Happy New Year everyone……

Short recap here: December was a busy month for me and my family…..We had a wonderful Christmas with all the kids home and a great time with family on Christmas day. We usually go to my sister’s house on Christmas, but this year she went to Hawaii for Christmas, so TF and I hosted the “family” Christmas here. It was a lot of work but well worth it. The dinner was great and everyone had a good time socializing.

Several days ago TF and I found an Oriental Rug for our living room. It is exactly what we were looking for and we bought it. Now, it is not a fancy wool rug but it is nice. We purchased a real oriental rug about 30 years ago and paid good money for it. After only several years, one of the kids spilled some red nail polish on it and it was never the same after that. We decided to buy a “fake” this time around and if anything happens to it, we will just buy a new one.

Our oldest daughter, Bonnie, invited about 10 friends over for New Years Eve. I made up several dips and supplied Crackers and chips for the occasion. TF and I went into the den and watched several shows including the Garrison Keillor New Years Eve program on public television. Around Midnight we brought out the stem ware and poured some non alcoholic drinks for a New Years Eve toast. All of Bonnie’s friends whooped and hollered and had a great time. I couldn’t stay awake past 12:30am. and went to bed….

This morning (Monday morning) I rested for a while before starting work on our yearly New Years dessert. It is so heavenly that it takes 3 hours to make and contains 2 pints of whipping cream. Yummmm….. I cooked a roast and all the “good luck” food that will help us get thru this new year. The kids were here and we heartily ate our way into the New Year…. Tomorrow the diet starts!

One sad note: A friend of mine called me on Saturday and said that her husband had died. Evidentially he had been stung by a bunch of bees a couple of months ago and he had gone down hill since. His heart gave out and he died in her arms. I could hardly believe it. This was her second husband and she really loved him. He took such good care of her and treated her like a queen. I had not seen her this happy in years and now she has lost him. It just reminds me to tell your loved ones how much you care, for they may be gone before you know it…

I stole this from Merle’s blog: I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Enough Happiness to keep you happy.
During the year may you have Enough happiness to keep you sweet. Enough trials to keep you strong. Enough sorrow to keep you human. Enough hope to keep you happy. Enough failure to keep you humble. Enough success to keep you eager. Enough friends to give you comfort. Enough wealth to meet your needs. Enough enthusiasm to make you look forward to tomorrow. Enough determination to make each day better than the day before.
<><><><>
May God make your year a happy one !!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain, But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy, But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you, But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine, But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by always making your life pleasant, But by showing you when people and their causes need you most, and by making you anxious to be there to help.
God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.