Happy New Year’s Eve!

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New Years' Eve, postaday2014

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone! I hope that everyone has a safe and wonderful night and that we all take a few moments to reflect on our past year, absorbing the good and shedding the bad. I think that this is important so that we can embrace the New Year lighter and with open minds and open hearts.

Historically, I have never spent a New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day not deeply depressed. I have always kept it to myself, but inside, the despair has often been so deep that I would think that it couldn’t go away and then it does. This year, I have been fighting this encroaching wave so very hard for the past week and I am still fighting it and I hope that it will go away as it always does, but this time before the despair gets too deep.

It always takes me until the second week of January to get enthusiastic about the New Year, I’ll let you know how enthusiastic when it finally comes to me. 🙂

Daily prompt: Tight Corner

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postaday2014, writing

Have you ever managed to paint yourself into the proverbial corner because of your words? What did you do while waiting for them “to dry”?

I haven’t experienced that issue yet; I don’t write any fiction, aside from slowly finishing the last chapters of my novel where my heroine is exploring New York City for the first time in the mid 1920’s. I am trying to be as historically accurate as possible and in keeping with that desired outcome, it can be a little bit like painting oneself into a corner when you find out that a desired landmark for a potential story line wasn’t finished in the proper chronological order so it doesn’t fit within your timeline, but this doesn’t really count because I simply move the action to another historic landmark in keeping with my timeline and trust me, New York City is chockfull of historic landmarks from every single time period, dating all the way to the mid 1600’s when the Dutch were here, so I haven’t been worrying about boxing myself in with anything.

Now if I were a mystery writer that would most probably be the biggest issue plaguing me because at the heart of any successful mystery, you need logical progression, plausibility, deniability , continuity and suspense. All of these ingredients can make painting yourself into a corner very easy. I am so glad that I am just wrestling with my straightforward and easy novel. My issue is my own difficulty with opening myself up in my novel. I feel very vulnerable writing this novel and it is difficult, but I am getting there slowly but surely.

Jack on the prowl

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backyards, Jack, postaday2014

My husband and I were outside to try out the family Christmas present, a drone, and Jack came with us. He immediately went off to do what he does very well, hunt. Our entire backyard is his hunting territory and he takes his job very seriously.

My husband was flying the drone very well, I took it on video but for reasons that I don’t understand, it isn’t uploading. I took a few pictures though, my backyard looks so naked, but that is the gardener in me, Jack would disagree, he would say that the backyard is full of life and possibilities ripe for the taking; our little carnivore.

Weekend soup making

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postaday2014, soup, vegetables

When we were at the supermarket yesterday, I noticed the leeks right away, I found them to be larger with a lot more white to cook with than what I have seen lately, which is why I snatched them up. My immediate thought was leek and potato soup. Soup, or I should be more specific most soups, are relatively easy to make; sauté an onion until translucent, add your vegetables, then your stock and herbs and simmer; puree or not, it is up to you. Personally I prefer my soups pureed because I love the thickness. Leeks are one of my favorite vegetables because they are very versatile and I love their subtle, elegant flavor. I think that it is precisely their subtle flavor that makes them so nice to incorporate into soups, stews, quiches and omelettes.

The kitchen smells very warm and inviting, having soup simmering on the stove makes one forget about the cold outside even though today is relatively warm for a day in December. I would not mind it at all if it remained like this until Spring. I would still make soup because soup feels wonderful once the thermostat dips below 50 and we are going to be south of 50 well into April. So I have a lot of soup to make in the coming months.

Another bout of torment for poor Jack

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elf, Jack, postaday2014

Yesterday we couldn’t help but tease Jack a little by putting on his elf costume from last year. He was so not happy, but he put up with it for as long as doggily possible, the poor lamb. LOL We did spoil him rotten with not only his own stocking full of squeaky toys, but also a reindeer made up of three detachable pieces each with each its own squeaky inside. So he had hours of fun, so having to put up with a dorky outfit for a few minutes isn’t so bad now is it?

Merry Christmas!

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Christmas, postaday2014

I wish all of my friends a very merry Christmas. I hope that today is a day that provides something for everyone; be it solitude, reflection, giving, receiving, whatever it is that you needed, I hope that it is there for you.

I am very lucky this Christmas day; I am with my family, we are together and that is what matters.

Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas!!

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

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Christmas Eve, postaday2014

I know that many of you are having lavish feasts this Christmas Eve, but today I was more focused on dessert than anything else. In celebration of our daughter’s arrival, I made another batch of Fleur de Sel caramels and a cheesecake, both her favorites as a homecoming surprise which just so happens to be Christmas Eve.

My husband outdid himself with the appetizers this year, they are really considered as hors d’oeuvres, but we treat them as first courses in this house. He laid out a sumptuous feast of different cured meats, different cheeses, caviar and foie gras along with specialty cracked black pepper water crackers. I have been picking relentlessly at the duck saucisson, it is one of my favorites.

I wish everyone a very happy Christmas Eve and until tomorrow.

Our daughter is home!

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celebrations, Christmas, postaday2014

We haven’t seen our daughter since August 18th. We didn’t mind that she didn’t come home for Thanksgiving, we were happy that she went to celebrate with her really good friend, but it doesn’t’ mean that we didn’t miss her very much. Both of our children are young adults, but trust me when it is Christmas, they revert back to their younger selves and as parents we couldn’t be happier. They both love the Christmas feast; their food orders come after serious consideration on their part and Christmas morning still serves as an early morning wakeup call.

I think that our daughter was missing us a lot as well. I know that she loves Christmas and she is excited to see what will miraculously appear under the tree come Christmas morning, but she also missed having us, her family, near her. This is going to be a really lovely Christmas, I can feel it in my bones.

Braving the mall

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Christmas, family, postaday2014, presents

We are back in Boston and I took the opportunity to wander around the Legacy Mall primarily to go shopping at Whole Foods for fruit, things to drink and other food items. However when I saw the names of the other stores at Legacy Mall, I couldn’t resist the call to see what was going on in the Christmas retail scene.

Ann Taylor is one of my favorite stores to browse in, I rarely shop there, but I love looking at their clothes. I like that the pieces are timeless and classic, but with a slight twist to keep the look fresh, modern and relevant. There was a daddy with his son who was about 7 or 8 and they were going through the store looking at blouses and sweaters, searching for the right size and color. The daddy pulled out a cute sweater, cream with large blue horizontal stripes, a little French looking, and he asked his boy what he thought, the son said he liked it and the daddy said that it was the right size and that maybe mommy would really like it and be happy with the sweater. It was so adorable and sweet; they looked so serious and a little nervous about the sweater, I felt my smile get bigger by the second.

The next store that I visited was William & Sonoma, my husband and I LOVE that store. When I walked through the doors, I knew that I didn’t need a single thing, but I love looking at the table linens, all of the gadgets and the copper, the copper is so shiny and beautiful. While I was ogling the copper charger plates, a daddy was pushing his baby boy in his stroller and the baby did not look particularly happy being there. I suppose there wasn’t anything visually appealing or maybe it was getting close to feeding time. I of course couldn’t help but flash the baby a goofy smile and the daddy asked me if his son at least smiled back, I laughed and said no, he didn’t seem too happy being in the store, but I could tell that the daddy was intent on finding a special gift for someone very special.

I love people watching, it is never boring and to see these husbands and fathers taking their little ones with them to get something special for the special women in their lives made me feel a whole bunch of the Christmas Spirit.

Christmas came early for some :)

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Christmas, postaday2014, presents

What a wonderful day. We were at my sister’s house, she has a very lovely home. My mother made a delicious crab quiche, full of lump crabmeat and seasoned with just the right amount of cayenne pepper for a little zing right at the end, it was just the perfect note for an appetizer and then the piece de resistance were my brother-in-law’s ribs, they were wonderfully flavored, almost addictive. My sister got us three racks and after all was said and done, there were only three little rib pieces left. My mother had prepared winter vegetables that my sister threw in the oven until they were roasted tender and caramelized, an excellent companion to the ribs and lastly my Parisian flan was dessert. We really ate well for an early Christmas feast.

Perhaps most important was Santa’s early visit; our nephew came running into the kitchen to tell my sister that he read the tag on the big present and it was from Santa, but his handwriting wasn’t so good. I burst out laughing that that; I haven’t heard the truth out of a babe’s mouth in quite some time. I adore my niece and nephew, they make me smile so easily every single time. I think that it is safe to say that they were very happy with Santa after they unwrapped all of their presents and they had presents for us as well. Our niece spent her own money to get us little gifts, a book for me and a gift card for my husband and our nephew made us pretty cards, one of each of us. They are both so sweet.