage and meatballs, eggplant parmesan, chicken parmesan, and salad.  Aunt Mary brought sweet potato shuffle (a family favorite) and a hummingbird cake (my favorite).  It was a peaceful, wonderful Christmas day.

On Tues Spouse's sister and her husband joined Spouse & me as we met up with our dear friends Kerry & Hugh, Kelly, Lisa, Carl, Kim & Danny, Pat, and Alex for our annual hippie roll and pizza luncheon.

The infamous hippie rolls

Alex and Kerry

Spouse's sister, Kim, Pat, Danny, Spouse's brother-in-law

Me and Lisa

We returned to Spouse's sister's house, packed up our stuff, loaded the dogs into the car, and headed home.  It was a wonderful holiday!

Christmas recap

It was somewhat of a whirlwind, but we had a good Christmas.

Tues my office closed at 1pm so I met up with Joe P for lunch, then stopped at HomeGoods for a little bit of last minute gift shopping, then filled the tank with gas, and went home to let the dogs out and tidy up the house.  Spouse came home at 5pm and we packed our suitcase, loaded the car, and were on the road by 6pm.  It was raining lightly but the real concern was the heavy fog which caused me to have to drive slower than usual, but we eventually arrived at Spouse's mom's house safe and sound.

Wed morning after breakfast Spouse & I took Marvin & Walter with us to visit my cousin Inez & her husband Steve.  They live about an hour from Spouse's mom, in a 200+ year old stone house.  I love spending Christmas eve by the fire in Nez's warm kitchen and adjacent sitting room. Nez's mom (my aunt Rosie) was there too, so it was great to see her as well.  We talked and had lunch, and then exchanged little gifts.  I gave Nez a t-shirt with the caption "You had me at Merlot". 

Nez gave me a cool bar set that hides inside a bottle.  It was a great visit, but we needed to leave mid-afternoon and head back to Spouse's mom's.

I agreed to hang out at home with the dogs while Spouse made a quick trip to the grocery store to get the ingredients for our Christmas morning breakfast casserole (eggs, cheese, sausage, hash browns baked together).  I had suggested this easy-to-make breakfast casserole because in past years we never seem to have a decent breakfast on Christmas morning.  Spouse's mom always has raisin bread or English muffins or the like, but nothing for a proper Christmas morning breakfast.  I thought this breakfast casserole would be great since its preparation is quick.  But I was sorely disappointed when Spouse returned from the grocery store empty-handed.  He said the store was crowded and there were long lines at the cashier stands...  Imagine that!!  People trying to buy food on Christmas eve!!  Who would have ever thought??  Rather than being patient and buying the food, he aborted the mission.

Later that evening we went to Spouse's sister Mary's house for Christmas eve and Spouse's mom's birthday.  Mary made a pulled pork tenderloin, mac-n-cheese, and kale.  There were numerous Christmas cookies, brownies, and other sweets for dessert, PLUS a homemade birthday cake for Spouse's mom's 85th birthday. 

My long-time friend Kathryn also stopped by for a bite to eat and a visit, and other folks (relatives, our nephews' girlfriends, etc) stopped by as well.

On Christmas morning there was no breakfast casserole so we ate donuts, raisin toast, and Christmas cookies swiped from the previous night.  Not at all what I'd hoped for, but it was what it was.  Around noon we went to Spouse's brother and sister-in-law's house nearby for a little visit.  After dropping Spouse & his mom off at her house, I picked up my aunt Mary and brought her to the house.  We exchanged gifts with her there rather than with the rest of the family later on.  She gave us the Lady GaGa & Tony Bennett duets CD, the official 2014 White House Christmas tree ornament, and 2 Ina Garten cookbooks (Make it Ahead & Back to Basics).  Then we all went to Spouse's sister Mary's for Christmas dinner.  She made rigatoni with meatballs and Italian sausage, chicken Parmesan, and stuffed shells.  My aunt Mary brought sweet potato shuffle and a hummingbird cake.  It was all delicious and we had a great time.  Later we exchanged gifts and Spouse & I were happy that our family really seemed to like the gifts we got for them.

Fri we met up with our dear friends Kerry & Hugh, Kerry's dad George, Kerry's sister Kelly, and our long-time friend Lisa for our annual Christmas luncheon at Joe's Place.  

It is the only place I know that serves hippie rolls, which are Italian sausages and sauteed onions and peppers wrapped in pizza dough and baked to a golden brown deliciousness.  I'm crazy for them!!

We had a lovely visit with them and the time just seemed to pass too quickly.  We returned to Spouse's mom's house, packed up our stuff, loaded the dogs into the car, and headed home.  Steven & Thad invited to their house for leftovers from their Christmas dinner so of course we agreed.

I went back to work on Sat but that evening we met up with our buddies Vic & Mike for dinner.  Vic had recently been in El Paso TX and picked up t-shirts for us.  

How perfect!  They are very nice guys and we always enjoy hanging out with them.

Sun morning Spouse & I had breakfast at the Crystal with Steven and Joe P, and then I had to work again.  It was extremely quiet in the office so we played Scrabble!  It was a fun way to pass the time.

Sunday funday

We started our Sun by going to breakfast with Steven and Joe P at the Crystal restaurant.  The food is good, the service is fast, and everyone goes there so you always run into people you know.  Its probably my favorite thing about Sundays when I don't work.

On the way home we stopped at both Home Depot and Lowe's to check out their gardening centers.  Neither Spouse nor I really want to spend much time tending to plantings, but we do like an attractive yard, so we try to buy a few new things every year that bloom multiple times in multiple seasons.  Several years ago we bought several rose plants that bloom over and over again from late May to late October.  They only require occasional dead-heading and watering in the heat of the summer.

So yesterday we picked up 4 variegated hostas, the kind with the dark green centers and white rims, along with a few more lavender plants (Spouse loves them for some reason) and went home to plant and water them.  We notice some of the roses had bugs so we dusted the roses to get rid of the bugs.  We also bagged some yard clippings in those heavy paper bags so the City will pick them up next week.  Hopefully next week the guy will come to put down some fresh mulch in the beds for us.

As we were finishing up our yard work I got a text from my cousin Inez, saying she and her husband Steve were in town for a little while with another couple.  They had spent the weekend in Cape May NJ and had just gotten off the ferry, so we washed up and walked into town to meet up with them.  We strolled around window shopping, and eventually stopped for an ice cream cone.  It was a short and unexpected but welcomed surprise!

Later that evening we met up with Vic & Mike for dinner before they headed back to VA.  We used to live in the same neighborhood where they live now, and they also have a place here at the beach.  We tried a new restaurant and really enjoyed our meals.

It was a very nice day with a little bit of productivity and a lot of fun.

Christmas plans

Last night Spouse & I arrived at his mom's house at 9:30.  I was nervous how Marvin would get along with Spouse's mom's dog since Marvin didn't get along well with his brother's dog at Thanksgiving.  After a bit of desensitization Marvin tolerated being around Romeo, a 5 month old puppy who wanted nothing more than to play.

This morning I drove out to my cousin Nez's house to spend the day with her and her husband.  I was very happily surprised to find my aunt Rosie there!  I haven't seen her in a few years and she had some rather serious health issues earlier this summer, so it was really good to see her feeling/doing well again.  We had a very relaxed, easy visit talking and laughing.

Very shortly Spouse & I are heading over to his sister's house for Christmas eve and his mom's birthday.  We'll have food, his mom will open her birthday presents, and we'll have birthday cake... all on Christmas eve!

Tomorrow we'll hang out at his mom's house in the morning, then I'll pick up my aunt Mary and we'll all go back over to Spouse's sister's house for Christmas dinner and exchanging gifts.

On Thurs we will meet up with Kerry & Hugh, Kelly, George, and Lisa for our traditional Christmas luncheon which consists of pizza and hippie rolls.  (A hippie roll is an Italian sausage sliced in half length-wise with sauted onions and green peppers, wrapped in pizza dough and baked to a golden brown... delicious!)  Afterward we'll drop Spouse's mom off at her house, pick up Marvin and our luggage, and head on home.  

We'll see quite a few friends and family during our 3-day visit for Christmas!

Summer in April

I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention to the weather forecast, because this weekend's incredibly warm weather caught me by surprise.

Earlier in the week it was rainy and quite cool, only in the 50s. On Fri the sun shined brightly and the temperature warmed up to 60, which is where it normally is in April for this area. I was thankful that the rain had stopped and that I didn't need a jacket to walk the dog on Fri.

But then Sat it got up to 87 degrees, almost a 30 degree difference from the day before, and more than a 30 degree difference from 2 days before.

As if that wasn't shocking enough, on Sun it got up to 94 degrees!

But I ain't complainin'. I'll take 'very warm and sunny' over 'chilly and rainy' anytime.

What an optimal weekend for my cousin Nez and her husband Steve to visit! We walked all over our little historic hamlet and they absolutely loved it. Nez & Steve live in a stone house built in 1793, so they really identified with the historic homes and feeling of our little town.

We also drove them around to several places where they could see, smell, and feel the beach. They are both beach lovers, as Spouse & I are, so we went for a walk and even took off our shoes and got our feet wet. There were hundreds of people in the swimsuits, laying on towels and sitting in beach chairs, enjoying the beautiful weather and catching some rays. We also saw a wedding party taking photos on the beach.

We ate, drank, talked, laughed, and reminisced. It was a lovely weekend, made even more lovely by the unexpectedly warm weather.

Crush du Jour: Gilles Marini

Friday fragments

Company
My cousin Inez (we call her Nez) and her husband Steve are coming to visit this weekend. I'm embarrassed I can't even remember when the last time was that we saw each other. Maybe 4-5 years ago? We've talked on the phone and IM'd since then though. Nez & I are less than a year apart in age and spent a lot of time together when we were kids and teenagers. I'm looking forward to their visit!

Commando
The other day I went 'commando' for a few hours. I had on flannel pajama pants (without underwear) and a t-shirt, but realized I needed to walk the dog. Rather than putting on underwear for a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood, I just slipped off the pjs and put on jeans, sans underwear. I felt a little 'naughty', knowing I was walking around town with no underwear. I kinda liked it.

Ted Haggard
Speaking of naughty, a friend sent me this (obviously doctored) photo of Ted Haggard, which I just had to share. As usual, click to enlarge.

Vintage vs. Retro

Vintage is when something is from a past decade. Retro is when something modern is made to look like its from a past decade. Your grandparents wedding photo is vintage. The photos you took yesterday using black and white film are retro. Just because they're black and white doesn't make them vintage.

Toolboxes

Have you ever noticed how toolboxes smell like vomit? Growing up, my dad had a metal toolbox that smelled like vomit. Many years ago our lesbian housemates had a big plastic toolbox that smelled like vomit. We have a small plastic toolbox that smells like vomit. What's up with that?

Not the same
You may have read earlier this week that Nevada is trying to implement a domestic partner registry that will grant most of the rights of marriage but without the term 'marriage'. Then on Wed I had yet another discussion with some gays who feel that 'as long as we get the rights, who cares what they call it'. I had to remind them, as I have many others, that separate is never equal. We will not have equal rights if we are granted separate rights from our hetero counterparts. I swear, sometimes I get weary from trying to help people understand this. Then I read the following on Facebook, written by a hetero woman, and had to share it:
"There are lots of differences between a 'committed relationship' and legal marriage. The ability to represent my spouse is very convenient… at the bank, in court, applying for a loan, discussions with creditors, medical professionals, even changing the cable package. These are mundane things that most take for granted. What about the stuff that really matters? Medical emergencies? Right of survivorship? Benefits earned as a part of your pay? To claim your spouse's dependent as your dependent? To co-parent adopted children? Marital privilege in a court of law? None of those issues have to do with sex or lifestyle; granting these benefits to all adults does not diminish the sanctity nor deplete the rights of hetero marriages. Those who oppose equal rights are guilty of tyranny." This momentarily restored my hope.

Obama

While conservatives may like this because it appears to be making fun of Obama by ridiculously comparing him to Jesus, I find this hilarious, and not that far off the mark! Then there's this Obama float...What is the blond girl holding onto???

Big Ella
It seems Spouse has become obsessed with protecting Big Ella. You'd think it would be me, since she's my girl. Whenever we go somewhere in her and I park, he always has to give me suggestions about where to park that will have the least potential for someone damaging her, as if I hadn't already thought of that. Then there's his latest: he now wants us to pay $120./month to store her at a public storage facility. I said that if we were approaching winter, I'd consider it, but since it is spring, I didn't see the need. Knowing we did not yet have a garage, we agreed we'd keep a car cover on Big Ella after she was repainted to protect her from dirt, sun damage, pollution, bird poop, etc. I believe that is sufficient.

Salad and chocolate
I have noticed that whenever I eat salad as a meal, I always crave chocolate afterward. I wonder what the connection is? Its as if my dark side is saying "You think you're being healthy by eating that salad, eh? Well now I'm gonna make you crave something fattening! Muah-ha-ha-ha!!!"

Happy Friday everyone!

Crush du Jour: Freddie Guerrero