A LOW KEY CHRISTMAS

I know, I know, Christmas is over. I've been distracted and busy with long neglected upkeep around my place. I got tired of cleaning gutters and I had a company install gutter guards.  Now I have a leak right in front of my front door. They've been back twice to fix things. Maybe by next week it will get fixed  Luckily Christmas was very low key. I put a wreath on the door. The tree in front of my living room window, undecorated.


In the dining room I set up some decorated mini-trees They stay decorated in the box. With one string of lights in the living room window and another facing the street. That was it.


Neighbors, Ron and Suzy asked me over for Christmas Eve for snacks and wine. His sports room his filled with neon lights and the whole place turns red.


He has a huge collection of sports pennants and about a dozen neon beer signs, bottles and related items. It is a fun hobby and the whole room lights up like a Christmas tree.


Christmas Day was at my son, Ken's. A real, live, nice smelling tree. Still low key with their family of four, my brother, Bill, Doug and I.


Doug managed to get the plumbing contractor in and out, the siding finished, the house locked up and came home for Christmas. He said he was growing webs on his feet in all the wet and muck. He was lucky to get over the pass before it snowed. And, grateful for his own bed.


Theresa and brother Clark stopped by for half an hour, to wish us a merry Christmas before they went to her daughter's family in Acampo to spend the day.


I didn't take many pictures, nor did I bake even one cookie. Laurie did a variety and Doug took time to bake his usual cookies. Plus we decided upon a Cajun Christmas with Laurie's Jambalaya recipe, I made chicken and sausage gumbo, some red beans and rice. And, then there was the famous boudin.
When we made it, the first batch was so tasty, it never got as far as the casings. Ken, Laurie, the boys and I ate the whole batch for dinner that night. So the ingredients were right and tasty, but in the casing, the sausage was too dry and we didn't put in all of the rice which gave the ground meat a gritty texture.  I guess it takes experience to make boudin. I took some home, put it in salad, soup and mixed it with potatoes and onions as a stir fry and it was very tasty. Laurie also experimented and used it with with other ingredients and pronounced it "delicious."
We played cards into the evening, and enjoyed the game of Phase 10 and Elevator.


Both my grandsons, Stewart and Mason are talented graphic artists. Stewart is branching out and made this self portrait entirely with dots.


He likes cartooning and grew up on Calvin and Hobbs, his fav.


He is developing his own cartoon strip and I think he has a web-page. Since I can't even draw a tree, I'm very admiring.
Today, I pick out paint colors for the new house.
Tomorrow, Virginia and her family return from Australia, via Vietnam, and points East.
Kristanne and her family stayed in with the flu and had no plans to make it to Calaveras County for Christmas.
Like I said, low key. New Years parties are, as my husband used to say, are for amateurs. We attended a few where there was no driving. He peeled a couple of dead drunks off the road as a cop and shunned New Year parties. Besides, he liked the early morning after parade and the football games.  Ciao, for now.

ELECTION DAY HUZZAH!

The days of campaigning with a parade, red, white and blue bunting and a megaphone on the corner are gone.

I’ve worked the polls off and on most of my life. The very first house my husband and I bought, became the neighborhood polling place for the 10 years  we owned it.  The judge from that polling place always brought her “election cake” made with persimmons. It was her family tradition we enjoyed. What I remember most about those days, was friendly neighbors, most of whom I registered while pulling my first child along in a wagon from house to house.

Since being on the road with Jim,  one thing I miss is the great food we brought to the polling place in Murphys.  A veritable feast of a potluck is the tradition here. And, I miss meeting and greeting old friends I may only see once a year at the polling place.

They say the only constant is change and for many people exercising their right to vote can be complicated. Election Protection is a nonpartisan coalition of 150 organizations dedicated to making sure everyone can exercise their right to vote. If you have a problem at the polls on Election Day, or if you just need to find your polling place or have a question, you can call 1-866-687-8683, or download their smart phone app at the links below:

• Google Polling Place Locator
• Revolution Messaging’s text message polling place locator
• Election Protection’s smart phone app: Download from iTunes or from the Google Play Store

It is time for a bit of levity. There is a siite filled with political humor, lampooning both Obama and Romney; Showing funny political signs and cartoons. It’s  a riot. Check it out.
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/bl-funny-pictures.htm

There are probably a dozen of these political humor sites. I only looked at one. My sign would read, I’M GLAD THIS ELECTION IS OVER.
Cheers to all.