how about drinking?

You ladies are so sweet. Honestly, I'm not sure I can figure out how to connect it all to make it work. Don't be surprised if your gifts are "returned." You are a most generous and kind group. The MRI had delays, but the results came in last night. Not sure I'm reading it correctly (I am NOT a doctor) but I think only the 4 initial lesions are there and still suspect mets not a new primary. Cheers!!

Mommy - glad you had a nice holiday with the family ❣️

Good afternoon, friends:

We are in the zone now of "what day is it again?" I was off last Wed and Thurs, back to work on Friday (which felt like a Monday). Woke up Sat thinking it was Tuesday but then remembered it was the weekend. Back to work today for the same repeat this week, two days on, two days off, one back to finish up the week. Even those its not continuous time, I am still enjoying the extra time here at the end of the year (a fav part of the benefits of this job). It's been very quiet at work….

I am finishing up some holiday baking and cooking which I have had less chance to do the past few years. Made some cut out cookies this weekend and found out I am very out of practice! Some burnt and others broke as I took them off the sheet; broken ones got consumed by me! I gave some to my neighbors who I saw on Sat and they liked them, the flavor was good; nothing like a good homemade butter cookie. I plan to make some biscotti next weekend which will be the end of it and to give to some people for New Years treats. Better late than never. I also bought a turkey and am roasting it for New Years Day and will make turkey noodle soup too!

Doing an early get together on Wed (New Years Eve day) with friends. We oldsters like to go out early for a bit of celebration and like to be home at night. Drinking and driving bad here on NYE and they also shoot off guns in the air at midnight on NYE (I have probably shared this before). We are still the wild west out here sometimes!

Wishing everyone a happy and health 2026!

So envious of your winters. I miss them. We had a dusting of snow. Sadly, we may hit 50 January 3rd….enjoy the beauty of winter, ladies!!

My family is going to see the winter lights at the Botanic Gardens this evening. It's usually a good show, so I'm excited to catch it this year.

Good Morning, Loungettes, and Happy New Year! May 2026 be all you wish it to be!

2025 was a year of change,
life shifting slowly, wide in range.
Some days steady, some days wild,
each one asking me to reconcile.

It was a year of moves and miles,
of packing boxes, mixed-up trials.
Mom’s new home, a tender start,
I walked beside her, heart to heart.

It was a year of travel too —
Amsterdam skies in a painter’s blue,
Norway’s fjords in quiet grace,
North Carolina’s warm embrace.

Miles turned into memories dear,
stories I’ll carry through the year.
And now 2026 draws near,
a softer voice I’m learning to hear.

A promise whispered just for me:
to care for myself more gently.
To rest, to breathe, to find my pace,
to offer me the same embrace
I give to Mom with steady grace.

So here’s to a year of lighter load,
of choosing joy along the road.
A year where I learn and do
caring for her means caring for me too.

Midnight Rosé
Ingredients
• 1/2 oz black-currant or raspberry liqueur
• 1/2 oz rose syrup
• 5 oz La Marca Prosecco Rosé
Directions
Add 1/2 oz each liqueur and rose syrup to a glass. Top with 5 oz La Marca Prosecco Rosé. Garnish with frozen blackberries from an ice mold.

From https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/drinks/a69838843/new-years-eve-drinks/

Happy New Year's friend. Did an early celebration with friends in the afternoon. This was some of our celebration dotd. I promise I didn't drink it by myself 😂

We celebrated our 66 wedding anniversary with sparkling cider at DH memory care facility. It was hard for me because he doesn’t remember he lives there. It was like going back to year one. He offered to drive me home. For context he is in a wheelchair and can’t stand enough to transfer to a car seat. He has been there 3 years

Wren. Blessings to you and DH. You were married the year I was born 🙏

Wren, hugs. I remember when your dh entered the memory care facility.

Wow. Beautiful.

Turkey noodle soup from New Year's Day roasted turkey. Too some to a friend last night who had a fall yesterday. She's okay but sore and bruised

Carole - you saw mushrooms

My final cooking for the holidays. Cranberry orange and double choc biscotti

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Twofer Tuesday! We're having quite the cold snap right now that has me looking forward to the traditional January thaw which may be coming toward the weekend. I don't mind the cold so much, but this bitter cold is miserable. At least I don't have to go out in it very much now that I'm retired!

Thanks, Carole!

Jazzy--looks like a very nice celebratory drink!

Morning, Wally!

Wren--I remember when your DH moved to the memory care facility. I have a better appreciation for how hard that must have been for you now. Watching the decline of a loved one is so heartbreaking.

Jazzy--that bird looks good enough to eat!!!

Teka--I'll share the skin and dressing with you! I like the dark meat when it's hot out of the oven like that.

Miriandra--the lights are amazing!

Jazzy--one of my favorite parts of leftover turkey was when Mom made turkey rice soup. I really miss that soup. Yours looks really, really yummy, too! Oh my, biscotti, too? Nice!

Carole--Mom had a rough few days over the weekend. She had a couple of falls, got tangled up in a blanket she was folding and tripped and then slid out of her rocking chair, not eating as well, more confused than usual. I was thinking she might have a UTI or be coming down with a respiratory virus but she seems to have cleared up, so I wonder if it was another TIA. We had another "is this where I'm going to live for the rest of my life?" discussions, which just breaks my heart, but she did say she was glad to know where she is going to be and now she wants to start moving things out of storage to have in her room, like her sewing machine, tubs of fabric, boxes of patterns, and a table for sewing. There is NO room for any of that stuff in her room now, which barely fits a bed, dresser, and chair. At least as long as it's cold out I can put off taking her to the storage unit to get her sewing stuff for a while.

Seamstress Cocktail

1¼ oz. rye whiskey
1¼ oz. chai-infused sweet vermouth
½ oz. ginger liqueur (Seamstress uses Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liqueur)

Glass: rocks

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice until chilled. Strain into a glass over a large ice cube. Use an orange twist to extract oils, then discard the peel.

From https://imbibemagazine.com/recipe/seamstress-cocktail-mortimer-mauve/

Carole- gave some away at work yesterday and to the neighbors today before work. Oh and I consumed a couple and now those are gone. Few of the other left. They all loved them!

That's it folks, no more holiday cooking and back to eating healthy here in the new year.