Something About Nothing............ #14

[schumigirl]

This year has gone by fast for me

It`s crazy isn`t it.......considering the last 2 years we have been in lockdown for most of it, it has flown by so incredibly fast.




Ended up being such a busy day after all........got all we needed, extra shopping sorted, butcher visit, fishmonger visit, friend dropped in for lunch with her adult daughter who I haven`t seen for a while so we had a good catch up and enjoyed some lovely food too. She brought a bottle of white wine she knew we`d enjoy which was lovely so we opened it and shared with her as her mum was driving. Nice.

Always love the Holidays for wine with lunch........

Now tomorrow we just need to visit another butcher, the one in our village though to pick up the turkey.......then time to celebrate NY.......

 

[Metro West]

Afternoon gang! Just wanted to stick my head in the window and say hi. Been another busy week but it's over soon. Going to spend another long weekend doing nothing

Hope everyone has a nice and safe New Years celebration.

 

[schumigirl]

Afternoon gang! Just wanted to stick my head in the window and say hi. Been another busy week but it's over soon. Going to spend another long weekend doing nothing

Hope everyone has a nice and safe New Years celebration.

Good to see you Todd......hope you have a Happy New Years too, sounds a nice weekend ahead for you.....





It`s been nice sitting down tonight with a glass of white wine and listening to some music after a busier day than anticipated.

Made up a sharing charcuterie with some cheese, olives, stuffed cherry peppers, grapes, crackers along with some sausage rolls, duck spring rolls and samosas I made up earlier. Pigs in blankets and filled jalapenos are deli bought. All enjoyed with a bottle of Champagne we got for Christmas....

We just sat at the kitchen table tonight, one of my favourite rooms in the house, it`s always very cosy in there, and nice when we don`t feel like eating in the dining room.

One of the gifts Tom got me for Christmas was a light up bottle of sugarplum gin, it does look nice with the lights low.......the edible snowflakes do look nice too when you shake the bottle......

And the Gin club we joined had a rather nice Christmas offering.........Gin from the Orkney`s which is lovely as it doesn`t taste too gin like weirdly, as neither of us like gin......unless it`s flavoured.

This was a few evenings ago we enjoyed having this taster.....

Good food and quality nice drinks are very much a priority for us

Raining outside, but very warm almost......58F at almost 10pm. Very unusual for this time of year. Will take it though.......

 

[soniam]

@schumigirl Very nice spread! Love the lighted gin bottle. It's so pretty.

 

[Lynne G]

Neat bottle, Schumi. And that snacking looks like a perfect meal.

I’m thinking, chicken on the grill. Was a dreary looking day, and will be the same tomorrow. Poor mummers, may be drenched, with periods of heavy rain predicted for our Saturday.

 

[Metro West]

WOW Carole...that food looks delicious. You know I don't drink so the rest doesn't mean much...LOL.

I'm going to spend the weekend relaxing and hanging outside...supposed to be excellent weather.

I look the Christmas down at the house this evening so that's done.

The COVID cases are very high here again and no one seems to care. I'm staying home!

I'll be around this weekend so have a good night everyone!

 

[macraven]

Wow!
That gin light UO bottle is way cool!

 

[Charade67]

Good evening everyone. I finally have some time to sit and attempt to relax. These last 4 days have been exhausting.

My mom is doing much better. She was released from the hospital Tuesday evening. The doctors are still unsure what caused her to black out. They ruled out heart attack, stroke, and blood clots. She is supposed to have a follow up with the cardiologist soon.

The situation with my aunt is about to get very messy. I now have proof that she took just over 10K from my mom's bank accounts. We had Mom close her checking account (savings had already been closed by the bank because my aunt took all of it) and open a new one that does not have my aunt's name on it. We revoked my aunt's POA and set up a new POA with my sister as primary and my brother and I as back ups. We sent a copy of the POA revocation to my aunt along with a letter telling her it has been revoked and that she needs to return Mom's money by a specific date or we will file a police report. I spoke to an elder law attorney here in Atlanta and he said that we were taking the correct steps, but advised me that Mom may never see that money again.

I also had texted my aunt informing her that she no longer has POA and that she needed to return the money. She texted back stating that she refuses to give up POA unless she hears from an attorney and that she is keeping what she has left of Mom's money to use for her future burial expenses. I asked her what she meant by what is left because she should still have all of it. She has not responded to that. She also accused us of being "buzzards" and said for the past 35 years we didn't care if Mom lived or died and said if it wasn't for her we wouldn't have a mom. I'm getting angry again just typing this. She has conveniently forgotten all the years my mom lived with my brother and sister and all the times we spend in hospitals with her and taking her to doctor appointments. I used to leave work early every Friday to take her to chemo appointments.

So sorry to vent like this. It is going to take awhile for the anger to subside. I'm leaving Atlanta tomorrow and driving back home. I am not looking forward to the long drive, but will be glad to be back home.

 

[macraven]

Charade it’s a big messy situation

I hope it all works out quickly for you and your siblings.
It takes a lot out of you from what you have to deal with.

The drama from your aunt is revolting.
You think you know someone and later realize they are not the person you thought they were.

Sending you hugs

 

[schumigirl]

Good evening everyone. I finally have some time to sit and attempt to relax. These last 4 days have been exhausting.

My mom is doing much better. She was released from the hospital Tuesday evening. The doctors are still unsure what caused her to black out. They ruled out heart attack, stroke, and blood clots. She is supposed to have a follow up with the cardiologist soon.

The situation with my aunt is about to get very messy. I now have proof that she took just over 10K from my mom's bank accounts. We had Mom close her checking account (savings had already been closed by the bank because my aunt took all of it) and open a new one that does not have my aunt's name on it. We revoked my aunt's POA and set up a new POA with my sister as primary and my brother and I as back ups. We sent a copy of the POA revocation to my aunt along with a letter telling her it has been revoked and that she needs to return Mom's money by a specific date or we will file a police report. I spoke to an elder law attorney here in Atlanta and he said that we were taking the correct steps, but advised me that Mom may never see that money again.

I also had texted my aunt informing her that she no longer has POA and that she needed to return the money. She texted back stating that she refuses to give up POA unless she hears from an attorney and that she is keeping what she has left of Mom's money to use for her future burial expenses. I asked her what she meant by what is left because she should still have all of it. She has not responded to that. She also accused us of being "buzzards" and said for the past 35 years we didn't care if Mom lived or died and said if it wasn't for her we wouldn't have a mom. I'm getting angry again just typing this. She has confidently forgotten all the years my mom lived with my brother and sister and all the times we spend in hospitals with her and taking her to doctor appointments. I used to leave work early every Friday to take her to chemo appointments.

So sorry to vent like this. It is going to take awhile for the anger to subside. I'm leaving Atlanta tomorrow and driving back home. I am not looking forward to the long drive, but will be glad to be back home.

Charade, I`m so sorry you have to deal with someone as disgusting as your aunt who has been stealing from your mum. It`s a vile thing to do to anyone, but her own family member smacks of being even worse somehow.

You`ve done the right thing by changing over the POA, she is grasping at straws saying she won`t accept it, too late for that now, it`s done. And ignore the things she said about you, again, she is hitting out as she knows she`s been rumbled. Yes, people do forget things conveniently at times, sounds like you`ve all done a lot for your mum over the years.

Yes, you may not see that money again, but at least she won`t get anymore and won`t be able to take advantage of your mum again. No wonder you`re exhausted and will be glad to get home again.

Have a safe journey today and you can hopefully sleep better knowing the right thing has been done for your mum now and she can concentrate on getting better.

 

[schumigirl]

WOW Carole...that food looks delicious. You know I don't drink so the rest doesn't mean much...LOL.

I'm going to spend the weekend relaxing and hanging outside...supposed to be excellent weather.

I look the Christmas down at the house this evening so that's done.

The COVID cases are very high here again and no one seems to care. I'm staying home!

I'll be around this weekend so have a good night everyone!

lol.....yes, thank you.....it was delicious (and the booze too )Having similar tonight for New Years Eve dinner, just adding some seafood and we can pick away all evening with nibbles.

I hate taking the trees all down, but I think we`ll do that on Sunday and have New Years with all the decor and lights.

Have a Happy New Year Todd.......and have a lovely weekend too, sounds ideal......

Wow!
That gin light UO bottle is way cool!

Isn`t it!!! Small things amuse us at times.......lol.......it`s very purple when you turn the lights off, so pretty.




Mildest night in ages last night, it stayed around 55F all through the night, so windows were indeed open and no foxes rutting at 4am, or if they did they were well into the woods and I didn`t hear them.

Tom is heading out this morning to pick up our turkey, some cream I forgot to get and more grapes. The cream I need for dessert tomorrow, making a kind of bannoffee cheesecake without the banana (yuk) so basically a cheesecake base, dulce de leche filling and whippped cream on top.....very decadent and very sweet, so won`t make a huge one as a small piece really is enough. But it`ll be big enough for 6 of us.

Got some plans to chat to some friends and relatives on zoom and phone, hoping a couple drop in for a New years drink, but they might not. Then New Years Day we have some company but the day after will be taking all the trees down and decor too. Never fun doing that.

Time for tea and later at a more dignified time for breakfast, we`ll have brioche buns with bacon for breakfast........

Have a good New Years Eve ​

 

[Metro West]

lol.....yes, thank you.....it was delicious (and the booze too )Having similar tonight for New Years Eve dinner, just adding some seafood and we can pick away all evening with nibbles.

I hate taking the trees all down, but I think we`ll do that on Sunday and have New Years with all the decor and lights.

Have a Happy New Year Todd.......and have a lovely weekend too, sounds ideal......

Thank you and I hope you and Tom and Kyle have a wonderful celebration tonight! Love the nibbles...no party is complete without nibbles! I was thinking of having seafood tonight myself...I found a new and delicious shrimp place not far from me...I can put away some popcorn shrimp.

Spent time watching some of the football games last night...The Music City Bowl with Tennessee and Purdue was very entertaining. More coming today.

Have a great day!

 

[Lynne G]

Yeah, I’m not going out for NYE either. We will be home.

That’s terrible Charade. Sending many hugs to you. Some people are just rotten, but you don’t find out until too late. You are doing the right thing. Sad to say, I do think that money is gone too. Family issues are so stressful. I hope you can find time to just relax. You are a great daughter.

And so, DH was noisy enough getting up, I’m up early too. He has issues that have him sometimes make him a restless bedmate. Last night was a restless one. Hence, when he does not sleep well, neither do I. But no matter, that early up is routine for me, even if I have no reason but to otherwise enjoy reading the DIS, and saying hello to the homies.

And so a most fabulous Friday NYE to you all. A good morning to Metro, and a very happy new year to you. And good afternoon to Schumi, may you too have a very happy new year. All the homies, may you have a very happy new year.

Back to that routine, more tea, and what to watch on the tube. College football, probably not. Have to say Metro, not really into watching any college sports.

Last day of 2021. Holy …. What a year. But thankful, as am here for another trip around the sun.

So yeah:

Hehe, it’s NYE and a Friday. Woohoo!

 

[Metro West]

And so a most fabulous Friday NYE to you all. A good morning to Metro, and a very happy new year to you. And good afternoon to Schumi, may you too have a very happy new year. All the homies, may you have a very happy new year.

Back to that routine, more tea, and what yo watch on the tube. College football, probably not. Have to say Metro, not really into watching any college sports.

Hehe, it’s NYE and a Friday. Woohoo!

Morning Lynne...I certainly hope 2022 will be much better than 2021 was...one can only hope.

I haven't been out on NYE in years...I guess my party days are behind me. We have some young people at work who said they were going out and I did my best "father" impression by telling them to be careful and pay attention to those around you. LOL...I never thought that would happen.

Just trying to decide what I want for breakfast...I think I'll do waffles and sausage.

 

[Robo56]

Good New Years Eve morning Sans family

Robbie sounds like you had a great Christmas with the family!
So nice many were able to be with you!

Thank you Mac. We did have a wonderful time enjoying each other’s company. It’s always nice when family can get together.

one son and his wife visited with us and Mr Mac took them out twice for long walks in our area
Great weather in the low 70’s

So glad to hear your son and his wife were able to visit you to celebrate Christmas.

Morning all, may need to look into building an ark here. Amazing Christmas my boys were full of brotherly love (those who have multiple spawn will feel me here lol). all gifts were well-received. Jr presented me with a beautiful necklace, mother & child sort of gift I never expected to receive, happy tears did flow.

What a beautiful surprise from your son for your Christmas present. Very pretty.

yuuuuuuuuuum. A good sausage gravy is hard to find. Most I’ve eaten are so thick u could stick a spoon upright in them & taste so flour-y (is that a word?).

If gravy has a flour taste to it the roux was not cooked long enough. There is a fine window of time when the roux is just right before you add the milk. Same thing on the thickness. If it’s to thick not enough milk was added and it was cooked to long.

I have seen that type of gravy too it’s not pleasant and I will give it a pass.

A good well made sausage gravy is yummy.

My mom is under another yet another 15 day covid quarantine. She’s Double vaxx’d, they didn’t do boosters at her nursing home, yet. They are so fragile, it’s a given that the elderly & those with underlying conditions are ripe pickins’ for breakthrough cases.

Sorry to hear your mom is having to be in quarantine again. I pray things will get back to normal at some point, but I think the new normal will continue sadly over time at the cost to many.

Sounds like the perfect Christmas Robbie......glad you had such a lovely time, and thank you, we had a lovely visit with all my family and saw some old friends too over the festive season.

We did. It was so nice having all the family together.

I’am so glad you all were able to go to Scotland and visit your family and friends. I know you had been looking forward to seeing everyone. This past couple years have been tough.

And we did watch the rocket launch live......30 years of work and it all went smoothly, very nerve wracking to watch though, and very emotional

It is always so nice to see all that hard work pay off. Being able to see a launch on TV or in person is special for sure. I’am hoping I will be able to see some launches this year in person. Will just have to see how things go.

Busy days filled with lots of visiting family, food, games and laughs. It was great to reconnect with dh's family. Especially with covid and distance, we don't get to see eachother nearly enough.

So nice to hear you were able to celebrate with your family.

Well, granddaughter needs snack. Good thing Grammie has chocolate milk and her favorite crackers for snack. There might even be a cookie as well

I can tell grammie is over the moon at having your granddaughter with you and rightfully so. They are precious.

The weather is disgustingly gross. It was -58F here with ice fog this morning. The ice fog has somewhat lightened. At least we can see across the street now and then people wonder why I have such hate for winter.

Wowwwwwwww that is cold.

We did have a White Christmas in Scotland and it was beautiful, but baltic, for us in the UK anyway.....no comparisons in temps for us with other continents....thank goodness!!

Having a little white for Christmas is nice.

Made up a sharing charcuterie with some cheese, olives, stuffed cherry peppers, grapes, crackers along with some sausage rolls, duck spring rolls and samosas I made up earlier. Pigs in blankets and filled jalapenos are deli bought. All enjoyed with a bottle of Champagne we got for Christmas....

Your charcuterie board is beautiful and looks tasty.

One of the gifts Tom got me for Christmas was a light up bottle of sugarplum gin, it does look nice with the lights low.......the edible snowflakes do look nice too when you shake the bottle......

What a nice gift. I have never seen a glowing bottle of gin before.

My mom is doing much better

Charade i’am Glad to hear your mom is doing better.

The situation with my aunt is about to get very messy. I now have proof that she took just over 10K from my mom's bank accounts. We had Mom close her checking account (savings had already been closed by the bank because my aunt took all of it) and open a new one that does not have my aunt's name on it. We revoked my aunt's POA and set up a new POA with my sister as primary and my brother and I as back ups. We sent a copy of the POA revocation to my aunt along with a letter telling her it has been revoked and that she needs to return Mom's money by a specific date or we will file a police report. I spoke to an elder law attorney here in Atlanta and he said that we were taking the correct steps, but advised me that Mom may never see that money again.

Sounds like you have done everything you can to sort out the situation with your aunt.

It is awful when family members steal from their family. Your aunt took advantage of the trust that was given to her and helped herself to your moms money. So sad and inexcusable behavior.

Have a safe trip back home Charade.

Lynne hope your tea is strong hot and tasty this morning.

Soniam enjoy your New Years Eve.


Been catching up on a few things for past few days. Another dental appointment and granddaughter came over to help put a few Christmas things away.

Will have son and family over for dinner Sunday and they are going to help me take trees down and put away the rest of the Christmas decorations. We do this every year. It’s a nice chance for us to spend time together before hubby and I leave for home in Florida. I make a nice big roast with all the trimmings and we have a nice visit and house gets put back to pre-Christmas form.

I watched little J Tuesday. We had a nice visit.

I had lunch with my younger sister yesterday. It is always nice to get to spend time with her.

It’s another cloud covered rainy day here. Looking forward to some sun and heat in the sunshine State.

Will be a quiet New Years Eve here. We haven’t been out for New Year’s Eve in years. We will just chill and have some snacks and watch some movies.

We watched first two Indiana Jones movies yesterday evening. We will watch the third one this evening. They are oldies but goodies. Harrison Ford was a handsome fellow. Hard to believe the first Indiana Jones was made in 1981. Forty year ago.


Have a wonderful New Years Eve everyone.

 

[schumigirl]

Morning Lynne...I certainly hope 2022 will be much better than 2021 was...one can only hope.

I haven't been out on NYE in years...I guess my party days are behind me. We have some young people at work who said they were going out and I did my best "father" impression by telling them to be careful and pay attention to those around you. LOL...I never thought that would happen.

Just trying to decide what I want for breakfast...I think I'll do waffles and sausage.

I have to admit to enjoying college football thanks to a friend at the RP who introduced it to us in The Ale House on Kirkman one night......I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.......

Love the sound of popcorn shrimp, although I do prefer naked shrimp with some seasonings ala hot and juicy crawfish........lush!! Yes, he has some trips of his own planned next year, but hoping he can join us in Nov/Dec time again next year, I know he`d love to see you again too.

Change the waffles for pancakes and I`m there....love some sausages!!!

Yes, I feel like an ancient relic when it comes to going out on NY!!

Good New Years Eve morning Sans family

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Thank you Mac. We did have a wonderful time enjoying each other’s company. It’s always nice when family can get together.




So glad to hear your son and his wife were able to visit you to celebrate Christmas.



What a beautiful surprise from your son for your Christmas present. Very pretty.




If gravy has a flour taste to it the roux was not cooked long enough. There is a fine window of time when the roux is just right before you add the milk. Same thing on the thickness. If it’s to thick not enough milk was added and it was cooked to long.

I have seen that type of gravy too it’s not pleasant and I will give it a pass.

A good well made sausage gravy is yummy.




Sorry to hear your mom is having to be in quarantine again. I pray things will get back to normal at some point, but I think the new normal will continue sadly over time at the cost to many.




We did. It was so nice having all the family together.

I’am so glad you all were able to go to Scotland and visit your family and friends. I know you had been looking forward to seeing everyone. This past couple years have been tough.



It is always so nice to see all that hard work pay off. Being able to see a launch on TV or in person is special for sure. I’am hoping I will be able to see some launches this year in person. Will just have to see how things go.




So nice to hear you were able to celebrate with your family.




I can tell grammie is over the moon at having your granddaughter with you and rightfully so. They are precious.




Wowwwwwwww that is cold.




Having a little white for Christmas is nice.




Your charcuterie board is beautiful and looks tasty.




What a nice gift. I have never seen a glowing bottle of gin before.




Charade i’am Glad to hear your mom is doing better.





Sounds like you have done everything you can to sort out the situation with your aunt.

It is awful when family members steal from their family. Your aunt took advantage of the trust that was given to her and helped herself to your moms money. So sad and inexcusable behavior.

Have a safe trip back home Charade.

Lynne hope your tea is strong hot and tasty this morning.

Soniam enjoy your New Years Eve.


Been catching up on a few things for past few days. Another dental appointment and granddaughter came over to help put a few Christmas things away.

Will have son and family over for dinner Sunday and they are going to help me take trees down and put away the rest of the Christmas decorations. We do this every year. It’s a nice chance for us to spend time together before hubby and I leave for home in Florida. I make a nice big roast with all the trimmings and we have a nice visit and house gets put back to pre-Christmas form.

I watched little J Tuesday. We had a nice visit.

I had lunch with my younger sister yesterday. It is always nice to get to spend time with her.

It’s another cloud covered rainy day here. Looking forward to some sun and heat in the sunshine State.

Will be a quiet New Years Eve here. We haven’t been out for New Year’s Eve in years. We will just chill and have some snacks and watch some movies.

We watched first two Indiana Jones movies yesterday evening. We will watch the third one this evening. They are oldies but goodies. Harrison Ford was a handsome fellow. Hard to believe the first Indiana Jones was made in 1981. Forty year ago.


Have a wonderful New Years Eve everyone.

Thank you Robbie for your lovely comments, yes, it has been a long 2 years for not being able to see family on certain occasions, but hopefully that`ll change now........yes, the charcuterie tray is an old favourite of ours, and the gin is a new favourite for us!!!

Glad you had such a lovely time and have some lovely plans afoot for next few days, have a lovely time......and a very happy new years for you and yours........




Did have a few friends pop in for a NYE cocktail......made up some pitchers of one cocktail I kind of made up.......Jack Daniels, Amaretto, loaded up with pineapple and cranberry juice and lime juiced and added....loads of cherries and ice and you have a pitcher or 3...... I don`t like JD or Amaretto, but this is lovely.

​

It was nice though seeing various friends for an hour or so as we`re not having a group party this year........but always open house for friends here.

Couple of hours till we eat for us.......everything is the same as last night, so just have to put it out, no cooking at all, well it is NYE, late night ahead........

And still so mild......we have 66F which is far too mild for this time of year......I might regret saying that mid January......

 

[soniam]

@Charade67 Why is family so difficult? I know this has to be hard for you and your family. The important thing is that your mom is doing better, out of the hospital, and out of the clutches of her sister.

Happy New Year everyone! No partying for us either.

 

[macraven]

No party for us either
Kids at my place will be playing on their phones all day and all tonight.
I get my house back tomorrow and the cats will be able to roam the house again!
They go into hiding when there are peeps in the house.

 

[schumigirl]

No party for us either
Kids at my place will be playing on their phones all day and all tonight.
I get my house back tomorrow and the cats will be able to roam the house again!
They go into hiding when there are peeps in the house.

KIds do love to play with cats.....poor things, yes, the cats will enjoy getting their house back.......I`m glad you`ve had such a lovely visit with the family....



I`ve eaten so much today I think I`m going to burst!!

5 sets of visitors, 3 couples at the same time and we all enjoyed some good chatter, nibbles and drinks.....no one seems to be doing much at all tonight as is usual for all our friends.

We have 2 coming tomorrow and that`s it for us I think, 6 of us altogether for dinner so not much effort as the turkey basically cooks itself and as I`m not doing 84 types of veg the way some do for Christmas, we don`t have much to do. The cranberry sauce I made yesterday, last minute will be the gravy.

Appetisers are sorted and desserts made.

Trying not to yawn............

 

[macraven]

Just the opposite
Cats stay hidden and only come out of their hiding place when the kids are asleep

They want their house back
Hahaha