Happy New Year!

 Happy New Year everyone! 2024!

The sun is peeking through the clouds, shining directly into my eyes, but luckily I have no hangover ;-)  although I could say the same thing for a few other people! Last night we had our traditional party with the usual suspects… and a few last minute extras. 

Cathey and Jim came from the city, and even Tina and Bruce made the drive all the way out here. We had a last minute call from Olaf that they had no plans so I talked them into coming for the night. Trudie & Leo were here, along with Pat! It was a fun night with too much food, even despite the last minute guests - as usual I over catered!

We decided on an evening of nibbles around the island, rather than a sit down dinner, which worked out well as it's easy to shoehorn in extra guests at the last minute! Beef tenderloin on yorkshire puddings with a horseradish sauce, mushrooms stuffed with sun-dried tomato & feta, potato & bacon puffs, chicken wings, brie with caramelised onions, citrus roasted olives, dates stuffed with cream cheese and walnuts, cheese & crackers, cold meats, veggies & dip… chips, nuts, cookies… I think everyone was stuffed by the end of the evening! Not much makes me happier than stuffing people!

I did have a yorkshire pudding fail though :-(  Oh, it was edible but not up to normal standards… I usually make the batter in the morning (as instructed by ‘Joy of Cooking’), but I changed my mind about when to bake them so it sat in the fridge for an extra day which seems to have affected the texture.

The city people left before midnight - wanting to get off the roads before all the drunks… Trudie & Leo left after 1am and Pat around 2am, so a late night! The dogs have been asleep all day… while we sat around with Olaf & Stephanie, semi-watching the Rose Bowl Parade! (a traditional NY activity) and eating leftovers.

The rest of the week was nice with a short visit with Mom and Dad on Friday, lots of cooking on Friday, Saturday, and a bit on Sunday… we had a trip to liquidation, an outing to the grocery store, a few days of incredibly lazy days… the gammut!

Well… my muse has abandoned me today… and there's an old Godzilla movie on… Mothra! Later we'll watch more ‘Ted Lasso’! We've been binging for a few days but still have one and a half seasons to go. Any other suggestions for Apple TV shows? (non violent of course)

Have a happy 2024 - may every day be filled with good health and joy!

Awesome!

“gathering with friends”

“surprise visitors”

“the beef tenderloin turned out perfectly - low and slow for the win”

“2024”