One of the blogs I read, one that is written by someone who is not an American, suggested that Americans have a very narrow vision of the world, and that we are rather unaware of the world in general. In some ways I’d agree with the author, but I was quick to point out that it can take Americans a LONG TIME just to get to their own borders. We are a surprisingly well traveled community, but we may be less well traveled than our counterparts in Europe, simply because we have to travel so far to get out of our own country.
With that in mind……here is a list of the cities that my oldest niece will visit in the next few days:
Almaty (Kazakhstan), Atarau, Uralsk, Astana (the capital of Kazakhstan),
Istanbul, Ankara, Turkey,
Baku (the capital of Azerbaijan),
then Moscow, London and finally, Perth, Australia.
Not bad for a little Midwestern girl, huh??? *G*
I may be the least well-traveled of my family, and I’ve been to Western Europe and England twice, and I’ve been to Canada a number of times. I hope there will be more travel (both inside and outside the US), in my future, and I can promise that I will be a well mannered tourist. I may not be able to speak your language, but I’ll do my best to know your customs and behave myself.
I’ll have to give it some thought and compile a list of places in the world my family has visited. I think South America may come off with the fewest hits. We’ve managed to cover almost every other continent except the Antarctic! Way to go, family!

Our Red Hat chapter met today. We had a pot luck luncheon at a member’s home. It always astonishes me how a potluck meal turns out. Today we had shrimp, salads and dessert. To the best of my knowledge, there was no attempt to avoid duplications. There were three jello salads, but each was very different. Only one pasta salad showed up, which really surprised me. There was one tuna salad, a spreadable salmon something, watermelon, mixed fruit, and I brought Waldorf Salad.
Elegante Mother loves Waldorf Salad, so we’ve made it a couple of times this winter. I expected to be short on time this morning, so I chose the Waldorf as a quick way to make a salad for a ladies’ meal. I used Granny Smith and Red Delicious apples (with their skins left on), celery, chunks of walnuts, and dried cranberries. It was bound together with just enough mayonnaise to coat. I set out roasted sunflower seeds and Chinese Noodles for those who wanted a little crunch.. I was relieved to see that two-thirds of it was gone by the end of the meal.
Dear Husband feels that Waldorf Salad would be improved if one used Miracle Whip in place of the mayo. YUCK!! I COULD do the chopping and set some aside in a bowl for him, and let him add the Miracle Whip.
I thought today that dried cherries would be a good addition, and it seems to me that I’ve seen it made with miniature marshmallows. That’s not to my taste, but I can see that it might be fun to play around with the recipe and make it my own.
The ladies talked through lunch and then swapped gifts. While we were seated, the “Queen” instructed us to get to know the lady seated next to us. Since EM was to my right, I turned to the lady on the left. After we had chatted we were to introduce our new friend. I thought I knew the woman to my left, but it was a lot of fun asking her 20 questions.
The meeting ended shortly after a discussion of places to meet in February.. One woman said she had eaten at the new tapas bar, and the room instantly quieted because they had all thought she had said “topless” bar. *G*
Give me a ba-boom! on the drum and I’m outta here! *G*

We’ve had a peaceful evening. We choose to celebrate the fading away of the old year safe and sound at home. Dear Husband used to watch every Marx brother movie made, but that tradition seems to have gone by the way this year.
DH has has had some time off, which is very unusual. Saturday, I asked him to run errands with me, and we ended with grocery shopping. We’d barely gotten in the door of the grocery store when he was waylaid by the lobster sale. He decided we needed to have a special dinner to see the year out: Lobster tail, green beans with bacon, white cheddar macaroni and cheese, and crusty bread. Oddly, it came off as peasant fare, especially if you live where lobster is abundant. *G*
We’ve enjoyed the time off, doing bits of things here and there. We made one more foray on the grocery store to gets odds and ends of things we’d used up, and we did a bit of work for our company in the morning. I spent some time piecing a quarter of a quilt top, and we chatted with Elegante Mother and Second Son.
New Years Eve is a bit melancholy for us. Two years ago tonight, we lost Dear Husband’s oldest son to a massive heart attack. I still find things I want to share with him. Like his dad, he loved puns and odd collections of facts. I’ll think…”Oh, he’d LOVE this!” and then remember I can’t e-mail him. But, I’m sure that he’s in good hands and knows that we think of him.
It’s snowed almost daily, but in small amounts. I doubt this particular area has more than four inches of snow, but there are other places in the Chicago area where roads are clogged and sidewalks have disappeared. It’s left us with a Winter Wonderland look. The shrubs are outlined in white, and there are paw prints in the snow. Last night, DH had made the rounds, turning off the lights, when he realized there were two deer at the bird feeder. I joined him, and we watched for ten minutes or so. A mom deer and her yearling, I think. I put out corn for them tonight, and topped off the bird feeder for those who can figure out how to empty it.
The new year has crept in, as we’ve listened to a James Taylor Special on PBS, enjoying songs from our past. Ed has snuggled up to me, trying to keep my hands off the keyboard. I’ll take that as a sign.
From our house to yours, we wish you a happy and healthy New Year. Stay safe!

Go, Illinois! Enough said!

Margaret.
And last night, Christmas night, I was given the blessing of a new grandniece. I won’t print her full name here, but I’m delighted to tell you that her middle name is Margaret! Margaret is an old-fashioned name. Not many girls are given old-fashioned names these days, so I figured that no one in our family would carry on my name.
My youngest sister came close when she named her oldest daughter, but this time it’s right on the money!
Thanks, kids! I hope she grows to be a healthy, amazing kid!

But……
My sister has a mouse in her dishwasher. They don’t know how he got there, or if he is capable of getting outside. When they open the dishwasher, he runs to the corner and disappears. There was some discussion of the port where the water exits, and the fact that it must share a communal pipe with the kitchen sink. Other than that, they have no clue how he comes and goes. They don’t know if he’s trying to get out, or if he’s trying to make it his new home. Dear Husband suggested putting one of the cats in the machine, and turning it on.
Elegante Mother fell this morning. Nothing seems to be hurt other than her pride. I think we may have to get her one of those devices that allows her to call for help when we are sleeping. To assuage her angst at having fallen, Dear Husband bought chocolate covered éclairs at the bakery. I assumed (you know what they say about assuming things…) that the éclairs were for dessert. As I walked past Elegante Mother, checking to see if she was all right, she was reading the newspaper. She dipped it when I spoke to her and I realized she couldn’t respond due to the mouthful of éclair she was eating! AND…..as I passed through the kitchen, I realized that there was not one, but TWO of the éclairs missing. You KNOW who ate the other! (And, it wasn’t me!)
Ed, our fifteen year old cat, doesn’t care for cold weather any more, so he was delighted when the temperatures rose into the forties this week. We still have fog, and the snow is melting. It seems rather wet and drippy out, but to Ed, it’s the perfect day to go hunting. He runs out the door about thirty feet and plops his butt on the edge of the sidewalk, and takes up this petrified stance facing the garage wall and a hole in the ground. He seems to think a chipmunk is going to come out of that hole sooner or later, and he plans to be ready to greet him. Do you think it’s too late for me to explain the concept of hibernation to Ed??