One of those days

Not much to blog about tonight. This morning I was, to borrow a phrase from a fellow member of Sisters in Crime, a domestic diva (the title of Krista Davis' series of really good cozy mysteries). With most of the family coming this weekend, I got busy and washed all the sheets in the main house--except for the trundle which I'll do tomorrow. I don't much like housekeeping, except cooking and I don't mind cleaning the kitchen, but I hate, hate, hate changing beds.Three down, one to go. I'm fairly sure the linen in the guest house is clean. Plus tomorrow I'll have to wash all the napkins, place mats, etc, from entertaining.
Had a good lunch with my friend Fred, where we talked about all kinds of things but for once neither about the press nor about my work in progress. Just visited--he has a wonderful, wicked sense of humor, and we had a good time. Plus good food at Carshon's--I had lox and cream cheese.
Tonight I fixed lamb burgers for Jay and Susan--Jay howled when he heard I'd fixed them for Jordan and Christian and not for him. They were good, and I made a new guac--feta, lime juice and avocado. Really good. We sat on the porch enjoying the pleasant breeze and talking until almost nine.
So no, no constructive work done today, but a pleasant day. Hey, I'm retired--I don't have to set the world on fire every day. It's a lesson I keep trying to teach myself.

January 2 starts the New Year, not January 1

My Christmas cactus has been blooming throughout the season but on New Year's Day I noticed this spectacular bloom on it. The picture doesn't do it justice, unfortunately.

I am quite sure the new year begins the day after New Year's Day. January 1 goes by in a haze of ham and black-eyed peas, family and friends. I had Jacob all morning, which was fun. Sometimes he'd watch TV--he particularly liked the Rose Bowl Parade and stood in the kitchen to watch while I cooked. When he went home at noon, I took a long nap. The Jacob brought his parents back and Jay and Susan joined us.  I will modestly say that the Hoppin' John on cheese grits was great. I wore my hearing aids and found everyone so loud I was as confused as when I couldn't hear. It's going to be an adjustment, but I thought how lovely to begin the year with family and friends.

Jay, being one of something like ten children, hates leftovers. When I announced Hoppin' John was in the menu, Susan volunteered the remainder of a ham that had been given them, and Jay arrived with at least half a butt end ham, sweet and good. I put two cups in the entree and there's a still a lot but he refused to take it home (I slilpped Susan some Hoppin' John and cornbread). Hmmm. Ham salad for lunch! The cornbread had yogurt and honey in it--moist and good. The recipe called for an 8-inch skillet but mine is 12-inch, so there were nice thin slices of cornbread.

Today I have "de-Christmassed" the house--a chore I always dread--and figured out I could earn weight watchers points doing housework. They don't exactly list taking down decorations but I figured out some equivalents. It was after all quite a bit of walking and lifting. Actually after an hour and a half the house was mostly back to normal and I had discovered where I hid most of the things that are ordinarily on the mantel and buffet.

TV talk shows are full of resolutions this morning. My own resolution that's a change is to wear the hearing aids. I am sort of amused by people who resolve to lose weight, work out more, etc. Those are ongoing goals of mine, not new resolutions. Included on my list are writing more, taking my craft more seriously, finding new outlets, and treating all others with kindness. But I don't consider those resolutions.

As part of acknowledging that vacation is over and it's back to daily life, I'll spend the afternoon with the manuscript I am to proof and index. Rather than thinking of it as the daily grind, I'm grateful for a house to clean, food to cook, dishes to put away after a dinner party, a manuscript to read, and all the other parts of life. My gosh, I do sound like Pollyanna, don't I?