New Year's Day 2026
Jan. 1st, 2026 07:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ismoHappy New Year, everybody! We somehow managed to stay up until midnight. I used some of the extra awake time to prepare a couple of items for today's brunch: greens, and a mix of the one remaining can of black-eyed peas the store had in stock, with some red beans to augment it. The only greens available were, or was, kale. It's not my favorite. I sauteed some onions and garlic, then added the chopped kale and some lemon juice and some balsamic vinegar, and some chicken broth, and cooked it for quite awhile until it acquired the otherwise unappealing color that tells you it is soft and no longer chewy. Then I thought it might be too sour, and added a splash of maple syrup. I thought it was possibly a bit odd, sort of sweet and sour, but it turned out to be a big hit when consumed for brunch today. The only problem was that there wasn't enough, because the Sparrowhawk had kindly run to the store for me, and he did not realize that you have to start with about a bushel of greens if you want to have a decent amount once they cook down. The bean mix also had onions and garlic, and Chachere's. It was very tasty, but weirdly salty. This may have been because we had to buy the store brand, because that was all that was left on the shelf. However, it was fine when mixed with rice and greens.
Midnight was weirdly anticlimactic. Snow covered everything once again. There were a few feeble pops of fireworks, but they didn't amount to anything. It was too cold to be out there setting off rockets. Also, I think all the parties were canceled because the roads were so bad. We each had about half a glass of champagne, and toasted each other in a weird little video the Sparrowhawk made to send the kids. Then I fell into bed and dreamed that I was being pursued by various dark forces. Hopefully I left them behind as I sprang forward into a new year.
This morning we started off the year nicely by having brunch with the Dr. Nurse family. They came to pick up some things that were being passed on from Aquinas to the upcoming new baby, and shared our New Year's Day lucky meal of black-eyed peas, rice, greens, ham, and cornbread. Dr. Nurse brought some cinnamon rolls. She said it was the first time she made them, which surprised me, because they were delicious. Bird Baby played with "her" toy animals that I always get out for her when she comes over, built a high-quality stable with blocks, and dragged me upstairs to get out the dolls for her so she could put them all to bed. We also found a bag of ribbons that I thought she might like. She assigned everyone a fetching ribbon headband, including the Sparrowhawk. When she got tired, I had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Nurse read her some of the old Christmas books that the Diva brought upstairs when she was here. Just a few days ago, I was listening to the Diva read those books to Aquinas.
After they went home, hopefully to nap, we had a rescheduled Zoom with Deb and the Prussian, and cleaned up the kitchen again, and now I am ridiculously tired again.
Midnight was weirdly anticlimactic. Snow covered everything once again. There were a few feeble pops of fireworks, but they didn't amount to anything. It was too cold to be out there setting off rockets. Also, I think all the parties were canceled because the roads were so bad. We each had about half a glass of champagne, and toasted each other in a weird little video the Sparrowhawk made to send the kids. Then I fell into bed and dreamed that I was being pursued by various dark forces. Hopefully I left them behind as I sprang forward into a new year.
This morning we started off the year nicely by having brunch with the Dr. Nurse family. They came to pick up some things that were being passed on from Aquinas to the upcoming new baby, and shared our New Year's Day lucky meal of black-eyed peas, rice, greens, ham, and cornbread. Dr. Nurse brought some cinnamon rolls. She said it was the first time she made them, which surprised me, because they were delicious. Bird Baby played with "her" toy animals that I always get out for her when she comes over, built a high-quality stable with blocks, and dragged me upstairs to get out the dolls for her so she could put them all to bed. We also found a bag of ribbons that I thought she might like. She assigned everyone a fetching ribbon headband, including the Sparrowhawk. When she got tired, I had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Nurse read her some of the old Christmas books that the Diva brought upstairs when she was here. Just a few days ago, I was listening to the Diva read those books to Aquinas.
After they went home, hopefully to nap, we had a rescheduled Zoom with Deb and the Prussian, and cleaned up the kitchen again, and now I am ridiculously tired again.
