Saturday, January 1, 2011

Thanksgiving, Birthday, Christmas, New Years......

Happy New Year!!

I can honestly say that I don't remember getting from Thanksgiving all the way to New Year's Day. It's like I went to sleep on Thanksgiving night and all of a sudden I've awakened on the first day of 2011! It has been a busier time that I can remember in a very, very long time! So here are some ramblings and random photos from the past month......

My Thanksgiving menu turned out very nicely; the pictures didn't turn out at all. Every single one of them were blurry and not fit for publishing. I ended up with way more food that we needed and even after eating leftovers for a week and a half, I ended up throwing stuff out.
Should have thought ahead and frozen stuff.

My birthday was a week after Thanksgiving. We went out with a bunch of friends to my current favorite restaurant - The Bluegrass Brewing Company (BBC). As their name indicates, they brew their own beer. My favorite is their Raspberry Mead. They have several vegetarian/vegan selections on their menu. My favorite is their Spinach Burger. It is by far the best vegan burger I have ever had. They make their own fresh potato chips too! YUM! After dinner we went to see a couple of my favorite bands in concert - tobymac and Skillet.


My birthday presents - 2 enameled cast iron pots! I've already used the heck out of them!

Then came some really, really cold and snowy weather. Because of where I work, bad weather during the holiday season most always finds me working yucky hours out in the air park, handling packages and generally making sure that your Christmas packages get sorted, loaded into Big Brown airplanes and Big Brown package cars, so Santa can deliver your gifts on time!

My parents came to visit us from Western North Carolina for Christmas this year, for the first time in about 10 years. They are getting along in years and once they got here I realized that making that trip was not the best idea we've ever had. They are getting quite feeble and Mom had a very tough time managing the stairs. Then came the huge snowstorm and their hometown got a foot of snow. We got enough to call it a white Christmas, but they couldn't leave for a couple extra days and my dad was pacing like a caged cat!

Christmas dinner was a much simpler affair than Thanksgiving. Here is the menu:

Baked Stuffed Manicotti
Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Tossed Green Salad
Fresh French Bread
Death By Apple Pie
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing
Pumpkin Pie


The Christmas table


Christmas Dinner


Death By Apple Pie


Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing


A huge Christmas surprise from Paul's mom was a pair of tickets to tomorrow's Colts game with the Tennessee Titans. Paul surprised me with this jersey. GO COLTS!!

As soon as my parents left to return to N.C., one of my closest friends' dad became critically ill. We have known for some time that he was terminal but he suddenly went downhill very quickly. He passed away early New Year's Eve morning. Rest in peace, Russ. You are sorely missed, but we know you are pain-free now.

So that brings me to New Year's Day. Our lunch was simple and traditional.


Blackeyed Pea Cakes


Blackeyed Pea Cakes (under the cabbage), Curried Cabbage (minus the broccoli and coconut-sesame paste) garlicky collard greens, mashed potatoes, and cornbread



Sweet Wesley - so calm and laid back.......

So tomorrow we go to Indy for the football game, Monday is Russ' funeral, and Tuesday I go back to work. I've had 2 weeks off but I am more exhausted than if I'd been there the whole time!

I hope 2011 bring every one of you joy, peace, and prosperity! Oh, and in case I forgot - GO COLTS!!

1 comment:

  1. What a nice post, Renee. I'm not vegan, but I might pretend to be to get some of that apple pie. I clicked to follow your blog and I look forward to your future posts. :-)

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