Cheers!

Our nearly annual New Year's Eve gathering was another fun time with great friends and even some family this year. Highlight include NOT killing Kate, welcoming new people and a celebration of some new recipes that will definitely be on the menu next year.

Lowlights include ALMOST killing Kate, sickness and travel kept some great people from our midst and a soup that took a lot of time (and accidentally ended up on at least two people)  that wasn't really worth the trouble. (Shoulda had the pasta instead...)

"Don't kill Kate" is the first rule of my Book Club, which celebrated its 19th year this year without killing our dear friend Kate, who has a severe peanut allergy. For NYE, we thought we'd spread the word well that peanuts and anything made in a facility that includes peanuts in its manufacturing was verboten. One guest missed the memo, and we totally missed the dish when it was placed on the table. 

Happily, Kate had enjoyed a bit of time prior to this incident. Happier still, the Captain spied it and got her out of the house before she suffered too much exposure. She still had a scary experience at  CVS and was quite ill, plus, she had to leave a fun venue. Next year, we'll be more careful. Because a party with Kate is a better party than without Kate.

While we have exceptional champagne and food (Jeff gets most of the credit, but I did pick a few good bottles this year and I'm a great sous chef) the best part about our gathering (IMO) is that it brings together people from all spheres of our lives: neighbors, past work colleagues, present work colleagues, my friends, Jeff's friends, friend we have in common, and new friends. My Book Club and Bunco Club are separate groups, but they mingled this year and there's talk of either creating new clubs or crossing over the barriers. Jeff's Bourbon group guys made friends with everyone, and I think John Vielee and Burgess Oakes started a bromance over a shared love of facial hair.

Bec stayed overnight, which was awesome because at a party, you don't really get to focus on just one person (unless you're starting a bromance) so we got to catch up the next day. Also, you have one more hand for cleanup.

We got the outdoor Christmas decorations down yesterday and put away before a long weekend of snow began. It was sunny and warm enough   that my vest kept me toasty. 🠞

We aren't expected to see 30 degrees again for a while. The weather folks are saying up to seven inches of snow by Monday. I'll believe it when I see it, but I did see flakes blowing out there earlier. If you squint and follow the arrow up there, you can see one flake. They're gone now. We'll see.  

                                                                                                             

Jeff is going on his second hour with the Verizon folks. We bought new phones in Orlando at Thanksgiving, and the deal we signed has yet to make it to our bill, which has grown significantly. The Captain is not pleased. I pity the Verizon people because he hasn't been able to use his negotiation skills in  while and is, shall we say, vexed already.

Cheers to all of you as we start the new year. Be good to yourself, kind to others and try to do a little bit of good every day.