Sunday, January 4, 2026

Happy 2026!


I hope everyone who celebrates had a very Merry Christmas! 
We were excited to see a bit of snow in December, after an unusually dry and warm fall along the Colorado Front Range.


Unfortunately, the weather soon returned to a "La Nina" weather pattern of warmer than average temperatures and lower than average precipitation, which melted all the snow. 
Snowpack levels across the state are currently 53% of normal, which means we will need many snowstorms to catch up
We also had a few days of extreme wind in December--a Chinook wind pattern. The winds blew many leaves into our gardens, but the deer that frequent our property enjoyed dining on them.


Despite all the weather concerns, the Christmas Season looked beautiful in Denver! 


I was busy making our traditional Christmas cookies...


...our house was all decked out for Christmas Celebrations...



...and I prepared many fish dishes for our traditional Italian-American "Feast of the Seven (plus) Fishes" Christmas Eve dinner...



...including a tray of chicken cutlets for our grandchildren who do not like to eat too much fish!



I also follow the Italian tradition of making lentil soup for New Year's Day for 'Buona Fortuna," which means "Good Fortune." Some families actually make a bowl of lentils to eat a few moments after the hour turns to midnight, but I wait until dinner the next day to make sure we can really enjoy the soup as dinner. There are many recipes for lentil soup, and it is easy to make as lentils do not require pre-soaking and cook fairly quickly. It can be made vegetarian or with sweet Italian sausage, which is the way we like it. Here is a link for a Lentil Sausage and Escarole Soup I shared many years ago.


I took a couple of weeks away from blogging to enjoy the Christmas season, and now feel ready to rejoin with a fresh new year's perspective.

Wishing all my readers a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2026!


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