2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,400 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Stanley the galumphagus.

Tags

dog, growth, postaday2015, Stanley

   
 
We still can’t get over how Stanley keeps increasing in size, almost on a daily basis, it is so weird. His breed develops so differently from all of the others we have had over the years. Black Lab, Golden Retrievers, German Shepard, Beagle, Jack Russell and Pitbull, all have sprouted more or less in the same fashion, slowly over the course of a few months. While Stanley here, grows by starts and fits on a weekly basis. He is almost 5 months old, January 5th will be his 5 month old birthday, I can’t believe it, sometimes it is difficult to remember Stanley is still a baby.

He is very cute, our big galumphagus.

Snow at last

Tags

postaday2015, snows

   
 
This morning we woke up to sleet, snow and freezing rain. You should have heard the local weather people, they were beyond panicked, it was weather every five minutes all through the early morning hours. I wasn’t worried about it, we had an early appointment with the radiologist oncologist, 8:00 a.m, I knew that driving slow and steady would get us there without trouble. We were only ten minutes late, 91 had traffic delays because there were a series of cars stuck on the side of the road, I suspect that these cars had been speeding when they shouldn’t have been, when you see snow or slush on the ground, slow and steady is the way to go.

My appointment went well, the radiology oncologist Dr. Hayder is kind, professional and patient. She fielded all of our questions and took her time explaining what I might expect from her department.

I am waiting for my appointment with the surgeon on January 6th, he is going to be the decision maker as to how long my chemo and radiation treatments will last, if he feels he can operate, my treatments will last about 5 weeks if he can’t operate than my treatments will last much longer. 

This is all still new and it is a great deal to process, I confess that sometimes my brain seems to wilt under the weight of my diagnosis, however I am committed to using my writing, my baking and every other tool in my arsenal of coping mechanisms to help myself through this challenging time. 

Thank goodness for my family, friends and Jack, Lulu and Stanley. They are lending me the strength to see this through in so many different ways, I am blessed.

Manhattan skyline and cheesecake

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New York, postaday2015, skyline

   
   
I tried taking the view of the skyline from the Amtrak train last night as my son and I were heading back north, an iPad doesn’t have the technical capabilities to do the shot justice, but the colors were pretty so I am posting my pictures anyway. While we were away my husband was spoiling our two cousins, John and Stephen, with an added feature, brand new, to the cheesecake, fresh raspberry sauce, I think my husband made a very pretty plate, he even broke out the Limoges China for the occasion.

The cheesecake was a hit as was the raspberry sauce.

I wish my pictures had communicated the beauty of the skyline last night, it was so beautiful, the red and green lights from the Empire State Building coming through despite the fog, it was magical from my seat on the train.

Noel in Astoria

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Noel, postaday2015

   
   
We descended to Astoria for another Christmas celebration, we came bearing gifts and cheesecake. We did a roundtrip, my son and I, we had fun with our tiny road trip. 

We had a lovely meal, leg of lamb, a terrine of vegetables and roasted mushrooms and potatoes finished off with my cheesecake. I love seeing my niece and nephew, they are both so very funny. I can’t believe how fast they are growing, it was only yesterday that they were toddlers.

Time sure flies by when you are having fun.

Our beauty little lady

Tags

Lulu, postaday2015, sweaters

   
 
Look how pretty Lulu is with her new Christmas sweater, she is the height of classic elegance. Lulu didn’t move a muscle when our daughter put the new sweater over her head, it was almost as if Lulu knew how pretty she was going to look with the sweater on and was excited to show it off. As soon as she had it on, she ran to the side door waiting for us to put her halter on her so she can show her new outfit to the world. My husband corralled the dogs away from the side door with the reliable distraction of treats so I can take pictures of our beautiful Lulu.

Jack and Stanley sniffed around their sister, curious why she was all decked out and they weren’t, they are attention hounds the both of them, never content to let the spotlight off either of them. Well for this post, center stage is for Lulu, our beauty little lady.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Tags

Christmas, postaday2015

   
    
 
Santa came!!! We were spoiled each and everyone of us. The most fun though was having the dogs open their many presents, they got dizzy between the squeaky toys, the treats and the rawhide strips. Lol.

Today is going to be about resting and enjoying each other’s company, watching all of the Christmas shows: The Year without A Santa Claus, Santa Claus Came to Town, The Little Drummer Boy and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the classics, Christmas wouldn’t be the same without them.

A nod to the French tradition, foie gras for Christmas, yum yum. 

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas Eve to my family and friends!

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Christmas Eve, postday2015

  
Getting ready for Santa! I think he’ll find our house lol, especially with the full moon!

  
I wish you all a very safe and Merry Christmas Eve! 

Waking up to birdsong on Christmas Eve

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Christmas Eve, postaday2015

  
This morning, the birds outside our window woke me up, a pleasant surprise because I had completely forgotten about the three Blue Jays flying around Watson Park that we had seen while we were walking Jack, Lulu and Stanley with Nathan yesterday. I keep forgetting that we are in fact in winter right now, the Winter Solstice was two days ago and Christmas is tomorrow! The birds are confusing me, they normally are long gone by now, I only get woken up by their sweet song sometime in April and their presence is throwing me off what the calendar is telling me to expect.

It’s weird, I am not complaining because I am enjoying popping out of the house minus my coat, but it is still weird and when you read the theories and the conjecture, it makes for some creative almost science fiction reading in some publications. I am going to go out on a limb and chalk it up to a strong El Ninio which is keeping the polar currents safely ensconced near the Artic Circle, we will eventually get our cold weather, but I am so hoping that we will escape the Polar Vortex this new year.

Other than that today will be busy, there is wrapping to do, presents to hide and food to prepare and then eat. The dogs will be underfoot in the kitchen as usual because the focus of the day’s events will be there as it should be, because what is a holiday without goodies and delectables? 

A quick but very special family visit

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family, postaday2015, visits

   
   
We had the fun pleasure of having our two cousins from my husband’s side of the family come and surprise us; Nathan and Carly have been coming to see us since they were little and they still like coming even though they have their own adult lives which makes us happy to no end. They are such wonderful individuals, we always have a fantastic time together talking and eating, we love, love cooking and baking for them, they are the best guests because they appreciate it so. 

My husband was the master chef yesterday and today, he threw rib eye’s on the grill, made mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms while my caramels, elephant ear cookies and the chocolate and pear tart were eaten not once but many times during the two days. Today my husband made spaghetti and meatballs, I made brussel sprouts with bacon, my husband made tons of extra bacon and all of that gradually found its way down to everyone’s tummy.

They were both sympathetic to my diagnosis, but most importantly they made for a delightful distraction. 

We are so glad they came, they are two of our favorite people.