Among Friends

[Winifred]

This new year has started out FREEZING and SOAKING WET. Brrrrr out here in Sou Cal where I am. And I am near Palm Springs.

Just turned on my black eyed peas to cook most of the morning and before I leave for church - God Willing Shannon shows up but think she will as she is with a friend I like a lot - will put on the collards. Both take a bit of cooking but very very little work. Only big thing to do will be closer to eating time - make the cornbread. Think I can handle today's cooking. Later in the day stop by as I am leaving some of my usual New Year's Day food for everyone to have some. Of course I will have some coffee and hot tea also.

Need some help with the decorations this month as it is awfully wet outside to be doing a lot of work. But never fear have the old tent out there if needed to get under and eat - portable heaters also sitting there and turned on already.

Hope all had a great New Year's Eve and that today will be a great New Year's Day for you!!!!

[hoosieroriginal]

I lived in San Diego for 36 years and yes, it can get really cold!  Glad you are getting some rain though.

[Bird mama]

@Winifred

Thanks for warm welcome to the New Year Freddie.  

Don't worry about all of the decorations, I'll get them down while you are at Church.

I certainly hope you bring some of your black eyed peas to the fence later. I ate some black eyed peas out of a can last year and all I can say is they tasted really earthy (blech).

[Bird mama]

I went to NYE dinner at my eldest niece's house last night.  The group included eldest niece, her husband, her two kids, her mother and father in law, my middle sister and me.  I was absolutely delighted to the see the MIL and FIL - I really love those people.  I stayed for about 3 hours then returned home to settle my own birds for the night.  I was actually awake to watch the glitter ball drop in Time's Square at midnight.  Woo-hoo I'm such a wild woman (not).

[Winifred]

Being a Southernor thru and thru, NO NO NO, never eat black eyed peas from a can. Cook them from scratch - easy to do. Buy them in a package, soak them overnight, - not mandatory but I do - toss the bad beans, never many and start them cooking. Use ham or similar seasoning. Takes a few hours but no work involved. Thanks for helping with the cecor Bernie.

[meallen616]

Hi everybody, be happy and try to stay healthy! 

[yock]

Oh my.   First saurkraut and now collards and black eye peas?  Corn bread sounds good if it is the sweet kind. Lol.   I'm bringing Cole slaw so I get my cabbage but we are eating chili today.  Freddie, it has spaghetti in it.  It sure is smelling good.  I need a pill today from the druggist but they are closed.  I only bought six of them last time cause I was In Donut hole. Drs office had already given me five weeks worth. I had a pill for this morning and usually take one in the evening.  It's the blood thinning one so think I will survive til morning.   Then I can buy at normal price whatever that will be.  Might have to go back to Warfin.    We have cardiologist appointment the 3rd of Feb so I will ask him what to do.    I had a notice that said it would be on a different level which I hope means they will pay a bigger percentage of a smaller price.    

[spix]

Happy New Year to all the Back Fencers, hope 2017 is a healthy one for all.

Thanx @Winifred for all the goodies in the heated tent, what a marvel you are.

We are sunny/cool here in ChiTown, above normal for a few days  then back to the deep freeze, but doesn't look like any snow in the forecast, still a long ways to go.  No real cooking today as I'll be alone, will do the pork/sauerkraut tomorrow as DD does love it, never tried the black eyed peas or collards, hmm.......

Have a good day

[Winifred]

Come on Betty, you also question collards and black eyed peas? Hmn. Perhaps you had best tell us just what you DO eat!! LOL. Hope you are feeling better by the day Betty. Bu the way, nothing bad about collards and black eyed peas - agree with you on the sauerkraut however.

Another COLD morning, this cold weather is also out of line for us - temps running a lot lower than usually for this time of year. Last winter it only got bad for a few days here and a few days there. This has been steady for a few weeks now and all the forecasts I have seen show it to be continuing with the cold AND rain. The rain is needed - desperately!!!

Hope all had a great day yesterday - I have to go and pick up Ricky today - I know he had a blast with Sherry and Matt - they are very good to him and for him. I LOVE the fact he gets some of that male attention also - very much needed I feel, especially for a little rambunctious boy.

Have a great day one and all. The "New Years Day" stuff, pre parade, etc started here about 3 in the morning. I kept checking - they even re-ran the complete Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards parade from last year. If I recall correctly that was their last year of many years doing that parade as a team - NO ONE ANY BETTER.  It was tried a couple times without one or the other and one year without either and big time screaming over it. They have done it so very long - both were very young when they started doing it, Bob before Stephanie - so they have earned the right to sit back and watch. Hopefully it will work for everyone - personally I am disappointed but I understand. In past years I did not understand and was one of the many unhappy viewers. Do not care much for the ones going to do the parade but who knows, they may be super - here is hoping.

[Bird mama]

@Winifred

Yea, the changing of the guard as it relates to NYE and NYD celebrations is kind of tough.  I had dinner with my eldest niece's family on NYE and ABC was on - ****** Clark's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.  There were back to back musical performers on and I did recognize a couple of them, lol.

 There was some guy singer who was wearing a ratty cap on his head, a lint laden sweater and some faded black pants.  I made the comment to my niece's MIL - Geez, I miss the days of entertainers dressing up nice for their performances, after all it is NYE.