I hope you all had a wonderful Hannukah, Merry Christmas and now, a Happy New Year!!!

There are 363 days or so in the year when I wish I could be with my children and grandchildren.

There are at least 2 days of the year when I wonder why. Okay - that’s what I was thinking about last week, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But I neglected to figure in New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The Christmas noise level was high, the confusion even higher, especially on Christmas Eve when the three grandsons were here and opening their gifts. Christmas Day was just adults, and frankly, they were as bad as the boys had been! Well, okay, not quite that bad. On top of everything, my faithful Cuisnart food processor died as we were trying to fix some appetizers. Oh my, it was like losing a part of me, a dear friend. I never realized how much I loved and used that machine. So there went the hummus, and there went Holly’s favorite cranberry salad…we had to pull together some other items for the appetizers and for dinner. Which is not good when you are expecting certain traditional foods on the table.

But for an older person who is alone quite a great deal since the others in the house come and go to work…it was like a mosh pit. (Yes, this old lady does know what that is…I just hope I spelled it right )

Things quieted down during the week, and New Year’s Day wasn’t quite that bad. Since this is Pittsburgh, I violated my own rule about the color of food on the plates I serve - well, I had to! I mean, you cannot have just anything for New Year’s Day dinner — it has to be pork and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes - lots of mashed potatoes. Only Mark and Ann were here, which was a good thing, because we were in the middle of finishing dinner prep, when we realized that the kitchen sink was giving us problems. The hose on the sprayer-thingy (see? I know technical terms) had split. Okay, we could get around that.

However,as we found out while the dishwasher ran, there was a leak elsewhere. So my DH took all my baking pans and misc. things out from under the sink so the place would dry out. (Which was a boon, because we found things we thought were lost way in the back…)This was NOT how I wanted the New Year to begin.

So as soon as the hardware store opened, my hubby was there, buying some new parts. But this turned out to be futile, since part of the old pipes were rusted
to the point that he couldn’t get them apart.

Enter the friendly plumber. Between minor things (like we at first thought this was) and tree roots that occasionally mess up our toilet pipes to the street, we figured no big deal.

Two days and $300 later, we were just grateful for savings accounts.

At this point (now at the end of the 2nd day), we have top of the line faucets and a new spray hose (whatever it’s called)…but not before the poor guy had been near drowned by a burst of water out of the pipe. He turned something and the water blasted out all over him. My hubby ran down to the garage in record time and turned off the main line, then opened some others to ease the pressure.

Well, the floor is cleaner now - another bonus.

The dishes are almost caught up once more - and I would like to recommend the inventor of the dishwasher for sainthood.

I think I’ll put the plumber on that list as well, along with my husband. Wednesdays are his day off, and he spent a goodly portion of today cleaning up the floor, counters and loading and unloading the dishwasher.

He has been able to spend time downstairs in the office, writing and getting ready for a huge symposium he will be speaking at the end of this month. I’ve been up here writing, sharing recipes and playing with my Christmas gift.

I received some gift cards for Bed, Bath and Beyond. Plus, that store had been kind enough to send me a card for 20% off one article in store. So last Sunday, I twisted my hubby’s arm and had him take me to BBB, where I redeemed the coupon and gift cards, added a little bit of money from my last pay and bought myself a brand new 14-cup Cuisnart.

Oh, this is a beautiful machine, and it works so well. I’ve made Cole Slaw, dough for rolls, dough for cinnamon rolls, chopped nuts…and hummus. I am so thrilled to have a processor in the house again.

Which is a good thing, because, you see, this weekend is Orthodox Christmas, and yes, we will have a few of the family here, including the boys! Pierogies,Haluski, and more. I can use my new toy for chopping onions and cabbage…but with said processor and a working sink…I think I can manage a little noise.

Besides, with the grandkids, you can usually send them back to their parents. But I am keeping the Cuisinart - and the family…

Hugs and much happiness
Cyn