NYE...

We aren't doing much of anything for NYE but that's the what we usually do...early showers...warm pajamas and comfy robes as we prop ourselves up on a sofa or a bed to try to stay up past midnight. I think we are getting Chinese food for later and maybe watching a movie. It's cold and windy here and I just want to be inside but that's where I usually am anyway. There are tons of flus and colds floating around and I need to stay clear of them...if I can.

Reading this...

a 38 year old single sort of nerdy cartoonist finds herself pregnant...that's just the beginning of her story but she decides to name the baby Digby. She needs him to have a totally nerdy name. I love this book! There's also some rivalry with her perfect sister which is making this book even better!

So...the year's end...

the end of the year just makes me try to be more thankful and appreciate every moment...I have never been sick and now I am in the middle a sickness that is new to me. I can be happy and sad and crying all in the same day. I want and need to be strong enough to get myself through what I have to go through. Den is my strength but I have to be strong for him, too. And I will.

 

Hugs and big thank you's for all of your thoughts and prayers as we all step into 2017!

Patty

 

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Buzz Books! Life! More Books!

Buzz Books...

I love them and want to acquire and read every new book in them! And now NetGalley is publishing them monthly! This year I learned that you can't spend your entire life reading! That is a valuable lesson for me and I enjoy reading in a different way now...a calmer less frenetic way. Being sick has taught me so much...not that I want to have what I have but I am learning so much from it. I actually sit and watch movies and sports and even the food channel with Den...and we talk...we have always talked but it's different without a book always open in front of me. It's actually nicer. I listen more. I am not always tuned on to rapid read.

With all that written...I still can't wait to browse through this Buzz Book and all of the next ones!

Life...

I had Wegman's ( Weggieman's ) Carrot Cake for dinner last night...OMG...it was so delicious. Den had Wegman's White Coconut Cake for dinner which he said tasted like the best wedding cake ever. Cake for dinner is a great idea...every once in a while. I wish we were having it again tonight.

Books...

I am not enjoying this book. It's rough and hard and mean and the word "shite" is used far too many times. I remember loving the first book this author wrote but I don't think I have read any after that. This book is really popular...I see it on tons of best seller lists but I just do not like it...that makes me sad. I am determined to finished it and that will be soon.

I think I am ready for something lighter...perhaps more funny? Either this...

Or this...

But knowing myself I will probably choose something totally different...sigh!

A relative sent us a picture of our first Christmas in our first house in Denver...not our first Christmas but our first one in Denver. I loved that sweater! I made all of those ornaments and still have them. And I still have my Christmas dishes, too. Our first house was a condo on a golf course and golf balls came through that window at least once a month!

Hugs,

Patty

 

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So...

I am still reading this but I am not sure that I am really enjoying it...it's a murder, of course, but everything is so rough. I am getting more put off by this book than anything...I think. I hate stopping a book so my plan is to continue on for at least a little while longer.

Cravings...

I am really craving pasta of all different kinds. These are all on Food & Wine...

Free Form Lasagna...

Four Cheese Spaghetti...

Pesto Pasta

Cauliflower Cheesy Pasta...this one is at Food & Wine but it's Ina Garten's recipe!

I need to make some pasta!

Hugs,

Patty

 

 

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Books...

Currently reading this and loving it...

New books...

From Amazon...

“A searingly smart and painful exploration of aftermath—the voids left in tragedy's wake, the truths that can never be spoken. To be the one left behind: Perabo never shies away from how much this can hurt. But in her hands, what seems at first like a story of loss ultimately becomes a narrative of renewal and an unforgettable portrait of mothers, daughters, and the tangle of desperation, fear, history, confusion, and love that binds them together.”

—Robin Wasserman, author of Girls on Fire

From Amazon...

"Told in a tongue-in-cheek voice that takes a swipe at all things Hollywood, Royce Rolls is a laugh-out-loud funny romp with an LA noir twist about what it means to grow up with the cameras rolling and what really happens behind the scenes."

From Amazon...

 

"A small town hides big secrets in The Dry, an atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper."

From Amazon...

"Praised by Lee Child and Karin Slaughter, and sure to thrill fans of The Girl on the Train and The Widow, The Marsh King’s Daughter is mesmerizing psychological suspense, the story of a woman who must risk everything to hunt down the dangerous man who shaped her past and threatens to steal her future: her father."

 

Hugs,

Patty

 

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Just Two Things...

Our Christmas Eve Eve Dinner...

They were potato and cheese and Den ate most of them and they were soooooo delicious! You have to sautée them with sweet onion and the crispier they are...the better...these pierogis are!

Our house last night...

 

Sweet Christmas dreams?

Hugs,

Patty

Merry Christmas

 

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Shopping...

So...normally Den and I shop together especially for the holidays but I have been grounded. Den thinks I wil run into too many germs...so we made the lists, we discussed the lists and our phones are ready. Heeheehee...he will be fine. We have traditions for Christmas Eve Eve Dinner and Christmas Eve Dinner and Christmas Breakfast and Christmas Dinner and on the day after Christmas we always have pasta and meatballs! So we are set until Tuesday!

Boy do we love a plan!

We are having pierogis tonight.

Cioppino tomorrow...

Ham and cheese breakfast strata on Christmas morning...from Simply Recipes...

And a tenderloin or filet for Christmas dinner...I am not sure what Den bought...

The day after Christmas...

Back to books...

Having a great time reading this book although something seems so wrong in it...but that's what is making it sooooo good!

Next...this one for sure...the cover is just too beautiful...

So...I won't be back until Monday so have a wondrous holiday!

Stay well!

Hugs,

Patty

 

 

 

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Hmmmm...

Finished this...

loved it and I know I have read at least one other book by this former dancer.

Reading this...

two friends with young sons the same age seem to know each other well until one of them leaves her son with the other and completely disappears without a word!

 

Our little Fraser Fir...

 

Ornaments...both old and new...

Hugs,

Patty

 

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Finished...

 

First...

We usually divide up the holiday events...wreaths on one day because Den puts spotlights on them...one in between the garage doors and one on the front door...then some greenery in a basket by the front door and more greenery and a bow on the green wrought iron bench that is always by the front door.

 

Next up...

Candles in all of the windows...that's Den's job, too. He is very organized...they use batteries and he has them in all of the windows quickly.

Usually we then take out all of my cherished Santa's and snowmen...we put them anywhere we can.

The tree...was up yesterday and decorated but for some odd reason I usually need to go to Pier 1 and Pottery Barn for two or three of their on sale ornaments. I have been doing this forever and we did it today...quickly!

Pier 1...

Pottery Barn...

 

I love our traditions!

Hugs,

Patty

 

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So...

A short tree tale...

 

The tree is in the living room and in its proper stand. It's funny because when we first built this big house on the pond...other neighbors built big houses around the pond, too. All of the houses had one thing in common...big open vaulted sunrooms with really high ceilings. If you could see the house you could see everyone's big huge tree! We all put our trees in the sunroom which was open to the rest of the downstairs but if you were in the family room you really couldn't see the tree. But...we did this for years...struggling with a huge tree and struggling to get it in its stand. My job was to try to hold it straight while Den tried to screw the huge bolts that held it...it seemed to take forever.

This year's tree tale...

Yesterday we found a lovely Fraser Fir...a beautifully shaped smaller version of the giant Fraser Fir we used to buy. We put it in the middle of the living room where it will be stuffed with white lights and cherished ornaments. It took two minutes to pop it in the stand and we can see it from the family room. Today we are decorating it. Den is down there right now struggling over the lights but he loves it...I just know he does!

Back to books...

Of all things not wintery I am totally engrossed in this book...it goes against my firm belief in seasonal reading but it's so delightful I can't put it down!

Sigh!

The rest of the day...

Tree decorating...Christmas card writing...plus I connected with an old friend I used to teach with...it warmed my soul!

I think we are staying in today.

Hugs,

Patty

 

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