More Ramblings

 Saw two drones last night.  I looked out the living room window and there they were.  One drone went straight up, like a helicopter.  I have to wonder why they’re flying over my head ,,,

So … New Year’s Eve.  We are having a small gathering, just a handful of friends.  Drew and I went to Party City for paper goods and decorations; it’s going to be a bit weird to see Hanukkah and New Year’s decor in the same place, but the holidays overlap, so …  I’ve got playlists for both holidays queued up on YouTube… We decided to order food from the Brazilian barbecue restaurant (lots of meat dishes), but I also ordered potato latkes from Bare Naked Bakery (latkes are usually made with flour or matzo meal as a thickener, so I have to get mine from the gluten free place). I will prepare a charcuterie board and get some crudités, and I’m making two appetizers — mushrooms stuffed with Boursin cheese, and kielbasa with pineapple. I’ve never made the kielbasa dish, so I’m not sure how it will turn out … Someone else is in charge of dessert (this party is a collaborative effort) but I might bake something… I’m sure we will have leftovers to send home with everyone … if you leave my house hungry it’s your own fault …

I just threw out most of a batch of muffins.  I made them from a mix, followed the directions, but they were awful.  Inedible.  Sigh … it’s a learning experience.

So I mentioned Party City … yet another enterprise that is going out of business.  Sigh.  Drew is still in mourning for Bed, Bath and Beyond.  And we’re both upset over our local Mexican place, the one that closed in November.  Sigh…

A local grocery store just closed, but it’s reopening as an Asian food market — we have a significant population in this neighborhood with roots in India and Pakistan, and the store will cater to their tastes.  That’s not a bad thing. 

Just got an invitation to my cousin’s daughter’s wedding. The bride’s sister got married in June 2023, in a very traditional Orthodox Jewish wedding. The bride is Modern Orthodox, her wedding is going to be very different from her sister’s.  More about that when we go to the wedding.  

The wedding is in February, just before my birthday. 

Yeah, I’m celebrating a milestone birthday in February. I’m trying to decide if I want to do something special for the occasion. I mean, the last time I tried to do something really special for my birthday was five years ago, when I bought the tickets for the Billy Joel concert that was postponed multiple times because of the pandemic. (I wound up selling those tickets, as you may recall, but that was when he was doing his residency at MSG, so I was able to buy tickets for another performance.) I still have time to plan … so I guess I’ll have to think about it.

Meanwhile, last night was the second night of Hanukkah 🕎