Getting New Year’s Done

(Virtually) relocated to Madrid to celebrate the arrival of 2023 at 5:00 pm Central, an annual tradition for us. Set up a VPN to Spain’s RTVE 1, a national public TV channel. With that done, made our traditional paella.

Categorized as New Year

Seeing in the New Year with Seafood

On today’s walk I was on a mission: buy ingredients for our traditional New Year’s Eve paella. Coastal Seafoods, hidden in an industrial area, sells the best seafood in town. It was hopping, so I took a numbered ticket and browsed while fifteen customers ahead of me got served.

Jigsaw Puzzle

Dwight’s mom is staying with us for New Year’s. Set up a jigsaw puzzle that’s guaranteed to become an obsession.

Sated

We ate well, not too many leftovers. They’ll be making surprise appearances from the fridge and freezer over the next couple weeks.

Christmas Eve

Kicked off the festivities with lefse for lunch (a nod to Norway, Dwight’s distant heritage). Tonight: fish pie (a nod to the UK, my heritage). Christmas Day dinner will nod to North Africa (just because…).

Cycle Ride to Nowhere

Cycled to nowhere. Outside it’s colder than the inside of our freezer and a substantial snowstorm is coming in. A good day to stay inside and think about maybe decorating the tree.

School’s Out

School’s out for the Holidays! Walked home from my Friday gig past a melting snowman with a face mask.

El Mesias

Tonight at Orchestra Hall: A “bilingual Spanish-English cross-cultural combination” of Handel’s Messiah and Navidad Nuestra, a cantata by Argentinian composer Ariel Ramírez. We’re reminded the Holy Family were refugees. “Pretty child don’t cry my love / we will arrive at a better land.”

Sensory Treat

Mailed Christmas cards: a good reason to walk through the lovely Art Deco lobby of the downtown Post Office.