Son and lovely girlfriend spent Christmas with us. We missed having our daughter with us but it is also nice to have them one at a time occasionally. Lovely girlfriend really is lovely - beautiful and nice and you can tell cares so much for our son. I hope to spend many more events with her.
The holidays started with Noche Buena where we had a nice small crowd, around 20-25, so it was easier for me to talk to people instead of just be the master of ceremonies. We had some new folks this year which really added to the event. It's always funny that our Noche Buena party is looked forward to by so many of our Jewish friends! And it love it when people meet new people and find they have so much in common. This year it was two artist friends who discovered one another and common interests. (and I love saying "artist friends" as I have no artistic talent but these people both make their living as artists - one in mixed media and the other in jewelry and gold design.)
Next morning was Christmas which was the traditional unwrap gifts, eat breakfast, fix dinner, etc, a family time that was actually pretty low stress. Christmas dinner is always a problem as I'm tired of cooking and servings etc and get totally stressed about getting dinner on the table. This year I fixed boliche (cuban pot roast) which made my husband happy, but I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans, which made my father happy. A win-win! and boliche is so easy. You just season it, brown the eye of round, and pop it in a pot with wine, tomato sauce and bay leaves, and let it slowly simmer. I'm keeping that as my new Christmas tradition.
Son and lovely girlfriend spent the 26th seeing some of his favorite parts of our area, places that were special to him that he wanted to share. A family dinner that night and then they were off to a party and they left the next morning. The visit was too short but just the right length of time.
For New Year's Eve we attended a beautiful wedding downtown. Actually the wedding ceremony was tasteless and awful (more like a comedy roast than dedicating your life to someone) but the venue was spectacular and the food was a total WIN! Definitely gets the prize for best appetizers - tuna tartar, baby lamb chops, individual shrimp cocktails, etc. We danced and ate and had a wonderful time. The view from the reception was quintessential Washington. Yes, that is the White House with the Washington Monument just behind it.Now we've put it all away and I'm looking forward to three weeks at the beach. Things on my to-do list for 2015 include more yoga, more exercise, and cleaning out my linen closets. We'll see how it goes.
Happy New Year everyone.
2 comments:
Well, I managed pretty well with the cooking until last night, when I burned the chicken. And I straightened out my linen closet, although I did not clean it.
This has been a long visit, with nine people to cook for and clean up after, four of them children. Luckily we all get along, so it's mostly fun.
Happy New Year!!!
@Hattie - I can't imagine 9 house guests including 4 children! We would have eaten many Costco pizzas and chickens with a smattering of Chinese carry-out! Glad it was fun and I know you'll also be glad to get back to normal.
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