Celebration..

Looking back on New Year’s Eve, we enjoyed our first one here at our new home with two of our close friends. We invited them to spend the night rather than make the 20 mile drive home from our place, or any place, after an eve of imbibing. It was nice having them with us to usher in the old and see in the new. Pat put in many hours helping us get this place into move-in shape, so it was especially fitting that he and his wife be here with us to celebrate.

Fatwood, whole, before splitting

It was a gorgeous, balmy evening, in the low 60’s. We made our drinks, taking them to the back porch, and munched and sipped and chatted. We got the roll-around fire pit lit, using some fatwood and wood we’d collected during the year around the homestead and enjoyed the fire. We had a lot of laughs, good food and sippage that night, with our party hats and horn blowers and toasts of champagne when the ball dropped. A phone call from my folks in N.Y. wishing us a happy new year made my night complete:)

Fatwood after splitting into fire starters

Everyone was up early the next morning, tho I could have slept a tad later having woken with a slight hangover and hearing the steady rain outside my window. But, with coffee mugs in hand, we all found our way back out to the back porch and enjoyed the rain, the mild January morning temps and some chit chat. After fixing breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, juice and more coffee, we eventually wound down our time together, they gathered their things and headed down the muddy dirt road towards home. After tidying up here, I stretched my tired self on the couch and watched the New Year’s Parade on TV and dozed shamelessly on and off for the rest of the afternoon, while Pete napped and chilled out himself. It was a nice start to the new year:)