What a fabulous meal we had at Dan and Nicole's. Ready? Christmas ham with pineapple, turkey w/cranberry sauce, green beans seasoned with basil, high potassium sweet potato, stuffing and plenty of gravy to slather over everything.We all took turns holding rosy-cheeked Baby Grace. In an attempt to relive ye olde mothering days, I began to read to her. Without any warning, I began to read in a Yiddish accent...perhaps my name Bubby inspired me.
Right around the corner from my house on Terwood Road is the famous Xmas House, brought to you by the Valenzas. We cruise by there every year but before we dropped Sarah off at the train, we parked our car and along with dozens of other sightseers, walked around their huge property looking at their hundreds of decorations, and finally, after proceeding down the block a bit, hearing their Xmas music.
Sarah loved it and then we dropped her off at our Willow Grove train station and waited till the train arrived to take her back home to NY.
I was just sitting on the floor on my new carpet - it still has that delicious new-carpet smell - and I was filling my pillboxes. It's nearly impossible for me not to multi-task but when I fill the pillbox it takes all my concentration. I write the abbreviations of each pill on the box so I can easily find it.
Here's what I take:
Morning:
N
T
S
I
SB
Gee, I thought I took more! Maybe I shouldn't complain so much.
Anyway, I'm down on the floor and finally I'm finished. I look up out the window straight ahead and it's snowing merrily. A white dusting over my car, Charlie's lawn, sidewalk and street.
This is our first snowfall. We're expecting a foot or more.
I went onto my front porch and looked at the snow on the railing. It was piling up. We do things w/o even thinking. I picked up a thimble-full and thought, Look at these tiny little crystals, they fall democratically across everything, so many tiny flakes, the vastness of the universe is impossible to comprehend.
I put it to my lips and tasted the snow. I don't know what's the matter with the taste of the snow, it was the same last year, just not a good taste at all. Bill, I wonder how your snow tastes in Alaska?
Scott gave me a great Xmas gift - breakfast in bed for two days straight. Delicious eggs made with fresh chives, rye bread, and pink grapefruit.
While we were falling asleep last nite - around 9 pm - we said how much we missed being out in nature. I'm still unable to walk long distances.
So we pretended to go on a walk. He chose his favorite park, which is the nearby Pennypack Trust. We walked down the path and saw a herd of wild turkeys who looked up as we passed by. Off in the distance a small family of deer walked near the springhouse, and suddenly overhead came the song of the wild geese as they made their way to yonder pond.
Next thing we knew it was 3 in the morning. The two of us have crazy sleep patterns. Scott gets out of bed and goes on the laptop to read the Times. I pull out my book and begin to read. I'm making my way thru the Times' best books of the year, reading both an EM Forster biography and the Keith Richards' autobiography.
Neither can be described as riveting tho Sarah said she was reading True Grit and found it so. It was actually my book, I'd read it years and years ago, and of course remember nothing. We can't wait to see the Coen Brothers film.
The best story I heard on Christmas day was told by my son Dan. One day when he was just a kid, he was walking down South Warminster Road, near our apartments, when he found a $20 bill on the sidewalk. He took it to the 7/11 on the corner and bought $20 worth of JUNK!!!
When you're a kid, nothing tastes as good as Three Musketeers, Snickers, MallowCups, Twix, $100,000 Bar.
Hey, got anything good to eat? I'm gonna make a salad and wash it down with some leftover cheesecake.
Sounds like a nice family day, laden with good food. Ham and turkey both! We had cheese and crackers, lasagna, a vegetarian pasta dish too, salad, wine punch and Iris baked goodies. That was Christmas Eve and next day some of us went to the movies since we don't really celebate Christmas Day anymore. Did buy the K.R. autobiography for a great price too. We, too, are eager to see this Coen Brothers flick.
ReplyDeleteSo many ways in which things we do overlap. We often speak in Eastern Europen accents too, mostly pseudo-Russian, Slavic, Yiddish ones, for fun. In fact, when I was a kid, I thought everyone over 60 automatically developed an Eastern European/American type of accent, even when they had not spoken this way previously.
Happy New Year. Baby Grace looks like she is turning into a cute little person.
both of our families are so ecumenical! we'll be snowed in a day or so and i'm looking f/w to reading and watching documentaries online. dyou remember carl sagan's The Cosmos? i found it online and have just begun to watch part two of about 13 episodes. i've really gone bonkers over technology.
ReplyDeleteYes I remember. Maybe I will watch some also. We are snowed in as well. Lots of work I could be doing but don't much feel like it. Enjoy your day!!
ReplyDeleteRuth, I learned a long time ago not to eat snow - it dehydrates you. Your body burns up more moisture from snow when you eat than it gets from the liquids that it melts.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, I will put snow in a pot and melt it, then drink it and then it tastes fine - though not as good as freshwater ice melted.
Keep in mind that snowflakes form around tiny particles of dust, pollution or whatever, so perhaps these can be tasted. Perhaps what you are tasting is your own local atmosphere.
Nice shot of you and Grace.
Your pills strike me as acronynms. I can come up with a few.
lots of good info here, bill. i will avoid eating snow from now on. sigh.
ReplyDelete“Congratulations Ruth Z Deming! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this exciting information.”
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