Damn, it's Cold!

As I sit here, I'm sipping hot tea and wearing a big sweater. No, the heaters in the house still work fine, I'm just trying to get warm again after going riding this morning. It's not that it's so very cold, especially compared to places I've lived before, but it's misty, and that mist seems to have worked its way right into my bones. We had a good frost last night and the temperature currently stands at about 2 degrees C (low 30s F), so there are slippery spots and crunchy grass.

When I set out for the horse this morning, I put on long undies, a turtleneck, thick Irish sweater, under a fleece-lined windbreaker. I was warm as long as I was active (biking, mucking out the stall, etc.) but sitting on a walking horse is not so active and the chill crept up my legs and started working on my core. So, we'd speed up to trots and gallops, but since I didn't want a sweaty horse, I had to ration the faster speeds and so would cool off again. Biking home saw me mostly warm, but my feet had completely given up the fight, so now I'm well bundled while I type.

Mike just asked if I wanted to accompany him to his local bar where he will be doing some grading. I told him I had everything I needed right here - already paid for, plus a more comfortable chair - and that I didn't really plan on going back outside today. Honestly, the house is warm, the cats are here and ready to sit on people and purr, my preference of beverages is at my disposal, and I couldn't be more pleased. I related all this to Mike and then asked if he was still planning to go. He laughed, but has not yet given me an answer. He is home early (2:30pm) by the way, because he's giving finals this week and was finished at 1:30 today.

One reason we have pretty much everything I might want in-house is due to the Holiday Drinks party we had on Sunday afternoon. We realized the weekend before that we were running out of time if we wanted to have folks over before everyone splits for all corners of the globe (isn't that an impossible statement? Globes don't have corners!). So we sent out invites and had 16-18 people show up and keep us company.

I actually planned ahead and knew what I wanted to make and serve, so the shopping was done as well as some of the make-ahead type things (hummous, tapenade, bean dip) on Friday. On Saturday, while Mike was a white tornado of cleaning action in the house, I did the rest of the munchables and we bought things like bread and final touches that were overlooked previously.

A slideshow of previous winter photos from our collection was on the computer, as was a playlist of holiday music. Candles were lit, wine was mulled (which we as hosts thought was awful, but came out a draw in the opinions of guests who tried it), and the eggnog came together nicely, albeit I might want a larger bowl next time around! I used a recipe for the eggnog from Mike's mom, Pat Flaim, and boy was it rich...eggs, heavy cream, whiskey, brandy, AND rum, and not much else. Potential for serious impairment there. I can say with confidence that Mike is extremely happy that there were several helpings worth of leftover nog and he plans to enjoy it all week. He, by the way, just left for the bar, so I guess I didn't sell the comforts of home quite well enough!

The gathering and attendees was great, we realize anytime we do this that we really have terrific friends and like to be around them. It was a mix of ages and nationalities, including Americans, Canadians, Australians, British, Dutch, and Serbian. Most of these folks work at the school with Mike, but a couple were friends from 'outside of ASH' or were partners of ASH teachers, but not working there themselves and so it was a nice mix. We might just have to make it an annual thing. I do need to make special mention of Marilyn because she wanted to know what she could do to make special mention in this blog. Since she said, more than once, that the mulled wine tasted "fine" to her, had some eggnog, and enjoyed the brownies, I think she constitutes a perfect guest! However, since everyone who came claimed similar achievments, I will do a quick run-through of names. Thanks for coming: Kim and Aaron, Todd and Vu, Marilyn and Geoff, Jennifer, Bill, Vesna, Ron and Rochelle (additional thanks for the wine-warming crock pot), Karen and Mike, Paul and Laurie, and Hans! You are appreciated, have a wonderful holiday season!