A Balmy December Morning

Loving The Christmas Season!

8:30

A drab, windless morning, drizzle and gray skies, and an unseasonably warm 48º.  And it may get up to the mid 60's tomorrow.  What is happening to the predictable weather of my youth, or so it seemed.

Friday was also unseasonably warm.  When I looked at the thermometer, it read 55º mid afternoon.  It was a partly cloudy day, one Evie spent in the kitchen, a good part of the morning, getting dinner ready for our friends the McClures, back from a few days in NYC.  We had decided that an Indian dinner sounded good, so Evie put together one of favorite Indian dishes, butter chicken, in the morning but it takes time, marinating the chicken in a spicy yogurt, then browning it, and then makes a sauce. And just for dessert, she made a pumpkin pie.  Anyways, that was Evie's day.  I went off to get some things done in Lakewood, stopping at Ryder's Cup for a coffee for the first time in weeks.  Then on to the cleaners, to pick up a couple of sports coats because I will be wearing a tie and coat in a week at my niece's wedding.  It's going to feel strange to wear a tie despite the fact that I wore one for most of my forty five years of teaching.  No jeans and an open collared shirt for me, the new casual teacher look.  I also stopped at Wegman's who, to my dismay, have once again rearranged some of their shelves, making it difficult to find what I needed.  I ended my foray south getting my car washed and picking up a couple of books on reserve at the newly refurbished Ashville Library.  And, of course, I petted their cat, Libby, always starved for affection.  She reminds me of our two Russian grays, Brandon and Dylan.

A Mess Of Geese

Lunch was leftover Chinese and I have one more episode of Longmire, episode 46, so I will have to find another series to watch during lunch.  While Evie relaxed and straightened the house, I read, napped and then feeling guilty since it was so nice out, I went for a brief kayak paddle. Lots of both geese and seagulls were on the lake, enjoying the temperate weather.  Our fisherman friend was out again and I stopped to talk.  He mentioned he had stopped by our house a couple of weeks ago, bringing us some fish, but we were on the road at the time, alas.  A good guy. He warned me about the wind just as a gust turned my kayak around, so I paddled in closer to shore, where I was somewhat sheltered from the gusts.  He's an intrepid guy, out there in almost any kind of fall or winter weather.

The Compleat Angler

Around 4:30, Evie got the bright idea to put up some Christmas lights, so she worked on our back porch, putting a strand up in the shape of a Christmas tree. The blue lights actually look nice, about as Christmasy as we are going to get.  Around 5:00, I had a hankering for a good cheddar cheese, so I drove up the street and came home with another baguette and Ivy's Vintage Reserve cheddar for an appetizer for the Mc Clures.

The Dude (in his new Johnny Cash tee shirt) And His Friends, Ron And Linda

They arrived at 6:00, ogling our Christmas lights in amazement at our Christmas spirit.  We enjoyed the appetizers, the cheese and bread, as well as a bowl of coconut, squash and ginger bisque.  They regaled us with stories of great bars and restaurants in NYC as well as the Tenement Museum, which they loved.  Dinner was just what we wanted, great butter chicken, with rice, spinach, a salad and naan.  I miss not having Indian food more often but fortunately, a new Indian restaurant opened about a month ago.  We finished the evening with pumpkin pie with Reddi whip in the living room, the end to another good day.