Week 52 and 1/2

. . . and here we are finally sharing the rest of the pictures from the final days in 2025. This is a long post with 1 1/2 week's worth of many pictures pictures in each day so we went out with a bang!

Day 356- Monday, 12/22/25

I'm was off this whole week so enjoyed spending more time with the boys while they were home.  Once Rusty let Justin get up for the day he and I went out to run errands including a trip to the mall to pick up an online order that never got delivered.  I haven't been to the mall in ages and hardly recognize most the store there now.  Justin was happy to tag along because he has fond memories of their holiday decoration but sadly it appears they have scaled back quite a bit and only the Santa visit area was decorated.  After that we headed to a dr visit for Justin where the parking lot turned out to be more impressive than the mall with it's colorful pavement littered with millions of tiny yellow leaves which had dropped because of recent rain.  It really was a wonderful sight.  Finally back at home I whipped up some Penne pasta with chicken in Vodka sauce to help warm us all from the inside out on this chilly winter day.

Day 357- Tuesday, 12/23/25

 

Time to make some Christmas goodies with my baking elf.  This is one of his favorite things about Christmas and he always does a great job.  We pretty much spent all day in the kitchen and can't even count how many times we needed to wash dishes, but it all turned out great and was fun too.  Later I spied Rusty on the stairs hiding from the dog and lit up by the banister holiday lights.  Every now and then he'll peek around the corner to see if Bailey is fast asleep yet so he can go downstairs to his favorite room in peace.  One day she'll stop trying to chase him and learn to just let him be.

Day 358- Wednesday, 12/24/25

Happy Christmas Eve!  Today was Christmas cookie-plate delivery day that all the neighbors look forward to and some also give us treats in return.  We have a storm brewing so Christmas for us will be a wet one but at least the clouds are pretty and kind of look like snow drifts up in the sky.  Later we made our traditional pizza dinner to enjoy tonight just before opening one gift and heading to bed.

Day 359- Thursday, 12/25/25

Merry Christmas!  It's actually a bit sunnier than we were expecting because it seems like the rain storm passed mostly overnight.  We had a nice relaxing and fun day starting with an eggnog French-toast brunch before opening presents, and we ended with a nice prime-rib dinner plus Christmas cake for dessert.  I hope everyone else had a great day with family and/or friends.

 

 

Day 360- Friday, 12/26/25

Happy Friday!  I did have to head into the lab this morning to feed my cultures but thankfully it didn't take too long. I'm usually able to get there and back home before anyone else is up.  LOL! We pretty much spent the rest of the day relaxing with the pup and enjoying gifts received.  These are Bailey's new toys that she has managed to already start to break in and that is how we know she likes them.  Later we enjoyed a festive holiday drink by tree light and then watched this movie I had heard good things about.  It was pretty interesting based on a true story about the evolution of dating apps.

Day 361- Saturday, 12/27/25

Someone has been saving his money and bought a used car today which will come in handy when he graduates college in May and will need to find a new job. Otherwise is was a lounging day as we all try to recover from the recent holiday and think about planning the next.  We also started a new Netflix series and it's fun to pick out the unexpected connections brought on by lif'e's ripple effect as the show progresses.

Day 362- Sunday, 12/28/25

Justin gave me that kitchen towel for Christmas with 2 of my favorite things--espresso martinis and chocolate labs.🤎  Even though the sun has been out recently it's still been super cold all break and Rusty knows how to find the best warm spots to deal.  As  I try to stay warm I've been watching the many episodes of Nurse Jackie while also doing mindless chores and was able to finish all the seasons over this holiday break.  Good show but the finale leaves you guessing and sad because you'll never know what happens next.

 

Day 363 - Monday 12/29/25

Happy 2nd birthday to our sweet girl Bailey!  She had a sweet visit with her litter mate sister who lives across the street so they could celebrate together for a bit and then wore herself out playing with a new chew toy.  Hopefully tomorrow the tree comes down.  I must have it put away before New Year's!

Day 364- Tuesday 12/30/25

... and the Christmas take down begins.  It's fun to put it all up but such a pain to put it all away.  Later we went out to a new place in our city to try it out while the boys are home. It's a cool place.  This time we just ate there and the food was good.  Next time we come back we'll plan to bowl and have a little more fun..  Back at home we watched this movie based on a true story and it was really good--almost like a true-life Survivor season.  Plus at the end they had actually real video footage of the real people on the island that was cool to see.

Day 365- Wednesday 12/31/25

Cheers to New Year's Eve!  We had appetizers for dinner and chocolate fondue for dessert plus some good drinks. John headed to bed around 10pm while the boys and I lasted until just after midnight.  Goodbye 2025!

I really only had 8 posts in 2025.  The picture in the 9th spot is one from our city I added in as place holder.  IG and FB just aren't the same anymore so I'm less motivated to share.

Hope to see a lot of you in 2026 although you already know I'm running a month behind.

Week 51

Welcome back!  I'm playing catch up again.  December has been a very busy month enjoying time with family and friends so that means less time on the computer.  At any rate, here are the pictures from a few weeks ago.

This is how week 51 went, thankfully, with warmer weather and hardly any dreaded fog: 

Day 349- Monday, 12/15/25

In our lab meeting this morning our bosses gifted us with their freshly pressed olive oil for the holidays.  One bottle is from last year and one from just a few weeks ago. They will come in handy for the holidays. Later this afternoon, back at home, the sun was out and the clouds were expansive which made for a pretty and pleasant walk.  Once the sun goes down it sure does get cold quick though.  Bailey knows how to keep warm and cozy while winding down for the evening in cold weather and it's even more magical by tree light.

Day 350- Tuesday, 12/16/25

 

The mornings are still very cold as well and Rusty know just how to manage them with a blanket-covered, warm-human lap.  Thankfully for him I'm working remote today and for now going through email requests on my phone so we can cuddle longer on the couch.  As the day went on it definitely warmed up so we could enjoy another spectacular, clouded, blue sky.

Day 351- Wednesday, 12/17/25

This must be the week of wonderful skies. Of course they all look amazing after not being able to see much sky past the dense fog for the past few weeks. Today it was the morning sky as I pulled into work that happily set the tone for rest of the day.  Everyone was in good spirits for sure. Back at home we've started to receive holiday cards from family and friends which is a fun way to catch up with those that live far away.

Day 352- Thursday, 11/18/25

I'm still getting the last of the decorations put out.  The boys come home this weekend so I need to finish before they get here.  Also at a quick trip to Target to also prep the pantry for the return of boys I found these super soft and warm sweater pajama pants on sale.  I spied them a couple weeks a go but they were more than I wanted to spend so when I saw the sale sign today I had to grab them--most certainly worth the discounted price.  I might just be living in them while on vacation the next couple weeks.

 

Day 353- Friday, 12/19/25

We're ending this beautiful weather work week with some intense rain, but that is ok because there is no wind and the temps are still warm enough to keep it comfortable out.  I got home late because I had to wait in Davis for Justin's train and then we picked up dinner before heading home.  Sadly this made it too late for Bailey's walk which is why she is moping on the couch with her rack of ribs.  LOL!  At least we have more pretty holiday lights out creating a relaxing vibe for her.

 

Day 354- Saturday, 12/20/25

 

Justin is settling is well for his holiday break and helped me make a batch of Chex Christmas Crack we can all enjoy over the next couple weeks.  It's also the start of my 2 week holiday vacation so I was quite pleased to discover the new season of Emily in Paris just dropped and started binge watching it while getting some wrapping done. Rusty tried to help but ended up running off with some of my paper remnants.  I can't believe Christmas is next week!

Day 355- Sunday, 12/21/25

Brandon flew in really late last night and is settling in at home by revisiting some of his favorite video games.  The skies are angry and grey again as we prep for a series of rain storms that will come and go over the next 2 weeks.  Thankfully the few breaks between systems are expected to be nice and sunny.  The best part of this week was Sunday dinner with all my boys at the table.

Next up is a big post including all the remaining days in 2025.