Off To a Promising Start

Happy 2013!  Call me "Wild Time" but I'm not much of a late night reveler and New Year's Eve is no exception. This year I had a built in excuse in the form of a blossoming cold.  Since I rarely get sick I decided to roll with it and followed up a workout with a quiet dinner at home.  Long before the ball dropped in Times Square I had toasted the New Year with a shot of Nyquil and was out like a light.

New Year's Day marks the end of all the frivolity of the holiday season and the beginning of my busiest months at work.  Most likely it was the last work day I will have off in the foreseeable future so I took it slow and spent the bulk of it eating, drinking relaxing with good friends.  I don't bother making New Year's resolutions. Since I workout and eat fairly well all year round I've got what are probably the most popular resolutions already covered. As far as everything else goes, I make adjustments as I go. Why not treat every day like January first?  Or better yet, treat every day like June first, a much more hospitable choice.

For New Year's Day breakfast, I whipped up one of my favorite recipe finds this year, baked pumpkin pancakes from The Fountain Avenue Kitchen.  They are simple to make, use common ingredients and are healthy and delicious.  Usually I eat them warm with a drizzle of maple syrup.  Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and reheated or eaten cold as a quick snack.

Grain free Baked Pumpkin Pancakes from The Fountain Avenue Kitchen

Despite the cooking classes I take and the food blogs I read I am not a cook. Quite the contrary. In fact I'm not ashamed to admit that I far prefer eating over cooking. In order for me to try something new, the recipe needs to appeal to my simple lazy nature. If most of the ingredients are either items I don't have on hand or can't imagine having on hand or if it appears that the skill and patience required to complete the dish are akin to sewing a wedding dress by hand I take a pass.

Another New Year's Day tradition involves eradicating the house of Christmas.  As much as I love Christmas decorations, unlike many people I don't leave them up until the Epiphany.  By the first of the year I'm ready for them to be gone.  I do miss the lights though.  January is such a dark month.  If I could figure out a way to hide all the extension cords and set everything up to go on and off automatically I would consider leaving the window candles out all year.  Apparently in some areas it's done as a sign of hospitality.  On the days when I'm not feeling particularly hospitable, I would just leave them off.

In Nick's world every day is a holiday.  Perhaps he's dreaming of ways to get rid of the cat.

Nick celebrating the new year.

The afternoon of New Year's Day was spent at a belated birthday celebration.  In honor of Monique's birthday we drank her last bottle of Viognier that we had shipped from Kendall Jackson during our Napa IU7 trip in 2010.  I guess that means we need to go back.

Before and after a scrumptious dinner, we relaxed by the fire.

A few months ago I featured Monique's garden HERE.  On this day though the only garden touring going on was from inside the house.

For her own birthday, Monique was considerate enough to make a scrumptious cranberry cake for dessert.  Granted, she is the pastry chef of the group but I think we need to coordinate better next year.  Under pressure I can order one mean cake.

Happy New Year!  I'm optimistic that 2013 will be the best year yet.

Sue~

Having My Cake and Eating It Too

This week I celebrated a birthday.  Another year bites the dust at lightning speed.  I don't know where it went but what a fabulous year it was!

 

At work I was showered with cards, gifts and a scrumptious cake. 

In addition to a bevy of birthday greetings, pictures of me from the 70s turned up on my Facebook wall-evidence proving beyond a reasonable doubt that I haven't changed a bit.  It also proves my nana was right when she told me if I made too many funny faces my face would freeze that way.  Fortunately she wasn't right about cross eyed faces.


Birthdays don't bother me.  Most people seem genuinely surprised when they learn how old I am.  Whatever the reason for that-good genes, clean living, being a Gemini (yes I've been told Geminis usually look younger)...age is just a number.  Granted it's a finite number but since there's no way of knowing when that number is going to come up, it's important to take joy in the little things and make the most of every day.


For my birthday this year, I decided to buy myself a little present.  OK so I buy myself "presents" quite frequently but every so often I justify one by designating it for a special occasion.  For a couple of years I've been admiring Tyson Weiss Fish In the Garden glazed fish in both Deanne and Monique's gardens.  They are beautiful, unique and hand crafted in the artist's studio in Falmouth, Maine.

So I'm pleased to announce that I am now the proud owner of a versatile little Tyson Weiss blue koi.  It's small enough so I can move it around the garden as plants change and grow but dramatic enough to stand out on it's own.  With Nick's help I decided to place it under the patio fountain (at least for now).  Happy Birthday to me!

Weekend Reflections

Even though there were no destination nursery trips or mouth watering restaurant stops on the agenda this weekend, the good times continued to roll.

It was a weekend for birthdays.

Saturday gifted us with some much needed rain.

Fortunately the skies cleared in time for a celebration.

Prime rib was grilled to perfection by a grill master.

Congratulations to two fine young Providence College graduates!  Trust me, the best is yet to come. 

Today it was back to the garden.  Most of my containers are now planted-a huge accomplishment for me this early in the season.  I had hoped to get back to the mulch pile because if it's not mulched, it's not finished but that didn't happen.  So I guess I'm not finished.  But I'm never finished.

The patio is starting to get cleaned up and come together.  I'll still continue to plant shop-an ongoing activity for me-annuals to tuck into the borders and hopefully a few small shrubs and perennials with good foliage interest if I can find them.

Tonight it's time to kick back, reflect on and toast another fabulous weekend!

Happy Birthday to my Main Man!

Were you actually expecting to see a human face here?  Happy Birthday to my Nickster, mommie's bestest boy!  Twelve years old today.  How time flys.