New Year's Eve - 2025

 

Guava Strudel

On the last day of December, neighbor E's daughter brought over a dozen guava strudels from our favorite Cuban bakery!  How lovely!  Daughter and I enjoyed some of them for brunch (in fact, I ate one before I remembered to take a picture!) and for tea, too!  

We've had light rain all day, today.  It's wonderful for the garden, of course, but, the grounds are saturated in the burn scar areas and I hope there won't be any more mudslides.  

I spent another relaxed day, knitting and watching online videos.  In the afternoon, I did dust the living room (I wanted to vacuum, too, but, my daughter asked me to take it easy, so I didn't vacuum).  Sandy asked me to post pictures of my knitting and the yarn I was using, so I did:

Sweater Back

This is the back of the sweater I am making.  My usual mock cable ribbing and a plain stockinette stitch back.  I'm using US size 7 needles (for the ribbing as well as the body of the sweater).

I ordered and picked up groceries, yesterday (Tuesday), which included a 1.71 lb. piece of boneless beef chuck roast at $5.98/lb.  I made a pot roast with it, today, for dinner, with onions, carrots, potatoes, and home grown corn on the cob from the freezer.  Cooking it was a joint effort as daughter peeled and cut all the vegetables for me.  We have leftovers for another meal or two and pot roast sandwiches for brunches.

I called my late neighbor T's daughter K to check on her as tomorrow (New Year's Day) would mark the 1 year anniversary of T's death.  K was down with a very bad chest cold and cough, but, we chatted a bit and she was happy that I had called her.  

Daughter and I are planning to greet the New Year at home, with sparkling apple juice and I will continue with my tradition of boiling milk and making milkrice.

On this New Year's Eve, I am grateful for:

- The year that is just coming to an end 
- Having my daughter home with me to say good bye to the old year and greet the new year
- The rain that is watering my garden

- The gift of pastries from my neighbors

- Being alive and relatively well, too

Today's joyful activities included watching the rain, knitting, enjoying some delicious pastries.

I wish all my blog friends a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.  Thank you for your friendship over this year, for all the lovely, kind comments you've made, and for the difference you've made in my life.  I look forward to "seeing" you in the new year.  

May you have a blessed New Year.