Christmas Week Happenings

Whew - last week was a little crazy but good crazy for us. A brief re-cap with photos.
I finished the quilt for my mother-in-law's Christmas present. It is not really my style but it is hers & since it was her gift - I was very pleased with how it came out. It's a scrap quilt but all the colors seemed to jive together - here is a close up.


We got all the gifts mailed and then went to NYC on Wednesday to take in the holiday festivities. On the train, we decided we'd go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art - we have never been because we always get side tracked - usually by a good pub crawl. So we were set on the Met thing, but we'd go after we went to Union Square Farmer's Market. Can I tell you - the Farmer's Market was so nifty. It was only in the 20's but since it was sunny it was a beautiful day and all the vendors had their fresh products, veg, meat , cheese the usual farmer's market stuff sitting out under big tents. We wanted to buy some great stuff but didn't want to lug it all to the Met so we just bought some hot cider and walked around looking. We needed to get an up to date guide book of NYC and there was a Barnes & Noble across the street - we thought we'd pop in, buy a book and go to the Met. We popped in and our Met plans were totally derailed by this guidebook. We decided not to fight fate and went into the Heartland Brewery across another street and plot our pub crawl. When we looked through the book, we were surprised to find we had only been to one of the pubs mentioned. And trust me, we have been on some serious pub crawls in the city starting with our first visit 2 days after we moved to CT. We concentrated on mostly dive bars around the city so we could go check out different neighborhoods. We did make it to Central Park - farther North than we have usually gone so that was new. In the interest of time (I need to get to work) I'll be brief and say we enjoyed the tour and spaced out the stops enough so we remember every place we went to. We actually had a sit down dinner that was most amazing (usually we just snack on stuff like a slice of pizza, hot dog, etc.) at Turkish Cuisine. As usual, after a trip to the city we were beat up and happy to get on the train back home.

Preparing for the big 5-0

No - not me, Hubby is going to be the big 5-0 on Friday. And his birthday wish meal? Meatloaf and potato salad - really. But we had a good time in NYC and ate well there. It's easy for me! I'll try to post a good cocktail tomarrow - I will be volunteering at hospice tonight..

Friday Fill - Ins and It's Cocktail Time!

I am having problems cutting and pasting from Friday Fill ins - damn you Blogger! So manually ( yuk) here we go!

1. I grew up thinking I could be anything I wanted to be (thanks Mom!)

2. Yahoo was the last website I was at before I came here.

3. Why don't you make me a martini, Hubby?

4. Meditating helps me relax.

5. Thanks for the dent in my truck to whoever hit me last night in the Goodspeed parking lot.

6. All the Jon & Kate stuff and Miss California getting fired is very off putting, because quite frankly the J&K stuff is so sad for the kids and anyone who has been through a divorce doesn't want to watch a marriage die in front of them and Miss CA who really cares?!

7. And for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a martini and watching the Sox - Yankees game, tomorrow my plans include taking Hubby to NYC for a birthday trip & hanging out with Mr. & Mrs. Training Buddy who are celebrating their anniversary and Sunday I want to sleep in at the Algonquin Hotel and then go have a great breakfast in NYC!

So after we get the cat/house sitter all set up, we may go ahead and have a Manhattan - get it?! We are going to NYC! Ha - that humor is not even martini enhanced! I am not much of a whiskey drinker anymore - thanks to my friend Tim who used to buy my shots of whiskey all the time. But here is the recipe - a classic.

Manhattan Perfect

11/2 oz. Canadian whisky

3/4 oz dry vermouth

1/4 vermouth rosso

dashed Angostura bitters

stemmed cherry

Stir well in a mixing glass filled with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with cherry.

Cheers!

Friday Fill - Ins, Saturday morning addition and It's Cocktail Time!

I must give credit for this wonderful post idea to Shana - it's never too late for Friday Fill Ins! Since I started this entry I have done two loads of laundry (hung one up on the clothes line to dry), cleaned out a junk drawer, commented on three of Shana's posts (she's running a half mary tomorrow - go wish her luck!), helped Hubby find batteries, tried to help Hubby find his pneumatic nailer, made reservations for a trip to Block Island, RI on July with friends from Florida, made our hotel reservations for NYC next weekend, ate a bowl of cereal and drank two cups of coffee. To say I am easily distracted is stating the obvious. Let me get finish this post before it's next Friday!

And...here we go!

1. I love my home.

2. My favorite thing for dinner lately has been anything homemade.

3. My cat's go meow meow meow not bark! bark! bark!

4. A nice long walk is relaxing and helps center me.

5. I'm always happy to hear some good news.

6. When all is said and done, I'm very lucky and thankful for the gifts in my life.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight (last night) I'm looking forward to dinner with Hubby, tomorrow my plans include finally packing away the winter clothes and Sunday, I want to sleep in and chill!

And now the cocktail - you'll need to find a liquor called falernum. To quote a most amazing cookbook we own ( Original Tortuga Rum Fever & Caribbean Party Cookbook), falernum is a a sweet liquor that originated in the 18th century in Barbados. It's used to flavor rum drinks. Our friend from the local packy gave me a sample of theirs as it is hard to find - I'm sure we'll find some next weekend when we go to NYC. Any how - this drink is simple, tasty and worth the search for falernum - you really can't substitute anything else that will taste the same.

Port Maria

This old Jamaican cocktail is supposed to be a favorite of Noel Coward & his celebrity guests.

1 1/2 ounces light rum

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 T. pineapple juice

1 t. falernum

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes and shake well. Strain into a cordial glass ( we doubled the recipe and used a martini glass) and add ice as desired. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Cheers!