Month: December 2013

I paid two bills due today.  We went to the Senior Center for day-olds.

Spent most of the day troubleshooting websites but everything is working now.

Dropped off the old New Year’s Eve celebratory items we used to use at Newport Overlook to Peter’s.  Hope the kids enjoyed them.

After First Night, I brought Ron home, then went to Stop & Shop.  The bon mot du jour goes to a gentleman shopper who came out of the store the same time as I did:  “It’s cold out here!  I want to go back.  They even have food!”

We went to Sandwich for First Night again this year.

Unfortunately, Ron is coming down with the same bad cold that I just got rid of. It was bitter cold, not a good idea for an ailing person, so we called it an early night.

From aflcionc.org:

Our new street sign has finally been put in place, so I sent follow-on letters to six neighbors who haven’t yet ponied up.

We stopped in to the Daily Brew to hear some fine guitar music performed by Gene Bourque and enjoy a hearty linguica soup for lunch.

Drove to Orleans to see an exhibit of model trains, then a very brief walk on Nauset Beach.  It was windy but mid-forties.  Ron was delighted with our score of 20% off three quarts of Four Seas.

I am still fighting that cold.

I put the hoses in today.  Ron shut off the water and is on his way to do the same at Edgewater.

We went to the Senior Center for bread, the transfer station, Cape Cod 5 for First Night Sandwich buttons, and a couple of other odds and ends.

I’ve  been cleaning up the new Foreclosures site.

Looks like daffs are coming up (?!)  Covered them with leaves.

I’ve had a scratchy throat and ate a couple of handfuls of pumpkin seeds today on the assumption that foods rich in zinc might help relieve the symptoms.

On the other hand, Ron and I ventured to Edgewater today to cut down the decorative grasses.  When we started out it was drizzling.  As we were about to pack up, the rain picked up.  James was nice enough to tell me how much Bonnie appreciated the gluten-free baked goods.

Later on, I decided to clean up a cluster of leaves in the front yard here that’s been bothering me for a while.

Finished a draft of the new Foreclosures website.  Hot shower, very light supper and enjoyed “Lincoln”.

Woke up around 7, made coffee, had breakfast with Ron.  Went back to bed; slept until quarter of noon.

We had an easy if overcooked dinner – spiral ham (an 8.8 pound ham mismarked at $4.25 as a 3-pound turkey, but Roche Bros said “Take it, our mistake”), greens (kale) and roast fingerling potatoes from the organic farm, ‘used’ asparagus, apple pie baked a couple of days ago and ice cream intended for Robert.

P&B gave us some marvelous coffees which I’ve been enjoying.

We didn’t leave the house until 6 to look at lights.  Nothing on 28A, so we drove around Ballymeade; very pretty, low-key as expected.  Used the GPS to get back to 151.

Feels like I’m coming down with a cold.

Aside from a little fiddling with Foreclosures and NEPS, I spent a good part of the day – the whole afternoon, in fact – helping Robert bake some Christmas treats for Bonnie.

She didn’t want us to buy anything for her, so I asked Peter if she’d like some gluten-free baked goods.

Robert kindly agreed to come over, and in fact, he took over the kitchen, and did a fine job with some reasonably complicated recipes.

Gluten-free baking is a lot more demanding and a lot more expensive than baking with wheat flour.  The mixes are costly and even scratch baking requires piles of eggs – we went through over a dozen.   We also went through a pound of butter, could have used more, and almost 2 pounds of chocolate.

In total, we made a bread pudding, a dozen blueberry scones and a flourless chocolate cake that looked like a cross between brownies and a flan.  Robert made a ganache for the cake and a whipped topping for the pudding.

Almost done with 3 dozen custom oatmeal cookies for Ron, one batch with white chocolate, one with butterscotch chips.

I also washed and re-hung the living room curtains and vacuumed a little.  Ron cleaned the bathroom and picked up pizza for lunch, insisting that I shouldn’t have to cook.  Good guy!

It’s been raining all day, putting a crimp in plans to do outdoor chores.

We dropped off our last service provider gift and stopped at Roche Bros. for last-minute supplies needed for tomorrow’s baking marathon.

Turns out, this was a good choice, since almost everything on our list was on sale.  Plus, we scored on a ham and a great sale on batteries.  We saved exactly as much as we spent.

I picked up two loaves of Finnish bread this morning, and did the Senior Center/library/post office circuit.

Finally taped up the holiday cards.  Pain in the neck but glad I did it so we can enjoy them.

Watched “Blackfish” this evening.  Unspeakable.

Sent Festivus greetings to Peter and the O-F mailing list.

Funny cartoons from Dot!

The best brunch of the year today at Cathy’s with Cindy, Mary and Sandy, another friend of Cathy’s.

Cathy put out a French-themed spread:  Mimosas, baked brie with apricot preserve and pecans from Cindy, hummus, quiche and croissants.  We brought cider but unfortunately, everyone was afraid to drink it because it was too authentic (not strained).  Mary brought a fabulous apple pie.

Got some nice gifts, including portable chargers and a magnificent gift certificate to Mahoney’s.  Only Cindy and Cathy won anything with the scratch tickets.  As usual, the House won.

When we got home, we changed the sheets (thus avoiding sleeping in a motel for yet another day – joke) and watched the Patriots win.

I finally hammered out and uploaded some changes I’ve promised Jim B. for a couple of weeks.

Must meet Janet for pulla tomorrow morning right after Senior Center.