WEEKLY HAPPENINGSFROM MONDAY 12/30/24 TO SUNDAY, 1-5-25

This week's weather forecast from 1-6-25.

Hello Everyone, I hope your week is going well. I am going to be poking my head out the window to see what our weather is like. It changes a bit here and there and doesn't look as though we will be getting as much as first promised.  I hope it will be kind to you wherever you are in the world.

Thanks you for everyone who has said how much they enjoy these ramblings, and to those who leave comments, always very much appreciated. I look forward to visiting you in return soon. 

My ramblings are a bit longer today as I have also weaved some memories into them.

Monday, 12-30-24:  I was out of the house at 10:45 this morning, for a hair appointment to get a long, overdue haircut. I go to the Hair Cuttery where there is a lady I always make an appointment with, and she has been doing my hair for a few years. Gregg dropped me off at the door and went to the bank. Then to the coffee shop a couple of doors down to wait for me. It was a gorgeous day, and it got up to 58 degrees. It was lovely and sunny, and I didn't need a coat. 

I wasn't in the chair for very long as I always wash my hair in the shower before I leave the house. I can't abide leaning over their sink to get my hair washed, it makes me dizzy, and all that wetting of hair, rubbing in of shampoo, then conditioning, rubbing in scalp, can't take it. Yes I am a baby! So, I get as much as I can get done before I leave the house. My Mother had the same problem at this age with this vertigo. I am wondering if I am taking after her. 

(My hair isn't as nice as when I first came out of the store - this is several hours later - but it will give you an idea.)

When Gregg picked me up he said that's the best haircut you've ever had, and directed it to the lady who was seeing me out the door. (He really doesn’t like me getting my hair cut too short and I was surprised at his announcement.) She beamed at him. Truth be told this lady always gives me a great haircut and I am always happy with it but today, because it was so long between visits, she did an exceptional job. And no more ponytails for me for a while or doing my hair up in a bun. 

I always ask her to save my hair as I donate to an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients. I am not telling you this for a pat on the back, far from it, not at all, but perhaps you have a child who wants to cut her long hair or know of an adult who would like to do something similar. It is such a worthy cause.

 Donated hair has to be 11 inches in length, according to my hair lady. Thankfully it was long enough. Hair is accepted from all ages, even ones with a lot of grey like mine, just as long as there is no coloring. Hair chemicals are a big no-no but otherwise they accept most hair. You can always go to the website below to find out what their criteria is.

When my sister was given a wig years ago, I remember how happy she was when she received hers, and this is what gave me a big nudge to start donating my own hair. I do it for her. I can't do much but I can do this.

 Just in case, you can find a place at this website sharing several organizations that accept donated hair. I have to look at it myself as it's been a long time since the last donation. I forget which one it was.

(My Nanny, Dad's Mom, holding my sister - 1947.)

A thought just popped into my head, of my father's mother, my grandmother - Nanny we called her. She used to have the longest and most beautiful hair, waist length, and she would keep it in a bun. When we stayed with my grandparents, and I saw her brushing her hair first thing in the morning just before she got dressed, I remember loving it, even as young as I was. She was a wonderfully sweet lady inside and out, and so kind to her grandkids. We all loved her. 

(I am 2nd from the left - my sister on the right, and we are standing next to our cousins. The girls had their photos taken separately, as did the boys. It was about 1956-ish. There is also one of all us girls with Nanny, but I can't put my hands on it at the moment. I haven't seen it in a long time. I have to go searching through boxes in the basement and goodness knows how long that will take.)

My Nanny was also the one who fed neighborhood strays - cats, dogs and sometimes strangers if one came along who was hungry. They didn't have much, but she would always scrape together extra food to share. As most people did in those days, they had their own vegetable garden.

(My Dad with one of his dogs. I can't remember little dog's name. This was taken 1928.)

 Dad got his love for animals and wildlife from Nanny, and I got my love of all things from my Dad. And I've mentioned before but my dear Mother didn't grow up with animals but when she married Dad, it came with the territory. We had all kinds of pets growing up and a large part of that was thanks to Mum, as she ended up looking after them when we were at school. It's a good circle to have been in.

On to the mundane, no breakfast today but as we were out and about we had lunch at McDonalds. A burger and fries and I take my own water. 

Tuesday, 12-31-24 - 8:10 a.m: We are leaving home in 15 minutes as we are meeting up with family for lunch at a mutual half-way point between our homes. It will take us two hours driving south. Hopefully the traffic won't be bad on the freeway. I was awake at 5.30 a.m. My inner alarm clock works quite well when we go on a mini road trip. 

5:00 p.m: We are back home and it was a wonderful get together, and lovely to see our family. We were all early and we rolled up in our car as they were walking up to the front door of the restaurant. We were able to find a parking spot right outside on the street. The restaurant is called Can Can Brasserie (in Richmond, Virginia) and if you click on this link at Yelp, it shares a few photos. 

(A lovely restaurant in an old building with very high ceilings. The holiday decorations were still up and I was attracted to the lights but more importantly the birds on the baubles.)

We had a great time catching up since the four of us had not seen each other in a long time. As we were early the Maitre d’ directed us to the bar. You can see me taking a photo at the bottom center of the photo. 

It was tricky sitting on those tall bar seats but we managed. Iced tea was ordered by the men, and lattes for us ladies. 

We waited for 30 minutes to be called to our table. Once we were sitting down we ordered respectively, Quiche and French Onion Soup, Croque Monsieur, and Gregg had a variation of a Bahn mi and the soup. 

I ordered Salmon on a bed of mushroom risotto, with butternut squash and kale to name two of the veggies mentioned on the menu.

Non-stop conversation and great company. We didn’t stop chatting from the time we met up until the time we left. And of course I took photos, but not too many. 

These rose-shaped lights were casting a very pretty glow in a long hallway.

This was the maitre d' station.

and I liked the look of this wreathe.

There was a strip of shops around the corner and we popped into 'For The Love of Chocolate'. 

We were treated to some chocolate by our family, and we ate a bit of it a few hours later when we got home. The shop was a visual delight and this link will take you to their website. You can find their history which is interesting to read. I probably could have stayed for another hour just looking at all the illustrations on the packaging.

 They sell not only nostalgic chocolates like Charleston Chew, which Gregg's mother loved. And this sent me on a curiosity search. The original flavor, which is what Gregg likes also, is a vanilla-flavored nougat covered in milk chocolate. It was created in 1922 and was named after the Charleston, that popular dance in the 1920's. We were treated and my choice below was... 

a cupcake sized chocolate peanut butter cup, like the similar-looking commercial brand, but made by local Chocolatiers. I had another piece of it with a cup of coffee the next day. These little guys were swooning over it. Sorry, Mrs. Whimsy just kicked in.

Gregg's favorite is Chunky, made with milk chocolate, raisins and peanuts. He enjoyed his too but neither of us eat chocolate that often, and usually it is bought for a special treat just like today. I can be a bit of a chocoholic, and that’s why I don’t keep it in the house. Another trait passed down from Dad. He loved his chocolate but his choice was always a bar of Bourneville, which is a dark chocolate. It also helps that chocolate gives me an incredible headache. Anyone else get headaches after eating chocolate? Interestingly enough I didn’t get a headache with this chocolate treat. Maybe because it was made by the local chocolatiers.

So, do you have a favorite chocolate bar or you just don't eat these things?

 There are walls of M & M's and JellyBeans, other much-loved chocolate but there is also that made by the local Virginia Chocolatiers. Then they go international and various country's flags fly over their section. You can see Belgium, German, French and the UK to name a few. 

I met a very sweet lady, another customer, at the counter. She saw me looking and started chatting about her favorites. We were about the same age. I asked her what she recommended (they lived not too far away and knew the place quite well she told me. She was buying a few for her husband also).

 There were several she pointed out. After a few more minutes we wished each other a happy new year and were heading for the exit.  

Another lady with a big smile, perhaps her friend, also wished me a happy new year as I walked by. This is a very friendly area. 

It was then time to say goodbye to our family and they gave us another gift from their car on leaving. It was lovely and we very much appreciated the thought. We told each other we should meet up again soon, another lunch sometime down the road and hopefully not in the too distant future.

I sat in the car and my knee was pitching a fit but a great meet-up, a nice place to eat, the walk afterwards and I welcomed a bit of exercise, the chocolate shop, meeting other nice people, it was a lovely day. 

The ride home was good, only one traffic jam and we were able to get off the freeway and take a more pleasant route home, which we prefer to do anyway.  All in all, the traffic was light there and back. 

At midnight we heard the fireworks go off at the local high school. Amazing as it was raining hard that night, and we certainly didn't expect fireworks. They didn’t last long. There were no people in the neighborhood setting off their own smaller displays like last year. No hollering from out of the darkness, wishing everyone a happy new year from their doorsteps, just the sound of the rain pouring down into the wee hours of the night. 

We wished our son-and-daughter-in-law a Happy New Year and off to bed. And that's how we spent the last day of the old year.

My brother-in-law in Germany also wished us Happy New Year six hours earlier with their time difference, and others sent their greetings the next day.

Wednesday, 1-1-25: After yesterday a much quieter day. Gregg took a quick trip up to the store. I had a lovely chat in the evening with a good friend who moved a few states south to be closer to her family. It was lovely catching up and we talked quite a while. 

Thursday, 1-2-25 at 4:39 p.m.

Gregg went out early to McDonalds for breakfast. I didn't feel like it so stayed home and fixed myself my usual Weetabix with fixings (pumpkin seeds, 3 dates and a few pecan halves), warmed almond milk to cover, plus a small glass of orange juice on the side. Very ho-hum but always a favorite as you can probably tell from all the times I have mentioned it.

We made beef stock in the afternoon. It will stay overnight in the fridge, and will add it to the soup fixings tomorrow. 

An hour later Mr. Ants-in-the-Pants man as I affectionately call him, drove over to Walmart because "I'm sure there is something I missed". He loves grocery shopping as I have mentioned many times before, something that hasn't changed since his childhood, being given pocket money to go and get a soda, an ice cream or some other treat with his brother. Once again, I say thank you Mom of Gregg. I always admired you from day one, not only for sending your kids up to the store for this and that, but for bringing up three wonderful kids who turned into great adults…

one of whom I met at a mayoral welcome cocktail party back in the day. We first set eyes on each other in the crowded wardroom of a British Naval Frigate. It was anchored in the middle of the bay where I used to live and work, just a year shy of half a century ago. That was way too long a sentence and never mind but oh boy, do I feel old! Half a century? (Just to add Gregg was on a two-year exchange tour with the Royal Navy at the time.)

My shopping experiences were a little different from his by the way. Mum, my sister (who was three years older), with me tagging along, would pop into town on the bus and I would be the one left on the corner to safeguard the bags of groceries. They would pop in and out of the small shops and occasionally add to the pile of bags I had to safeguard (no supermarkets back in those days and no car to pop the groceries in the boot). The baker, the butcher, (not the candlestick maker), but the greengrocer, the newspaper shop. These were Mum’s regular go-to’s and there I would be on the corner, guarding the shopping. Yes, a ten-year-old would do a great job of that, says I. In those days, no problem, but I was never very happy the time it took to get it all done. (This picture is an AI request and I told it to give the little girl a grumpy face. Yes, that is certainly an outstanding grumpy and sad face.)

I didn't like staying in one spot for long, and didn’t like the stares as people walked by. Yes, I was the center of the world and everyone stared at me. I know, not really but that is how my 10 year old brain worked. Probably a half hour to an hour but it seemed interminable. That face no doubt greeted Mum, after what must have been a very tiring shopping trip for her. “Oh Neesy,” she’d say, it wasn’t as bad as all that was it?” Sorry Mum! Kids! 

Anyhow, to this day I like to get my shopping done speedily, in and out and on the way home, tout de suite, and I still can't stand hanging around. Not that I have done any shopping for a while. Gregg does all that now and he can take as long as he likes, and doesn’t have to contend with anyone’s grumpy face, because 'grumpy' is at home pottering.

We're grazing with leftovers today. Once again neither of us feels that hungry.

Friday, January 3rd, 2025 at 4:46 p.m: It has snowed twice, just a flurry each time and not very far apart. It looks like it stopped for now. 

We finished off making our beef and barley soup. It was excellent, another 10 out of 10. It was around three-thirty in the afternoon before we sat down to eat. I will be adding it to my blog soon. This was my first meal of the day as I had a sleepless night and got up late. By the time the soup was ready I had a good appetite. We ate it with a slice of sourdough bread. 

Our son called and he is feeling much better. He said he will be okay by Sunday, not contagious by then and will be stopping by. It’s been a quiet week for him work-wise, as a lot of people took the week off with the new year being mid-week.

Saturday, January 4th, 2025 - 11:49 p.m: I thought I had better get something on here as it is late. About 1:10 p.m. Gregg said to me, are we going to go get our bahn mi today? We usually wait until the following week, but as Monday is going to be a major snow day and it will probably take a couple more days after that to get everything cleared for getting out of the neighborhood, he thought it would be a good idea to go now just in case. I said let me get my coat and off we went. For dinner that night we had another bowl of the beef and barley soup. That took care of today’s meals and next week we will be good and not go out to eat, Grumpy said! Grumpy's husband just smiled.

Sunday, January 5th, 2025 - almost to the end:

Lots of birds at the bird feeders. Gregg said I sound like a sports commentator. “Here comes a Goldfinch. Oh no, the Starlings frightened them off. No, no, they’re back again. Don’t be greedy Starlings! Oh, there’s a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and now there’s a Tufted Titmouse, and even a Black-capped Chickadee. The Dark-eyed Juncos are hopping about on the ground. I wonder if the Carolina Wren will turn up! No Crows yet!” 

The man thinks I may have missed my calling, but I don’t think so. The sports world is safe from my running commentary. “Oh, look at that poor young man who just had 20 footballers jump on top of him. Uh-oh, there’s his mother running out on the field getting ready to bop them all over the head with her rolled-up brolly.” No, the sports world is definitely safe from me.

I think the birds know the bad weather is heading in. 

Our son turned up for his usual Sunday chitchat this morning. He still sounded a bit snuffly but he’s okay. He left around 11:00 a.m. today to pick up our other sweety.   

And he's off at the starting gate! The dear man went to Wegman’s this morning. He said the place was packed out. Everyone is gearing up for the bad weather. He revels in crowds!  

I am hoping this weather is not going to mess up my first physiotherapy appointment. We'll have to wait and see what the weather is like in the morning. I have to be there for 7.45 a.m. (Added note: I have just had a text, a little after 8:00 p.m. My appointment has been cancelled due to inclement weather.)

Another missive and if you've stuck through with me until the end, I thank you kindly. I hope you all have a continued great week! 

From Grumpy....aka...