Christmas Eve at My Daughter's 2022

Christmas decor at daughter S' place. in Watertown, NY 2022

 

I spent Christmas Eve away from the Better Half this year, well, I should say not exactly. I saw her some of the day visiting her in the hospital where she was recovering from surgery to repair her right femur bone. On Thursday, December 23 she slipped on some snow and ice as we were leaving our grandson's house in Adams, NY.  By the time she was settled in the hospital a severe lake effect snow storm began and I was unable to go home. So for the next few day I was staying with my daughter S. More about that in another post.

Anyhow, it turned out to be nice spending more time with her than I have in a long time. Maybe ever. I really like how she decorated her place for Christmas. Christmas Eve morning she made great breakfast of eggs, home fries, bacon and toast. I had to shovel a great deal of snow to get out of the driveway. Hospital visiting hours begin at noon, so I was there at that time. Visiting hours end at 8:00 pm at which time I left. So I actually spent 8 hours with the Better Half.  Upon returning to S' house I had to shovel the driveway again as the snow hd been falling and blowing about relentlessly. After that I had a tasty beer, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. S had to work overnight, but she works from home so she wasn't far away. I slept a good 10 hours that night. It was much needed.

Christmas decor at S' house. She is an artist but doesn't know it or believe it if I tell her.

Christmas decor at S' house. She is an artist but doesn't know it or believe it if I tell her.

Eggs and home fries. Missing in this photo was the toast and bacon. Superbly cooked It was like I was in a classic diner. 

My daughter S whipping up a great Christmas Eve breakfast. 

My daughters driveway looking toward Franklin St about 9:00pm after I shoveled it.

Finished the evening with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale that I had sitting outside while I shoveled snow.

Garden Plants, Oil Change, Covid Test, Birthday Sunday May 22, 2022

Some of our flower pots ready to put to use. I bought flowers a week ago, hopefully have them potted tomorrow. 

Weather today: High was 71 in the morning. Cooled to 60 by late afternoon. Cloudy and overcast ll day with some light rain at times.  

It was a full day for us here in Chaumont, NY.  I finally got our tomato and cucumber plants in the garden . Still have flower pots and containers to do.  I took a break around noon and had a delicious Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. I set the bottle down on the bench amid some flowers and was moved to snap a picture of it. Totally unplanned, a serendipitous visual moment. 

Sierra Nevada Torpedo extra IPA. One of my favorite beers. Gardening never tasted better.

After that I changed the oil in my 2011 Kia Sedona mini van. That chore was overdue and went off  without a hitch.  

For a couple of days the Better Half has been feeling tired and run down. Enough so that we decided to give her an over the counter Covid 19 test. It was a brand called iHealth. Very simple to do. Results show up in 15 minutes. Her result was negative. No Covid 19 present. An oximeter reading showed she has normal oxygen levels. 

At 5:30 we visited the Better Half's daughter B in Rutland to celebrate her daughter's 11th birthday. We had pizza, salad, and an ice cream cake from Carvel.

Tomato plants in our garden, Chaumont, NY. Planted today, Sunday May 22, 2022

Friday January 4 2019: Grilling Jamaican Jerk chicken wings

Basting chicken wings with additional jerk sauce in January, Chaumont NY 

It was a sunny and warm day, hitting a high of 40 degrees, here in Chaumont NY. Pleasant for January 4. My brothers A & R came by in the evening and we grilled some chicken wings. The wings had been marinating in a Jamaican Jerk sauce for 3 days. The main ingredient being scotch bonnet peppers, or more properly, Habanero peppers. We also had some guacamole from my own recipe. The avocados were of high quality and the perfect degree of ripeness which made for a most delicious result. We washed it all down with Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA which is probably my all time favorite beer. Brother R, the carpenter, however chose Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. The jerk sauce recipe came from a book by Dunstan Harris titled Island Barbecue with illustrations by Brooke Scudder. Published by Chronicle Books. It is a great little cookbook. Click the link for a good article by the Baltimore Sun about Jerk cooking that includes a jerk marinade recipe.

Brother R the carpenter at left, and myself in Chaumont NY. The Brinkman smoker/grill
is loaded with jerk chicken wings

My celebrity brother A, left, me in the middle, and the carpenter R enjoying wings in beer, Chaumont NY. 

Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA beer, jerked chicken wings and guacamole made for a nice little munch out at our home
inChaumnt NY on a rather mild January evening.