HAPPY HOLIDAYS

I know, I know........where the heck have I been !?! Loooong story - in fact, too many stories and I'm not going there right now with one exception: someone has decided to make my blog their personal playground leaving bizarre and sometimes gross comments. My computer had a horrible virus and had to be scrubbed - I lost a lot of stored info and we are suspecting the bug came in through this commenter......or not.....the "not knowing" has made me very cautious and though I know it wasn't St. Mary's fault - I just stopped writing. blah blah blah.....

SO ! a quick update ... Christmas trees are my favorite things - the lights are the first thing on in the dark morning and the last to go out at night - I'm not even sick of the music ! LOVE LOVE love it all. I did realize however(after last year) that I would have to decorate the top of the tree from the second floor loft and then scoot it across the room to its perfect location. I learned that last year when I had to throw things at the top because my ladder wasn't tall enough.

Our first MAJOR storm came early and I never got to any outside decorations - another lesson learned......on the final nice weekend when everyone was outside hanging lights - I was planting perennials. Thinking that the gardening is REALLY done this time.

The storm shut everything down - even the University of Wisconsin closed for the first time in history. By the second day we were getting stir crazy and I had a spur-of-the-moment dinner party - people prepared what they had in their refrigerator/cupboards and we had a wonderful dinner. The buffet was on sheets of chip board on top of my unfinished kitchen island....I promise to update on that soon.

And finally - just so you don't think I've been a slug - my neighbor taught me about preserving and pickling. Pretty impressive - for me anyway. The freezer is full as well - my summer garden bounty. Life is good.