All Holidayed Out

We don’t generally do much with New Year’s Eve.  It’s a holiday for amateur drunks.  When I was young, a New Year’s Eve party was a chance to meet someone, hook up, at least dance for a few hours.  Now my right ankle won’t let me dance, I have my dear Ira and going out on route 6 this night appeals mostly for those interested in suicide. We don’t do resolutions as we did them at the Jewish NewYear, Rosh haShonah. 

We gave each other a modest amount of presents this year as we’ve had so many house expense – a new porch, for instance, and 15 new windows.  We know as soon as the weather permits, we’ll have to have the roof replaced over the entire house.  Ira was sitting in an armchair when it was raining heavily a few days ago, and he kept having water dropping on his head.The roof in the dining room has been leaking through the skylight all year.  We know it will be expensive, but we have no choice. 

Dale and Stephen came over to supper on the 25th– pot roast with many root vegetables.  We had a version of pigs in blankets first with some good cheeses.  For dessert, I’d made strawberry mousse.  It didn’t quite jell – more like pudding than a mousse.  It really has to be made the day before, but that wasn’t possible.  Dale made some pot brownies. Pot is legal in Massachusetts, finally.  As it should be everywhere.  I still have medicinal mj for my glaucoma. I’m wondering what it’ll be like when hoards of recreational users flock to my favorite dispensary. 

The holidays throw me off. I kept thinking it’s Friday or Saturday instead of Tuesday orThursday.  I’ve been wearing a lace up boot my doctor prescribed last week.  It helps a lot.  Much less pain from my ankle and I can do laundry easily and make supper.  I still am on the RICE schedule – rest, ice, compression, elevation so I’m pretty much house bound as I can’t wear normal shoes with the boot on – an old pair of summer sandals and bedroom slippers are all I can get on my feet with the boot, which I use all day and evening. But the solstice party went very well and so did going to a friend’s house for the 11fish Italian feast on Christmas eve.  I just sat in an armchair with the right foot on a footstool and people brought me goodies.  A lazy way to enjoy a party.

Almost all the seed catalogues have come, early this year.  After the first, we’ll get started slowly ordering.  It’s something I enjoy.  Ira less so. I find it exciting and life-affirming. I always start with the Fedco catalog, as I order more seeds from them than any other companies. They’re a co-op in Maine and 90% of their prices are cheaper than anybody else we order from. But each seed catalog has some different varieties. 

We had only a coating of snow once this month and it was gone by midmorning, even from the plowed vegetable gardens that hold on to it longest.  Yesterday was very mild – over50 –but today is mild now but supposed to turn colder. I’m busy with the manuscripts for the poets applying to the June juried intensive poetry workshop. I’ve never seen so many applicants as this year.  I don’t know how many I’ve read so far, but it must be over one hundred and still counting. Four came in just yesterday, 2 more this morning.  in addition I have 2 full length mss, one of fiction, one of poetry, that I have agreed to read and blurb if I can.. I’m rather busy right now.  At noon, I’ll watch the U of Michigan game.

Usually we get up unpleasantly early on December 26th and drive into Boston for the after Christmas sales.  But since I have the boot on, it wasn’t possible to do this year. But I don’t mind. I ordered sweaters on line to replace those the moths chewed up.

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