Week 52

Hello and welcome back!  Here we are in the new year and this will be the last post for the last week in 2021!  I hope everyone had a nice and safe celebration for ringing in 2022, and I hope this new year brings you much happiness.

Here's a look at how we ended 2021:

Day 361- Monday, 12/27/21

The whole family is home this week still on winter break so we kicked off the week with a new Marvel movie which was fun.  Then in the afternoon, as Justin was relaxing, Rusty decided to join him.  Justin wants to point out that his orange kitty in glasses socks as well.  Plus look what's happening in our mountains with the heavy storms we're having.  Over 17ft of snow with more to come--great for our upcoming ski trip next month and our drought situation (photo credit NBC BayArea).

Day 362- Tuesday, 12/28/21

Time to take Christmas down.  The recycle guys come tomorrow morning to get the tree so we had to get it out to the curb ready for that.  It's fun decorating but not so much packing it all back up to put away.  Then look at the long lines where Tyler is working at Cal Expo doing COVID tests.  He said many were waiting over 5 hours. This new variant sucks!  I'm so glad I have access to private testing at my work since it has to be done every 2 weeks regardless.

Day 363- Wednesday, 12/29/21

Today was a very rainy morning and I had to head out early for my COVID test on campus which will allow me to head back to work next week.  Later back at home it was still raining when I ran out to check the mail and was thankful I had a nice winter jacket with a hood on.  As you can see behind me, Christmas may be down inside but we still have the outside lights to pack up which won't happen until the rain clears.  Breakfast for dinner was a great idea on a cold rainy night like this one. 

Day 364- Thursday, 12/30/21

. . .A nd today the sun shines bright with pretty blue skies.  There are still many puddles to be found but that's ok.  The break between storms is nice.  I also spotted these blue winter buds on a bush out front that add a nice pop of color to otherwise drab vegetation this time of year.

Day 365- Friday, 12/31/21

Happy New Year's Eve! We spent it at home eating our traditional finger foods and chocolate fondue while playing game and watching time square parties.  John is totally blurred in the 3rd picture, too excited for the ball drop, but I like that you can see the kids in the background and Justin's glass full of grape sparkling cider 😊

That's a wrap for 2021!  Next week I'll post week 1 of 2022 which will have Saturday and Sunday from this week added for the right year.

Week 51

Hello and Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas holiday. We had another great week last week and are now looking forward to ringing in the New Year.  It's been very rainy here and snowy in the mountains with more to come. We'll get a good snow-pack built up to help us fight the drought by the end of this month and then any rain still to come in 2022 will of course further help to buil up or resevoirs. Hopefully we can avoid the extreme dry conditions that fuel our wildfires. It sure would be nice to have a break from all that next year.

Until then take a look at how our Chrsitmas week went down:

Day 354- Monday, 12/20/21

We're home all week to enjoy time together during this season.  I finally got these snowflakes hung in the entry which should be my last decoration that needed to be taken care of.  Rusty is happy to have everyone home and is very playful.  Since losing his beloved fish he's made fast friends with this rat and is often seen carting it around--too cute.  Later I met some work friends for drinks with the ladies at a cute litte winery in Winters (picture credits go to the winery).  It was a bit of the drive for me but there was a break in storms so at least the roads were clear and the company was fun.

Day 355- Tuesday, 12/21/21

We were out running errands today which included a COVID booster for at least on of them (the other will be done next week) and then we tried out the new Nation's burger in Natomas for lunch.  It was mostly dry while we were out but windy blowing another set of storms in.  The sky looked pretty angry during the evening walk.

Day 356- Wednesday, 12/22/21

Baking day #1.  Justin helped me make fudge, rasberry thumb print cookies and sugar cookies.  Tyler also came over to help decorate the cookies and play some pool with his brothers.  The new Matrix was released today.  Thankfully it was on HBOmax so we didn't have to see it in the theater.  I just knew it wouldn't be worth a theater vist and it wasn't--got off to a slow start and just didn't live up to the hype.  John fell asleep 15 min in.  LOL!

Day 357- Thursday, 12/23/21

Not on my plan for the--getting a nail pulled out of my front tire and patched.  Gotta love the curve balls life throws you.  Baking day #2 is what was planned.  We did still manage to finish making buckeyes, tea cakes and peanut butter blossoms regardless.  Thankfully I was able to get out for a nice long walk after a good rain and a crazy day indoors. 

Day 358- Friday, 12/24/21

Happy Christmas Eve!  It was another full and busy day.  Justin delivered cookie plates in the late morning, we decorated the gingerbread house, and the advent calendars were finished. I got a nice bubbly for the last wine that will pair perfectly with our homeade pizza dinner. Tyler also popped by to grab a cookie plate for his girlfriend's family party later tonight, and while he was here we opened our traditional 1 present for Christmas Eve just before Brandon headed off to work.  It was so weird only having 1 boy home this evening.

Day 359- Saturday, 12/25/21

Merry Christmas!  I got to enjoy some alone time by the calm and peaceful tree before others stirred.  Now that they are older they value their sleep more and are in no rush to start the day.  By mid-morning they had stirred to open stockings, eat breakfast and then take turns opening presents form their piles.  Later we had a nice prime rib dinner with our traditional yourksire pudding aka popovers.  John is a master at making them and of course they turned out beautifully. We ended our day with Christmas cake and a new Grinch animated movie.  

Day 360- Sunday, 12/26/21

Today I am not cooking or baking a single thing!  It's a slow-start day in my new comfy pjs and slippers that I got for Christmas.  I also pulled together a collage of all the wine pictures I took daily from the advent calendar and somehow I'll figure out a clever way to use all the corks I kept and numbered too.  If anyone is on the fence about trying this wine calendar from Costco don't be.  It exceeded all our expectations.  There was really only one bottle that was a bit too strong for us but all the rest were great and we enjoyed the variety of different counries they all came from.

Wait!  One more:

December's Family Photo

Taken in front of the tree Christmas morning just before opening gifts.  Tyler's girfriend Lupe had to work today but joined us later for dinner and dessert.

That's it for this very busy week.  See you in the new year!

Week 50

Welcome back and happy Tuesday.  Only 4 more days until Christmas!!!  We're in full on vacation and prep mode.  The plan is for my 2 younger boys to get their booster shots, finish up last minute shopping for stocking stuffers plus pet gifts, and then bake some yummy holiday treats to share while watching all the Christmas classics.  It's going to be a fun week aside from the shots--lol!

Here are last week's pictures:

Day 347- Monday, 12/13/21

We Started the week with a crazy amount of rain.  The morning commute was sketchy at best and then afterward I had to do a rainy-day kid pickup because it was to unsafe for a bike ride home.  In other news, Bella was the featured pet for a newsletter at John's work which was fun to see.

Day 348- Tuesday, 12/14/21

We were expecting more rain today but thankfully the sun broke through and the sky showed blue. This was great because it was a day for running errands after getting some remote work done.  One of those errands was taking Brandon to the post office to mail a package and when I asked for Christmas stamps as well they had these cute otter ones in the mix that I just couldn't pass up since I do a lot of otter projects for work.  Our Calif sea otters do not play in the snow but there are some up in Alaska that surely would.  Love these.

Day 349- Wednesday, 12/15/21

Another errand I had to run yesterday required me to unexpectedly buy a new washer and dryer.  Our washer was failing and deemed unrepairable.  The new set was delivered and set up today. Not exactly what I wanted for Christmas, but here they are.  Tyler was in need of a dryer for his new place so since our old one was still working we passed that one on to him instaed of having it hauled off with the washer so at least the timing work well for that.  Today I also worked on knocking out a few more Christmas prep items.  I'd been looking for a pre-built gingerbread house kit for while but hadn't been able to find one until today.  We'll decorate it some time next week after Justin gets home to help.

Day 350- Thursday, 12/16/21

Tonight was my work's Christmas party out at an open barn brewery in Dixon.  It was cold out but clear and not windy plus we were warned to dress warm so it was all good and fun.  We were happy to be able to avoid a virtual party this year.  I also got to see my retired boss again who has been out the country for that past 6 months.

Day 351- Friday, 12/17/21

I banged out the Christmas cards and dropped them in the mail this afternoon, found some Christmas berries in the neighborhood on our walk, and kicked off my winter break with a festive pomegranate and orange martini.  TGIF and cheers to the holidays!

Day 352- Saturday, 12/18/21

While I was working in the home office on some indoor chores I spied John and Brandon working together to get those outdoor lights put up. Later that afternoon John helped Tyler get our old dryer to his new place, and I left to pick up Justin from the train.  It's great to have him back with all his flare, and it's great to see our house all lit up at night representing with the rest of the neighborhood. The full moon was even out in full force to add a little extra ambiance.

Day 353- Sunday, 12/19/21

I jumped on the Nortic gnome bandwagon.  They seem to be everywhere this year and I just couldn't resist.  These 3 came in the mail yesterday and I found a perfect spot for them today to help add more cheer in our dining area.  Speaking of cheer, we made a big batch of Christmas crack to munch on through the week and later watched the Christmas Vacation classic together.

That's it for this weet!  Have a wonderful holiday everyone!