Sunday 6 January 2019

And On We Go

...into this still rather new year which the majority of people on this planet have agreed to count as 2019.

After the very busy back-and-forth period around Christmas and New Year, O.K. and I settled down quietly for a few days at my place. It did us both good, and just being able to sleep in, have meals when we felt like it, and not having any appointments was very relaxing*.
Also, I really enjoy cooking when I know someone is there to appreciate and eat what I have prepared. Last night, for instance, I made a kind of Shepherd's Pie, and was really pleased with the outcome. We had white wine with it; the bottle was a birthday gift back in March from someone at work who has a friend with his own vineyard in Marbach, the small town where I regularly work (and sometimes post pictures of).

I also like to try different combinations of ingredients with my salads, such as pineapple and goat cheese, or dates, feta and nuts (thank you for that excellent idea, Pat!). Our breakfasts this week were rather late and more like lunches, sometimes with crispy fried bacon and eggs sunny side up on buttered toast. 
There was the occasional G&T at night, but other than that, we had mostly coffee and water; somehow, there was enough drinking on the holidays itself so that we simply did not feel like more of the same.
Having said that, I did in fact have more booze than planned on Friday night; we met up with my sister at our favourite (and nearest) Indian restaurant for dinner. I had been looking forward to an ApĂ©rol Spritz for starters, and somehow, the waiter misunderstood me when he took our orders for drinks later on - he brought me another one, and I did not refuse it. But it was with plenty of food, and I was definitely NOT drunk afterwards (ask my sister and O.K.). 

The weather was cold, but not below freezing during the day. When I cleaned up the kitchen on Thursday night, I saw that it had begun to snow. It was a beautiful sight but would have probably been too dark for a good photo, and so I took one on Friday morning. I apologise for the slight blurriness:



We went for a walk in the afternoon, and I was amazed to see not a monochrome world of black trees and white snow, but green patches of grass on some fields, and a lot of rusty browns leftover from autumn.

There were no deer or squirrels coming up for food this time, as they often do in the park; maybe it has not been cold long enough for them to approach humans. Many birds were around, though, some of them sounding like spring.

Yesterday, Saturday, was a bit warmer. It rained on and off all day, and most of the snow is gone by now. We went for a short walk only, because the wind was blowing sprays of rain straight in our faces. How I love coming in after such a walk! The warmth of my flat, lighting a candle, making coffee and having cake or cookies with it - and how grateful I am that I have all that, a warm place to return to and a well-stocked fridge to make dinner from.

Today, the weather is pretty much like yesterday, maybe less windy. I have not been out except for going to the car with O.K. who went home after our (late) breakfast, early enough to (hopefully) beat the worst of the end-of-the-holidays traffic, and to give himself a few hours to unpack and settle down in his cottage before work and daily life will resume tomorrow.

After we were all hoping for a better year health-wise (in both my and O.K.'s families) than what 2018 had put on our plates, this morning I learned that a close family friend had a bad fall at home and is in hospital with half his face broken; surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. I was told not to go and see him today, as there will be other visitors, and he can (and should) not speak. 

Phew. I truly wish for normal life to return.

* Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed all the celebrating, and the travelling back and forth was entirely our own doing. Both our families matter to each other, and we also like meeting friends and neighbours.

16 comments:

  1. I am so glad to read about your and O.K.'s quiet time together after all the celebrating on Christmas and New Year's Day. Your comments about not being drunk made me smile and when you wrote about enjoying being able to come into a warm place with good food I remembered a recent article I read which said that people who have a sense of gratitude live longer. (There you go.) But I am sorry for your friend who had the bad fall and send my wishes for a successful surgery and recovery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gratitude is a dominating "theme" in my life, Kristi. There is just so much to be thankful for, big stuff and small things alike. I never want to forget that.

      Delete
  2. Normal life returns here tomorrow (I hope).
    Glad the date, pecan and feta was a success.
    Happy New Year to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy New Year to you, too! Yes, the salad you mentioned on your blog was really tasty, and I am definitely going to make it soon again.

      Delete
  3. I tried to ask your sister and O.K. if you were drunk in the Indian restaurant but they were unavailable for comment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That doesn't mean anything! Except that they appreciate their privacy.

      Delete
  4. I've had a busy, busy weekend with Gregg's sister here visiting, so there hasn't been much time for blogs, but I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, dear Jennifer, and the same to you! I hope your knee is better and did not interfere too much with your busy-ness.

      Delete
  5. It was good to read that you had had such an enjoyable and relaxing time. We all need that in our life occasionally to re-charge the batteries. I liked Kristi's comment about grateful people living longer. Grateful people are on the whole much happier people too and much more pleasing to be with. I hope that 2019 brings you much more for which to be grateful. I also hope that everything goes well for your friend who had the accident.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Graham! (See - I've already found a reason to be grateful, for your kind comment and good wishes.)
      I've learned the whole story today, about our friend in hospital. It is rather scary and sounds painful. Poor man.

      Delete
  6. Rain hitting my windows as I read this post... We've not had any snow here yet. Glad you had some relaxing days - sorry about your family friend's unfortunate accident.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No rain yesterday, but it was a grey day, just right to keep me focused on what I was doing :-)
      Our friend will have surgery on Thursday, the doctors are optimistic and say it is only a comparatively "small thing" but needs doing.

      Delete
  7. So sorry about your family friend! Let's hope that 2019 improves with age! Love your snowy photos. It was 70 degrees today but by tomorrow night will be in the 20's!
    Wishing you peace, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, dear Kay. Personally, I can't complain about 2019 so far - but there are still worries about my Dad, and now of course about our friend, and last but not least about my Mum whose life now revolves completely around my Dad.
      The snow is all gone, but is forecast to return towards the end of the week.

      Delete
  8. Your idea of dates feta and nuts with a salad is a nice one, I will copy it too!
    I am sorry that you have had the bad news about your friend coming on top of your own health issues and those of your dad. When it happens this way we know intellectually that it is random chance, but it does feel as if someone in the sky is playing games with us. I think I know the situation your mum will be in, I am sure you are reminding her that it is important for her to make time for herself, to go out and do the things she likes, even if this means paying for a little extra help or seeing if local volunteers can help. I hope 2019 improves for you all, after all it is not very far along the route yet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Dad can be on his own for several hours; it is mostly that my Mum has to make sure my Dad's blood sugar level is measured and he has his meals at regular times. We are working on getting help for some household jobs.

      Delete