The day after
Well, the US had another Thanksgiving and at least here it was very nice, though of course quiet since we are living among maniacs and remain as locked down as we can be. We FaceTimed with my sister and her wife, which was great. It might sound lonely or weird, but I had a good day.
(For the curious: I grilled salmon fillets, made Washington Post's fluffy dinner rolls, plus we had mashed potatoes and gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, asparagus, and Smitten Kitchen's individual tiramisu. YUM. Today I turned the leftover salmon in a chowder which we'll have shortly.)
Mother adored Christmas and when we first moved here, in 2016, we put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving Day for her, partly to fill the time but also because it made her so happy. We've continued that tradition even though this will be our third Christmas without her. I wasn't raised in a religious family by any means -- quite the contrary -- but my mother loved Christmas. Here is the tree as of this afternoon:
Our tree was actually third-hand, so last year after the holidays we bought a new one and I'm really glad; I think it looks great. The main difference between this and the old one is this one hasn't shed any needles. I'd be vacuuming up needles for literally six months after the old one was put away, so just that makes me happy.
Anyway, a month from today it'll all be over so I'm going to enjoy every minute. It's a time we celebrate Mother as much as anything so it's a little sad but mostly it makes me happy.
In other news, did you read that Stephen Sondheim has passed away? He was 91, and he had a great run, but still. It's another loss in another year of losses.
Since we haven't felt comfortable traveling for so long, I kind of fell in love with the Pattiz's brothers Youtube channel, More Than Just Parks. I don't see one for Yosemite yet, but hoo boy, the videos for Zion and Redwoods are stunning. I'm slowly working my way through all of them. We are still hoping to visit my sister in late September 2022, so I will be watching the Hawaii videos very closely (she lives on the Big Island).
I've seen both Hawkeye episodes and just finished watching Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I adored this Hawkeye so much, and really really like Kate Bishop; I'm so glad she's joining the MCU. Shang-Chi was a lot of fun with some incredible music and MICHELLE YEOH, who is always amazing. And some surprise appearances (at least, surprises to me). At one, I literally shouted out loud and startled my husband.
I hope those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving had a good day! Actually, even if you don't I hope you had a good day.
(For the curious: I grilled salmon fillets, made Washington Post's fluffy dinner rolls, plus we had mashed potatoes and gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, asparagus, and Smitten Kitchen's individual tiramisu. YUM. Today I turned the leftover salmon in a chowder which we'll have shortly.)
Mother adored Christmas and when we first moved here, in 2016, we put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving Day for her, partly to fill the time but also because it made her so happy. We've continued that tradition even though this will be our third Christmas without her. I wasn't raised in a religious family by any means -- quite the contrary -- but my mother loved Christmas. Here is the tree as of this afternoon:
Our tree was actually third-hand, so last year after the holidays we bought a new one and I'm really glad; I think it looks great. The main difference between this and the old one is this one hasn't shed any needles. I'd be vacuuming up needles for literally six months after the old one was put away, so just that makes me happy.
Anyway, a month from today it'll all be over so I'm going to enjoy every minute. It's a time we celebrate Mother as much as anything so it's a little sad but mostly it makes me happy.
In other news, did you read that Stephen Sondheim has passed away? He was 91, and he had a great run, but still. It's another loss in another year of losses.
Since we haven't felt comfortable traveling for so long, I kind of fell in love with the Pattiz's brothers Youtube channel, More Than Just Parks. I don't see one for Yosemite yet, but hoo boy, the videos for Zion and Redwoods are stunning. I'm slowly working my way through all of them. We are still hoping to visit my sister in late September 2022, so I will be watching the Hawaii videos very closely (she lives on the Big Island).
I've seen both Hawkeye episodes and just finished watching Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I adored this Hawkeye so much, and really really like Kate Bishop; I'm so glad she's joining the MCU. Shang-Chi was a lot of fun with some incredible music and MICHELLE YEOH, who is always amazing. And some surprise appearances (at least, surprises to me). At one, I literally shouted out loud and startled my husband.
I hope those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving had a good day! Actually, even if you don't I hope you had a good day.