New Year's Eve Dinner: 12 '20

 We're celebrating New Year's Eve at home this year

With a homemade dinner of 

 classic Beef Bourguignon and mashed potatoes

Bruce loved every bite.

(I followed Julia Child's original recipe with near religious fervor.  No creative deviations on this recipe.  Its a definte keeper:  https://cafedelites.com/beef-bourguignon/)

December 31st Beach Walk 12 '20

Ever since we moved to Pawleys's Island  

Bruce and I have made it a tradition to visit Pawleys Island Beach 

on the last and the first day of each year.

Most years, we take a long walk along the shoreline,

but today it's been raining hard all morning. 

 We counted ourselves lucky to catch a short break in the clouds

 which allowed us enough time to dash to the beach.

It was obvious from the dark clouds 

which were closing in from the west of us

that there wouldn't be enough time for us to take a walk on the beach 

this year.

And judging by the height of the tide on the marsh,

if we lingered too long,

we might even be at risk of  the high tide flooding the streets

 leaving us stuck on the island

until the tide receded.

 

So we contented ourselves 

with watching the

glow on the marsh magically change,

as the sun slipped in and out of the clouds.

By the time we got home, it was pouring again.  

We'll try again tomorrow to take a beach walk,

 but the next several days are predicted to have a high probability of precipitation, so we probably won't get to take our first 2021 beach walk

 until Monday, Jan 4, 2021, or later.

Thoughts on looking back at 2020

Here are 12 things to consider as we get closer to closing the door on one of the most horrible years of our lifetime:

1. The dumbest thing I ever bought was a 2020 planner.

2. I was so bored I called Jake from State Farm just to talk to someone. He asked me what I was wearing.

3. 2019: Stay away from negative people. 2020: Stay away from positive people.

4. The world has turned upside down. Old folks are sneaking out of the house & their kids are yelling at them to stay indoors!

5. This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her dog. It was obvious she thought her dog understood her. I came into my house & told my cat. We laughed a lot.

6. Every few days try your jeans on just to make sure they fit. Pajamas will have you believe all is well in the kingdom.
7. Does anyone know if we can take showers yet or should we just keep washing our hands?

8. This virus has done what no woman has been able to do. Cancel sports, shut down all bars & keep men at home!

9. I never thought the comment, “I wouldn’t touch him/her with a 6-foot pole” would become a national policy, but here we are!

10. I need to practice social-distancing from the refrigerator.

11. I hope the weather is good tomorrow for my trip to the Backyard. I’m getting tired of the Living Room.

12. Never in a million years could I have imagined I would go up to a bank teller wearing a mask & ask for money.

Here’s hoping for a Happier 2021.

2021 is almost here

 A New Year is coming

and 

we are on the countdown to 2021 .

The house is decorated

and the table is set

 for a feast.

Frozen: 12 '20

 

Poor Birdies!

All their birdbaths are frozen.

I had to thaw our  hummingbird feeder this morning

 and refill it with warm nectar 

so our wee little hummer didn't starve.

Moving on to Celebrating Christmas

 With Hanukkah firmly over,  our attention is now turning to celebrate the Christmas 

The first thing I did this morning was was store away all of the Jewish holiday decor,  e.g. Menorahs, Stars of David, etc.

Then I reset the dining table with a red and white color scheme,

 and hung Santa Clause stockings from the chairs.

The blue bottle Menorah in the kitchen window sill has been replaced 

with a set of snowmen cocoa pots and cups.

I retained blue ornaments on the main Christmas tree, 

but added a lot of red and gold ones as well.

A natural green swag was hung on the staircase railing 

and a multi-colored  led-light tree

brightens up our Carolina room.

 A wreath of red,   green, and gold jingle bells hangs on the front door.

Santa Claus is playing golf in our front yard, 

 and 

a 'Countdown to Christmas' snowman welcomes visitors to our home.

Celebrating Hanukkah 2020

Tonight is the first evening of  the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah

Thursday, December 10th

Hanukkah begins this evening  at Sunset

The candles are set up in the menorah

waiting to be lighted.

The dining room table has been reset in Blue, White,  and Silver

To downplay the influence of the secular Christmas season

 

the Christmas tree, and fireplace mantel, 

have been redecorated with blue and silver ornaments 

and only Hanukkah gifts were put out. 

And a Menorah was set up in the kitchen window facing the street.

Friday, December 11th begins the 2nd night of  Hanukkah

Bruce lit the candles 

And we attended an online Shabbat Service at Central Synagogue

Saturday, December 12th is the  third night of Hanukkah

A neighbor gave Bruce a signed copy of the Talmudic Tales, 

which we displayed under his Hanukkah Bush 

Sunday, December 13th Marks the fourth night of Hanukkah

 

Bruce put out his Hanukkah Snowman.

Monday, December 14 is the Fifth Night of  Hanukkah

Bruce lit the candles,

and CC gave Bruce a Hanukkah Memory book which contained

 the Hanukah Prayers,  customs, and rituals from all around the world. 

It also contained a photo album of all of our past Hanukkah celebrations.

 The 6th night of Hanukkah 

began on the evening of Tuesday,  December 16th 

CC gave Bruce a gift of  homemade Challah Bread

The7th night of Hanukkah 

began on the evening of Wednesday,  December 17th 

We lit the candles  and 

Bruce read some of the Talmudic Tales to the cats.

The 8th night of Hanukkah 

began on the evening of Thursday,  December 18th 

We lighted the last night's candles,

 and watched them together until they burned out.

We also enjoyed a beautiful Honey Spice Cake that Bruce had baked.

Tree's up: 12'20

 Our giant twinkly cat toy is now in place...

Now we wait to see which one of our two boys will be the first to climb it.

 There were only the two of us celebrating our national holiday last night, but that didn't stop Bruce and me from making, and sharing, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The only difference is that instead of cooking a whole turkey, I sous vide a 4-pound turkey breast for the main course, and which freed our convection oven up for making sides of corn pudding, butternut squash & Brussel sprouts, buttermilk rolls, and peach pie.

So good!

WAP found on our driveway: 11 '20

Look what we found by our garage door this morning.

We think we may have located the appropriately named weapon of mass destruction which broke our Rav's rear window.

 

 

2020 Just won't end

When Bruce stepped out the front door today to go get out mail, he had a very unpleasant surprise. 

 

The rear window of our Rav IV was shattered  

 

and there was a big hole in it.

There was glass  everywhere

inside and out

We're not sure how this happened, but we suspect

 that it was caused by a golf ball.

The good news is that our auto insurance is covering

 the cost of replacement

and will even make the repair on-site so that 

we don't have to have the vehicle towed to a repair facility. 

The HOA lumberjacks have been busy: 11 '20

We were interrupted in the middle of our breakfast by the whine of what sounded like chainsaws right outside our back door.  

We weren't far off; a crew of lumberjacks was working on cutting down a gigantic  cedar growing  20 feet from our next-door neighbor's back door.

It seemed so sad to see such a beautiful old tree cut down,  

but much of its trunk and many of its limbs were hollowed out and very brittle making it a serious hazard in the tropical storms winds which sweep through our area every summer and fall.

For similar reasons, the HOA was having the towering pine trees planted along our property line removed.   The tops of these trees snap like match sticks in strong winds.  With the prevailing winds likely to blow them right atop of our condos, our HOA decided it was best to have them removed.

I know we will miss seeing a forest at our back door, but I also know we won't miss the safety concerns those trees have created throughout every Hurricane season.