HAPPY NEW YEAR

THE ELECTION IS NOW, THIS YEAR

BANG!

We Are the Champions

Football that matters on New Years Eve, this was a first, and I do have to say a lot of fun. At least for me. Clemson v Nebraska was not at all the game that the folks on Gameday were thinking about this morning - with the Tigers not having all that much of a time with the Boomer Sooners. It was a fun game to watch.

Alabama / Michigan State followed and it started out slow, and then just turned into a blow out for the Crimson Tides. Second half we were going back and forth between Anderson and Kathy. So! ten long hype filled days till the actual championship game -

Dinner

A Forest Gump New Years

We were at our neighbors party before Christmas and one of her other guests brought a huge bowl of really yummy shrimp. I had just been complaining about the quality of shrimp that we are getting these days - I wanted to make something, I can't remember what I had just read something about how horrible farmed shrimp are for so many reasons. I did find some that were not Asian, but still farmed raised. I thought the key was hitting Wegmans on a certain day - like yesterday when they did have wild caught Gulf shrimp. But, they were huge, like a U -10, four or five to a pound, which would not suit what I needed,,
ANYWAY - I found out at this party that the ones I liked so much were the pre cooked JUMBO Wegmans frozen shrimp, which I got a 2# bag yesterday.

 Great in a traditional shrimp cocktail

But because they were cooked and then reheated , even for the briefest of time - they were a little rubbery in the shrimp and grits.

It's just another New Years Eve.

Pretty sure this is my first ever NYE here.... I think, we may have come back from ATL early at some point, but I can't remember. Anyway , big night here as you can tell. Collards and Clemson football in my pjs. As close to perfect as I care to get.

Da Roof

My pal in Dubai sent me this little video of him with the burning hotel in the background!

Daily Koda

Only had the one night of winter weather, but the ice remains. 

Rufus Wainwright — What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Lame video, but Nancy Wilson all the same ....

Dinner

So I made those taco stuffed peppers from the video that I think I posted here, I may have only put it on the fb, harder to keep track of what goes where. It is not hard at all - and very filling, but I think it lacked a little flavor, and I , like always, added more veggies to the meat than the recipe called for - and left out the corn, or in my case hominy, because I had black bean and corn salsa.

So, if you make this, and it would stuff seven or eight or more peppers easily, so good for a crowd ( pretty cheap too, one # of hamburger for that many folks ) - just add some more spice. Or make it once and see how you like it - remember that I like things very spicy. Dont know why I did not notice all the left over filling ...

money

Our holiday season of firsts gets one line longer :  cooking for New Years Day only from my Wegmans.

It has always been like this, and if I had wanted to drive on into Rochester I could have got myself a big old south side of Atlanta bunch of collards, but I just did not, and I am not doing greens for the masses like I normally do - so two of these and one kale will suffice. I really wanted turnip greens w/ turnips, but there were no greens. Mustard, Collard, Dandelion , three kales , two chards but no turn.

Our decision is having repercussions down south as well, as the folks at Dunwoody Place have to make their own pot o money greens .

Internet broken

Franklin went all British in 1812 and burned down Washington DC last night, and blew up the internet this morning.

Aretha


Its great , yes, she is great, yes, Carol King's ( and Fl &POTUS )  reaction , great. BUT, my favorite part of this is Miss Aretha had some place else to be - just dropped by to stop the show. Kept on her coat and her purse is right there on the piano.

because Kwanzaa

Daily Koda

 A little bit of last nights weird icy mix left when we were out 

 It really warmed up today, had this been snow it would all be gone, but the ice is harder to melt. In a normal year this would not have been a blip, but as the first winter precip at all - people went a little nuts. I think the plows came by three times in the night and the side walk guy had already been when we woke up.

SUPRISE !

 Walked out at 9 pm to a treat!

 Thing is this is not snow, but sleet - or little ice pellets or something - but at sudden taste of where we should be in the weather world. It has been going all night , that bink bink bink on the windows of the ice falling. We have no place to be in the morning, and the lonely plow drives have already been by twice. Ill get some pics in the am...

 It is not going to be here long , Winter of '15 roars back in the afternoon ...

Dinner

Ham Steak

Sweet Potatoes

w/ orange and brown sugar

Nappa and Green Cabbage

w/ caraway seeds and butter

The Canadians are Coming!

From The Hill :

President Obama will host Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a state dinner on March 10, the administration announced Monday. 

The honor will come just months after Trudeau's election in Canada.

“The visit will be an opportunity for the United States and Canada to deepen their bilateral relationship, which is one of the closest and most extensive in the world,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement. 

Obama is looking to pursue closer ties with Canada under Trudeau’s leadership.  ( the rest )

Daily Kodas

 These are from yesterday, 4:30, despite the unusual record heat of our Christmas season , it is still the bleak midwinter - no filter on these at all, just a white dog in the drab grey of a late December sunset. I really like these photos

 Today it was cold for really the first time this season - meaning the trail was all ours. No horses, kids , runners or bikes . Free range Koda.

MOVIE DAY ( updated )

Posted what we saw but forgot to come back and tell  y'all what I thought about it!

Director Todd Haynes gets the ending that he wanted in in Far From Heaven in his new movie.
Stunningly beautiful lesbians hitting the road towards hopefully happily ever after in 1952 America, all set in a movie that just drips luxury and style, sometimes to a fault. I really liked it, but I am a fan of Mr Haynes, Neil did not hate it, but the slow parts, and they are slow - drove him a little batty.
At one point in the story we actually watch paint dry unironically.

My instant review fighting the Star Wars crowd to leave the theater was, " lesbian BROKEBACK with fantastic clothes instead of sheep" and I stand by that. What I do find amazing is the lack of any brew-ha-ha at all about this sweet little film, when Brokeback Mountain became a cultural behemoth raking in close to 200 million dollars and if I am remembering correctly from 10 years ago the cover of Time. 

This is very close to the same movie - sort of. But just on face value - a same sex couple fighting for a life, or a few minutes of love. Both with big movie stars and both with sex scenes ( I closed my eyes ) with straight actors. " I wish I could leave  you " turned into a  perfect blond hair toss, downing a third extra dry martini while reaching for a Pal Mal.

Why no outrage? Neil says because lesbians are just less taboo - men and all, and goodness knows this is not 2005. But here this lovely little film just sits out there - making no waves at all, and getting the most Golden Globe nominees of any other movie . Have times changed that much?

This will never be a wide market movie - topic and type of film, Artsy capital A - Todd Haynes is in LOVE with languid gazes out rain streaked windows, and part of it are molasses in Winter, but if you are a fan of his work, do go see it.

Christmas Night

 Let's start off Christmas with a me and Gaia selfie ....

and a white christmas cocktail or two .

 I was doing pretty well, and for me that was a big deal.

I held it all pretty much together, the over all pressure that I have always felt

 during the Holiday season, not being in Atlanta/Winder, doing my best to make sure Neil's was happy and bright , the things I always do. We had been pretty darn busy that helped - but Friday around noon it just all caught up to me and I started circling the drain.

Dahn and David graciously asked us over for Christmas dinner - I had to take eggs and a salad, something you think would have been easy, shopped the day before, but just could not get ahead of the ticking Santa clock.

We got there to the amazing sight and smell of David D's Christmas gift to us all , a giant perfectly marinated and cooked standing rib roast - that was just Christmas in a roasting tray!

In my haste  of the day I had forgotten that I had said I would do the table ( pressure level mounting )

Now, as good as I am at this, they just do not happen, ever. It takes trial runs and redo's, lists and planning. I had 15 minutes, with only the items in this house. Most of my holiday things are at my house. This really could be a new gay game show.

RED! 

Ok we have red , the mainstay of Christmas lets move on. It is too short, no need to panic, we have white. Getting the ball rolling. Christmas napkins - a few dozen sitting in Mendon, the only green ones there were olive - when what to my wondering eyes should appear but these black ones. Not your first choice for a Christmas table but work with me here. It is a SANTA THEMED TABLE - if I had been given five more minutes it would have had a belt buckle. I was all the pleased to have totally pulled this one out of my hat

Again, probably 100 ( sadly not kidding ) Christmas themed place card holders at my house - but when it doubt some good old fashion scotch tape and some small Christmas balls and you have place cards. Hack up  a poinsettia and you have a center piece . When I was almost done Rachel pops in with these PERFECT for my theme Crackers that they dont as a rule use for their meal - AND THEY WERE RED AND BLACK.

I really liked it - different yet festive. Ho, Ho, Ho -

The salad turned out to be a bit of a group effort but got it done. The meat was carved into just massive slabs which we all , save the one vegetarian , dove into like Cave Men after the hunt.

The hats did make me feel at home. 

The crackers came with little whistles that were all in different keys, and a impromptu Do Re Mi broke out that I did not get on camera, even thought I thought I was!

dessert

Christmas Morning

Cranberry Orange Frech Toast

Bacon

( lots of bacon, it is Christmas )

Fruit

The Queen's Christmas Message 2015

CHRISTMAS EVE 2015

Thanks to the magic of the k+b , I remembered that we have had a Christmas Eve here in Mendon before. In 2006 for some reason we could not leave for Atlanta until the morning of the 25, arriving in Atl on the 26... no idea of what kept us here.

But I am sure that day was nothing but panic in getting ready to go and fitting in some Christmas Eve things. Where as today was just a walk in the park, nothing but relaxed. Hit the big fancy Wegmans liquor store then our not too crowded Wegmans for a few things for tomorrow, then went on a Lowe's scavenger hunt looking for a giant light up peacock , with no luck. Came home , picked up my luminaries from down at the Cottage Hotel, took Koda for a nice walk then just slugged with some Christmas moves on tv.

Got out Jewish on  little early with some Chinese for Christmas Eve dinner

Neil sang in the choir for the children's service at St. Johns, came back home to fetch me and we did the 10 pm, that got out close to midnight, welcoming in Christmas. 

So here is our Christmas Eve in film and photo.

then church

 We were there early, for what turned out to be a good crowd at St John's for Christmas Eve

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

The first full moon in 40 years rose over Mendon tonight in a crystal clear Christmas Eve sky -

just as beautiful as anything you would ever want to see.

Our first Mendon Christmas so our first time putting out the luminaries to line out road. I think the attempt is made to line the entire little four corners, but there just are not enough houses.

It was really windy when we all started, and some folks were smart and used more sand or kitty litter what ever than I did. But a very nice guy who owns the buildings across the street came over and gave me a big bucket of gravel to keep mine from blowing over.

It is hard to get these in a photo, but it did look really nice, and the chain of bags and lights was pretty long.

It looked great even in front of Neil's little homage to VEGAS!

I should have walked down to the bar and taken a shot of the corners, but I was busy getting mine done and doing things in the house at the same time.

It was fun, and nice to see all your neighbors out on Christmas eve!