For the record, there is no better party-opener music for a New Year’s Eve bash than Steely Dan’s Reelin’ in the Years.
And this might be the quintessential New Year’s party dinner menu, Chez Anders:
- Roasted Asparagus with Tarragon Lemon Sauce
- Lobster Soup with Cognac and Snow Peas
- Filet of Beef with Garlic-Herb Sauce
- Potatoes mashed with Truffel Oil and Porcini (Karl Johan) Mushrooms
- Vanilla Creme Pudding with Champagne Jelly and Raspberries
Despite the excitement and fun of the past week I am more than ready for our regular routine to return, so much so that I was having urges to take things down and put them away. Maybe I can channel that urge into closet cleaning or something else productive since I don’t really want to take down the Christmas tree quite yet. Soon, but not yet.
I’m amazed and often alarmed by how fast time goes by. Another year has zipped past while I did…what? What did I do? Where did it go? It slid into the smiles of my children and jumped around the trampoline in the backyard. It chimed and sang in the car, on the street, and yodeled its way up the mountains in Germany. It crackled and sparkled with each visitor, each family member or friend that we connected with. It slithered into the seams of the backpacks we carried in Scotland and out with the breezes to the islands. It flipped in my chest and fluttered with every decision I made, every job I finished, every task I checked off. It kissed us quietly on the cheek as we dozed off each evening, and flared bright each morning, rain or shine, to speed us out the door to every new day.
For Christmas Anders gave me the software and cables necessary to start transferring music from my old cassette tape mixes to the computer so I can burn them on CD instead. Yay! If we get the turntable down from the attic we can use it to transfer our old vinyl to the PC, too. I was going to start playing with it today. But I just made the mistake of checking my work email for the first time since the 21st and oh man, is tomorrow going to be busy. I think I’ll go lie on the couch and conserve my strength until then.
Tremendous, Terrific and Intensely Timtamalicious Birthday Wishes to ozswede!