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Entry Index – 2025
January 05, 2025: A New Year, Biting Cold, A Warm Hearth, And The End Of Colleen’s Christmas Break.
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January 05, 2025: A New Year, Biting Cold, A Warm Hearth, And The End Of Colleen’s Christmas Break.
Well, it is the first weekend of the new year, and it is as cold as the Dickens! Mother Nature gave us a break with some very pleasant and unseasonably warm days to close out December, but she turned off the heat on New Year’s Day, and the mercury has been dropping ever since. The temperature is now starting the days near 25 degrees and struggling to make it into the 40’s. Colleen and I have been burning the fire hard to heat of the house, and it looks like that will be our strategy for at least the next couple of weeks. We have not had much in the way of precipitation, but that is supposed to change later today and into tomorrow. Unfortunately, it will just be a cold biting rain.
We started taking down Christmas decorations last weekend and Colleen spent the better part of last Sunday taking down the decorations hung on the walls, while I did my writing. We did get some rain Sunday afternoon. After the rain passed, Colleen headed down back to bring the girls their afternoon treats. That did not go well, because Colleen lost her footing in the chicken pen and ended up on her backside. Fortunately, she did not get hurt. It was a good excuse for her to get into her pj’s before dinner though.
Monday after our morning walks, Colleen and I were both all in on putting Christmas decorations away. In the morning, while Colleen packed up decorations inside the house, I took down the garland and lights on the front porch. The noon hour showed up, and we kept going as we headed outside to put the yard decorations away. That took us a couple of hours. Since we had not eaten lunch, after Colleen took care of the girls in the afternoon, we ate an early dinner. I always get sad when we put away our Christmas decorations and sitting out in the front porch in the evening with my cigar just did not seem right without the Christmas lights.
Tuesday was New Year’s Eve, and it was time for the Christmas tree to come down. That little job took us all morning, but by 1 o’clock, Colleen and I were unceremoniously tossing the defrocked Christmas tree over the front porch rail. Neither of us did much for the rest of the day. Taking down the Christmas tree is another sad event for me, and the living room looked barren without it. It was not even cold enough to have a fire in the fireplace. A fire would have at least added a warm and cheery glow to the room. We did get Chinese takeout for dinner though. It is a New Year’s Eve thing for us.
Wednesday was New Year’s Day. The morning brought us a fiery eastern horizon to start the new year. Colleen and I filled up about half of the back porch firewood rack after our morning walks. Colleen puttered around the house for the rest of the day, and I worked with my baseball cards, packaging some up for the mail and listing a bunch of others for sale online. The whole day was calm and quiet and for dinner all we did was heat up the leftovers from our New Year’s Eve Chinese takeout.
Thursday was market day, and Colleen and I headed out shortly after daylight. I guess it was a sign that we were getting back into a normal, everyday routine. It was cold though, and as soon as we got home, I made sure we had a good fire burning in the fireplace. I spent most of the day tending the fire. I did go for a walk after lunch. When I got home, there were deer in the backyard, and they didn’t seem to mind me being on the back porch to get more firewood for the hearth rack. Colleen spent the evening figuring out and looking for what we needed to get a “Real ID” to replace our driver’s licenses. Those things are a pain!
Friday Colleen and I started thinking about getting back to a post-Christmas normal daily routine. The morning was a cold 25 degrees, and while Colleen was walking Roux, I made sure we had a nice fire burning in the fireplace. While I was out walking, Colleen started making a big pot of corn chowder. The chowder recipe is from Revolutionary times and is one of our favorites. I ended up taking a nap after lunch, and when I came back downstairs, Colleen was just taking a batch of freshly baked blueberry muffins out of the oven. Since it was Friday, we got takeout pizza for dinner. We spent most of our evening relaxing.
It was another cold start to yesterday, and while Colleen was walking Roux, I made darn sure we had a hardy fire burning in the fireplace. Colleen made some German apple pancakes for breakfast when she got home. I went for my walk after breakfast. Colleen and I put some more firewood on the back porch rack after lunch. I tended the fire and listed baseball cards for sale online for the rest of the afternoon. Colleen made a turkey dinner with frozen Thanksgiving leftovers. After dinner we spent a quiet and peaceful evening in front of the fireplace.
This morning Colleen and I were treated to another brilliant orange horizon as the sun came up. The fire is burning in the fireplace now. Colleen is walking Roux, and I will go for my walk later today. Today is also Colleen’s last day of Christmas break. She will be getting everything ready to head to school tomorrow morning, but she is not looking forward to heading back into school. I cannot say as I blame her either. As for me, I am just getting ready for another day of being retired which I very much enjoy. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time though. When we come to the end of each day, we will look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead
Happy 2025. I don’t envy you the cold for I know how it was for me dealing with cold I was not used to. My winter coat was an unlined double fabric jacket and it was not suitable for sub-zero cold and wind where I now lived. All these decades later, I still feel the sting of icy wind. Our NYE tradition is simply having bbq sandwiches around 10:30 p and watching the big doing’s on tv. This year, I was sick with an upper respiratory virus, hubby was feeling better, and we simply stayed home and stayed warm. We did get to go to church yesterday, but came right home and watched football games. You and Colleen lead active lives compared to us, and I’m glad you do. Happy New Year!!!!