Confessions of a Grandma

At the neighbors' Christmas dinner, we were served a roasted beef filet that was absolutely delicious--fork tender and melt in your mouth heavenly.  I don't pretend to be a vegetarian. However, that was the first red meat I have had in five months and I am pretty sure that it will be equally as long before I indulge again. This is more my speed, especially now that I mostly cook for one--a sweet potato and chickpea curry. I softened a cut up sweet potato and a sliced shallot in a bit hot coconut oil.  Added salt, pepper, a little minced ginger, a little curry powder, a small can of chickpeas, some chopped cauliflower, coconut milk, and just a tiny bit of red pepper flakes.  It did not take long for the potato and cauliflower to be tender.  A sprinkle of parsley, a cucumber salad--dinner!

It has been a fairly rainy Sunday, but since I planted some parsley and some rosemary the other day I am happy to have them watered.  I had thyme planted, but I think the woman I hired to weed  took it all out.  I will definitely plant more though...and leave better instructions next time.  Thyme is my favorite but I believe all herbs are very healthy additions to meals. I was glad to have a sheltered spot for reading on the lanai. Between the morning showers and the afternoon showers, I was able to get out for a bit of an exercise walk.  I stopped to enjoy some flowers. This guy has Christmas decorations all locked up.  I am going to have to take quick cruise by here at night to see this in action.  I am intrigued by the roller coaster thing. Well, I have no idea what I did to my finger.  It doesn't hurt, but it looks kind of funny: Actually, it hurts if I look at it too long.  I know that's in my head, but it doe...

People are starting to trickle back to Venice for the winter season, but because it is also school holidays time, there are still quite a few young people around. It is always slightly jarring to see the Christmas decorations in Florida yards during the daytime, but they do look very pretty at night. The Venice libraries have such a different collection of books than we have in little Jericho, VT.  Today I picked up a mystery by Gyles Brandreth, Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol.   I am hooked at twenty pages in. On a somewhat related note, or a complete non sequitur , as the case may be, I read about a gay couple in a southern Texas club being ordered to not dance to a country-western tune, "Cowboys and Angels."  I am not so much a big country music fan, but the two-step kind of looks like fun and women dance together all the time.  In some cultures men dance with men and women dance with women and that's the way it is.  I am not going to m...

I have seen the pictures posted by Northern family and friends on Facebook.  It looks like ice castles everywhere.  Beautiful in its way, but in real life a big pain to be without electricity. The Florida weather prediction is for "sweater weather" for the next few days.  I won't feel bad about having to wear long sleeves and pants for a while.  The glare off my white skin was beginning to bother my eyes. My neighbors invited me to a neighborhood get together for Christmas dinner.  It was a delightful al fresco meal with good people. Tomorrow I have a haircut scheduled--badly needed since I have not had even a trim since I was down here in October.  I will also be able to pick up my bicycle.  I took it in for a tune-up/safety inspection just to be on the safe side.  I am looking forward to having it to ride. I did some investigating around some volunteer opportunities, but have not nailed anything down as yet.  I also looked into the ...

I am wishing a Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and a Happy New Year to all. May the 2014 be a year of Peace and Wellbeing for everyone.

Granny Annie at Fools Rush In  issued a challenge:  post a selfie of self and pet. Since I no longer have a pet, I took the second option of posting my refrigerator contents.  You will notice there is no pet food lurking there, but I did go to the grocery store yesterday and stocked up for a while. Here's the selfie: Florida hair in all its frizzy glory. Doesn't look like what I paid at the grocery. but there is more in the freezer.

Busy week, getting ready for my trip. On Tuesday,  I went to pick up my son for an appointment we had a 11 a.m.  I stopped at the stop sign just before turning onto his road and what should I see? Santa? No.  I saw blue and red lights flashing.  A giant Christmas tree all lit up on the lawn?  No, again. Two fire engines and two cop cars, cones in the road, uniformed men scurrying around.  Just what one wants to see immediately in front of one's son's house. I called him on my cell phone to say, "I'm here...outside...what the hell!?!" Then I saw that there was an SUV at the far side of the lawn into the trees.  The tracks went from the road across quite a large area of snow covered lawn, barely missing a telephone pole and a culvert in the process.  The woman who was driving was not seriously hurt, but I am sure she was scared witless.  She told my son she thought the brake line had frozen.  It was twelve below zero with a wind ...

Our community calendar's December page captures the month perfectly.  Thank goodness for red barns. I received this gift from one of my poetry writing friends and I am just in love with it. It is a journal made from parts of a rescued old book.  Isn't this an inspired gift for writers and nature lovers?  Not to mention book lovers? A peak inside:

The snow fall was much less than predicted.  My son and I had no trouble making our way to my sisters and we had a delicious lasagna dinner, were entertained by their two cats, and much admired their ten foot tall tree.  My brother from Burlington, VT, did not make it to mountain.  I guess there was actually more snow there (somewhat unusual) and the city streets were slippery.  My brother is a wuss driver--just as well, since he is also not a very good driver. I got out to the post office this afternoon and then put in some time at the library.  Then I met my friend Ginnie for supper out and the exchange of our gifts.  I like when the Christmas shopping is all wrapped up and all that is left is the social time. Tomorrow I will host the poetry group...oh, I have some writing to finish up. I guess I better get on that now.

The wreath is on my door.  Note the absence of snow here.  A day can make a big difference.  When I woke up this morning, I thought maybe the predictions were all wrong.  There was an icy glaze on the ground, but not much else.  By the time my coffee was brewed, the snow was falling in earnest.  Honestly, I thought is was "too cold to snow" but I was wrong. It is pretty, but I hope the roads are not too treacherous.  Mike would have built a fire and settled in for the day.  I will not bother with the fire but get out my long johns and I still plan to make my way to my sister's for a family dinner.  He was the smart one, but I am intrepid. The presents are all wrapped and ready to go under various trees of family nearby.  Some will be mailed to family far away. I was inspired this morning by Betsy and her post about The Twelve Days of Christmas .  It is too late this year, but I want to add this idea to a new way of...

Ha! Ha! A pun. As you know, I had a lovely weekend with my grandson.  What I did not mention is how much he engaged in talking about Mike and how I was feeling. He sure did take on some topics that most shy away from and it has left me feeling quite tender, but in a good way.  For me, the most poignant moment was when he said, "Well, Grandma, you could marry someone else."  I told him that I did not think that I ever would...to which he replied, "I guess that means that Mike was a really good husband for you."  He is so perceptively sweet and sensitive. The tenderness that is not so good is the flare up of "tennis elbow" in my left arm.  I cannot even remember the last time I played tennis and I would have used my right arm anyway, so I don't really know where it came from.  I think it started on my long drive to Florida in October.  It seems to be going away and then returns.  Someone told me that quinine was good for such body aches so I g...

My daughter met me with the two kids on Friday night in Middlebury--a half way point between our houses.  I took them all out for pizza and then just Dane and I made the trip back to Jericho. My grand daughter, twelve now and in the seventh grade, has decided it is more important to be at the school dance in the presence of cute boys than to spend time with her old granny! Dane was happy to have my undivided attention for the weekend though. Thinking of a post that GigiHawaii  wrote a couple of weeks ago, I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up.  His answer: designer of computer games. He has not given up on teaching me how to play a game either. He is quite the little mathematician.  "Grandma, you are 30 plus 35.  My mom is 40 so you were...um...25 when she was born."  "I have $202 dollars.  That is 20,200 cents.  Do you still have 30 dollars?  How much cents is that?"  When I said 300, oh wait, that's not right, he...

It is grey and drippy outside...so very gloomy and yet I have not started packing for Florida.  My house is a mess--everything from the kitchen sitting on and around the dining table.  However!  The kitchen is painted.  The bathroom is painted.  The cabinets are stained and covered with one coat of polyurethane.  I will let that dry for a couple of days.  I think I will actually complete my ambitious plan. Then it will be turning my attention to some Christmas shopping and baking.  Yesterday was a break day, or brake day as the case may be.  I went to the annual Christmas lunch and gathering of the card making group.   It was a festive time and fun, but I did miss my friend Ginnie.  (There were a few of those moments when a good kick under the table was in order, Gin! Maybe it is just as well.  My legs are already black and blue from clutzing around with the ladder.) I am hoping that the rain does not start to freeze so I c...

A special treat after Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law and I went to see the movie Philomena.  You can see a trailer, if you haven't already seen it on TV, here .  We enjoyed it.  We also did a yoga class--very relaxing. Once again I was dumbfounded by the number of people hitting the stores on Black Friday and even on Black Friday Eve, formerly known as Thanksgiving.   Apparently, with turkey day being late this year there are "fewer" shopping days which justifies the stores being open on the holiday.  I guess some people are surprised that there will be another  Christmas on December 25th so that explains why they couldn't plan ahead. December all ready!  The frantic season has started.  I decorated the library for Christmas today.  The tree lighting on the Center green will be next Sunday and the library will have an open house.  I suppose I could hang a wreath on my own front door.  I am glad that I have grand children or I wo...