prepping for the party

 For some reason, January is the month when everyone is able to make it, and I will be seating first-comers at the table and late-comers in the living room.  I have 21 acceptances!  Woohoo!  Individual cheesecakes,  almond macarons, hazelnut scones,  marionberry cookie sandwiches, clementines, deviled eggs, and little bowls of cashews.  Sounds like the theme is nuts to winter!  One of these days, I will get the macaroons RIGHT!  Hmmm - with so many people, maybe another cookie would be good.  Peanut butter!  Nuts to winter indeed!

Wish you could be here and see the lovely winter sunlight slanting down through the branches of the plum tree.  The shadows are so stark and the afternoon light so golden and warm-looking.  It's cold enough to give me nip-ups when I run to the mailbox, but is sure does look purty out there.

Remember the magnolia branches I said I was going to try to force?  5 buds are popping open today!  This is so cool!  I didn't think anything would happen, but the branches looked so artsy that I though I'd just leave them there.We shall see how the buds blossom out.

We have a new roof.  The house was re-roofed just before we bought it, 17 years ago.  This winter, I noticed spots where the plywood under the shingles was starting to rot, and I lobbied for a metal roof - successfully.  We're looking at retirement, and we don't want to be facing roofing expense every couple of decades or so.  The metal roof is supposed to be good as long as we live.  It's tile red, and and I loves it!
If we decide, down the road, to do a water catchment system, it will be easy to install.  And if we decide to add solar panels, they'll fit right between the ridges of the roofing. There was a honking big industrial sized drop box in our driveway for the better part of a month, and I was parking in the driveway of the un-occupied house next door.  And of course, Since this was all done over the holidays, it took twice as long as we had expected.  But I have realized that any time you have contractors in, it is GOING to take twice as long and cost twice as much as you expected and that's just the way it is.  I need to get over being surprised by this.  It didn't cost quite twice as much (there was more rot than anticipated, and they wound up replacing the skylight as well) but I'm still satisfied with the results.

And that does it. No more changes in the house for the foreseeable future.  DH is talking about retiring to Hawaii.  He's found a real-estate website and is feasting his eyes on the tropical properties. If he continues in this vein, I'll have to talk him down. Hawaii is paradise, and I love to visit, but the idea of packing the whole house and moving is just too daunting.  Sorting out which teacups I want to take and which I can bear to part with would be more than I could stand, just for starters.  Then there's the yarn stash, the fabric stash, the books ... No, I think it'll be easier to just stay here till I die.

 (If you want to make God laugh, tell Her your plans. I'll do whatever I need to when the time comes.)