As 2017 comes to a close...

There are so very many reasons to celebrate our good life---despite what is happening in Washington D.C.
We are blessed to have family both near and far.  Thank goodness the far-away family feels much closer through Skype and FaceTime.
Another blessing is our many friends!  We feel blessed to have regular opportunities to share coffee, breakfast, bike rides, dinners, etc. with friends!
I belong to three different bike clubs.  Great Plains Bicycling Club is the largest and oldest group with over 250 members.  They do a wonderful job of providing weekly group rides throughout the warmer months.

Great Plain Bicycle Club Christmas party

Every year this group has a New Year's Day breakfast, followed by a ceremonial ride.  The forecast for this year is -18.  I think I'll skip the ride!

The weather was still warm on Dec. 3

And on Dec. 18

Eventually, winter arrived.

I put lights on the deck.

and lights on the front porch.

There was a fabulous sale on Chesapeake Bay oysters, so I bought a dozen.

Rusty adjusted the blade on a knife and shucked the oysters

Man they were delicious!

My annual Christmas Tea with friends was a bit smaller than usual, but a sumptuous, lovely time with friends.  We even had a nice phone call from Kathie, who was not able to attend the tea.  It has become a tradition for us to wear hats to the tea.

Di, Linda, Lorraine, Chris

Lorraine, our hostess, with a beautiful table and tree.

Lorraine and Linda doing cleanup in the kitchen.

Prairie Plate Restaurant is a farm-to-table restaurant located in the country northeast of Lincoln.  We like to visit at least once a year with friends.  It is especially lovely on a moon-lit, chilly evening.

Kerry, Deb, Rusty, Di, Karen, Ray, Susan, Clayton

We invited the Starks and the Nelsons to a simple pasta dinner.  We always have a great time with these life-long friends.

Appetizers and cocktails

Rusty shares puns of Christmas carols with the group.

We played a Christmas trivia game.

Greg was the winner of the Hilary nutcracker.

We drove to K.C. to have an early Christmas with Olivia, Pierce, and Reece.  We enjoyed the beautiful Christmas lights at the old train station and then rode the new trolley to the Power and Light District for dinner at Cleaver and Cork.

Rusty and Di in front of the train station's grand hall.

Pierce Olivia, Reece

Yours truly

Later that night, we opened presents.  In November we all drew names and purchased socks.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

The boys were pretty excited with their keraoke machine.

How about a little "Pretty Woman"...

Rusty brought his clarinet so that he and Pierce could play something together.

Rusty and Pierce assembling the instrument.

Pierce has been playing clarinet for only about 3 months.

This is mini-Chad--facial expression, body posture, everything.

We also had a Christmas with the Hastings family.

Celeste does the honors for the family gift.

Xavier, Lindsay (wearing her poncho), Jeff and Celeste.

We had a nice snow on Christmas Eve, so I was able to x-country ski.

On Christmas Day we went with our friend, Lorraine, to Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  We bought premium seats that are extra large recliners and can be heated.  Rusty had a beer with his popcorn.  Very comfy!
After dinner we imitated A Christmas Story and ate at a Chinese Restaurant.

Remember this scene?

The food at The Asian Buffet was incredibly good!

Lorraine, Rusty, Di

Gretchen is not a fan of the cold and always keeps one foot lifted out of the snow.

This was the year of the poncho.  I made a poncho for myself which I really liked, with a black and white herringbone on one side and a red plaid on the other.  Unfortunately the weave of the fabric was so loose it almost fell apart faster than I could make it.

I switched to fleece fabric and it was way more successful.  I made a black, red and gray poncho for Lindsay.

And a tan, gray, multi tone poncho for Anna.

And I made a brown-green/ecru checked one for Felicia for her birthday, which is the day after Christmas.

Rusty and I will spend a quiet New Year's Eve in front of the fireplace while sipping Grand Marnier and eating my Boozy Christmas Cake.  (I refuse to call it fruitcake because it's way better!)
I might even get Rusty to play some  cribbage with me.

Happy New Year to all!