Happy New Year!

Conditions at 6:00 am - clear skies and -3'
Expected later - a mix of sun and cloud and +1'

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day - one I truly wished I was off to enjoy. The sun came out in the morning and stayed out for most of the day. The bit of freezing rain we received the day  before was shining in the tree tops as the sun beamed down on them. It was a perfect day for a walk, or ski, in the woods. I'm so sorry I missed it! But at least I got to go outside and enjoy the weather from time to time if only from the comfort of the car.

Last night we had our next door neighbours over for supper. It's been long overdue and it was a pleasant evening. We had a lovely meal prepared by my more than capable husband. It was fairly simple, as I don't think they are quite as used to what my son in law refers to as  'the weird food' I usually serve!  We started off with shrimp cocktail, followed by brown rice, with mushrooms and lemon zest, pan fried cod, baby peas, and corn and finished with warm apple crisp with ice cream.

Tonight however, will be a little different. I was going to post the menu but then that would spoil the surprise! Brenda and Bernie, Marlene and Raymond will be joining us tonight. Lloyd has planned quite a feast. But the up side is it can all be cooked after I get home so he's not left doing it all by himself tonight. He did make the dessert yesterday, and that is chilling as we speak, but the rest will be prepared later. I'm really looking forward to this evening. Although I did have a couple of glasses of wine too many last night and I woke up with quite a head ache around 1:30 but some pain relievers fixed it right up. SO this morning I'm good to go.

Lloyd had coffee with the VanGaals yesterday and he and Meghan(1) are leaving around lunch time on Saturday, stopping in to Grand Falls on the way, and then they plan to drive right through, but it will, of course, depend on the weather. They should be okay. Monday here, could be a different story, once again. For the fifth Monday in a row, we are expecting a storm - this one should bring 15 cms of snow with it. I think we should just declare Mondays as part of the weekend for the rest of the winter and be done with it.

I'm going to spend the weekend taking down the decorations and maybe, just maybe, I'll get into my craft room upstairs. It has sadly deteriorated in terms of it's functionality. I really need to get in there and straighten it up. It became somewhat of a dumping ground over the holidays and then of course, Meghan(2) was doing crafts in there as well, so it desperately needs some attention so I can use it again for it's intended purpose.

I was reading back through a couple of my posts yesterday and there was a lot of things we wanted to do over the holidays that just didn't get done. We always try to pack so much into that little time we have together. Maybe next year will be different. I know the kids won't be here as it's Greg's mom's birthday on Christmas day and next year she turns 60. So, of course, all the family should be together next year for that. I know they'll all have a wonderful time. The best part of it is, it will be a lot less stressful for everyone travel wise, as they can drive to the cottage in a couple of hours! 

Well, I'd better get going, I have a couple of things to pick up at the store on my way to work this morning.

Happy New Year Everyone!