Counting Down The Days

When Hubby Tony and I were getting ready to welcome December I realized that with his broken ankle  the month would look very different than it usually does. There would be little to no out of the house socializing; the organization, fellowship, and club parties we usually attend would have to get by without our presence.

In an effort to liven things up in the house, for the first time in decades I hung the Countdown to Christmas calendar that we used when the boys were young. It has a pocket for each day, and I would fill each with a strip of paper that had an activity that would help us get ready for Christmas. The calendar came with a cute mouse that moved from pocket to pocket to mark the time. The 1990s version of the calendar had activities like visiting Santa, decorating the house, watching holiday shows on TV, and making presents. So far the adult version has been filled with instructions to look elsewhere for a treat, inspirational sayings, and activities. 

Tonight would have been the first of the Christmas parties. This one offers a happy hour, buffet meal, and a selection of desserts. Instead of eating another home-cooked meal Tony arranged for me to pick up dinner from a local catering company. (In honor of the event today's calendar activity said KATHY DOESN'T HAVE TO COOK TONIGHT!)

On the way home from running errands this afternoon I stopped by the catering company. I came home with a brown paper sack of food. At dinner time it only took a couple of minutes to put the salads into bowls and heat and plate the entrees. 

Each meal came with a salad (Italian for Tony and Vineyard with fruit and sweet poppy seed dressing for me).

Tony's entree was Stuffed Green Peppers with ground sirloin, brown rice, and vegetable marinara. I had Chicken Crepes with berry relish and honey almond green beans.

For dessert, leftover chocolate gooey butter cookies from the freezer paired nicely with a juicy pear.

Five years ago: The Search Is Over