"Redding The House"

8:13

9:22

It's 8:15 as I start this on a 34º morning. The lake is still mostly frozen, the sky is overcast and there's barely any wind, in other words, it is a typical Chautauqua winter morning. It may get up into the 40s later in the day, in the 50s on Tuesday and Wednesday. A year ago, the lake was open, and I kayaked in the morning and we hiked for a couple of miles, late morning.  

Yesterday was a dreary New Year's Eve day, overcast with drizzle and heavy fog much of the day. And since it was a Saturday, the only thing I had to do was take the trash to the Transfer Station. I was home by 10:30 and Evie was already busy giving the kitchen a deep cleaning and starting on the living room, as if the whole house was to be thoroughly cleaned by the end of the year. For some reason, she had this unexplained itch to get the house ready for the New Year. I helped by vacuuming the upstairs bedrooms and the entire downstairs, even moving furniture to get to areas we seldom get to. It was only once Evie began that I noticed a post from Julie L on Facebook about Redding The House, a Scottish(and Pittsburgh) tradition new to us. It explained Evie's instinct to clean and declutter yesterday. 

By 12:30, the house was looking good and we were ready to take it easy the rest of the afternoon. For lunch, Evie took last night's lemon chicken broth and added rice and I had a delicious soup for lunch along with a bagel. We both then enjoyed the afternoon, reading, watching TV or napping. By 4:00, however, I was watching the first half of the Michigan/TCU game until 5:15 when I showered and got ready for our evening, 

We were going out to dinner at a favorite restaurant, The Landmark, with Linda and Ron, a tradition we have missed the last few years. Neither of us could remember what we did last year until I checked the blog and realized that Evie tested positive for Covid on the 31st, putting a kibosh on our plans.  Fortunately, all four were healthy this year. We arrived at 6:30, and had drinks at the bar before being seated by 7:00. It was a busy place although there seemed to be a few empty tables. We had a calamari appetizer and their never-ending salad bowl before our main courses. I had prime rib, and Evie the New York Strip, both delicious. With a nice Malbec, the four of us were happy to be together this year. We stayed until 9:00 and were home by 9:30. Both of us were happy to be home and not worry about staying up till midnight, a bunch of sissies I guess.