January 2019

January has proven to be everything one might expect in mid-winter.  COLD! ☃⛄

View from our back window

This January we enjoyed the warmth of many group gatherings and several excellent music concerts to keep our minds off the cold.

On New Year's Day Sissy and T.C. hosted a wonderful, tummy-warming house party.  The wall-to-wall crowd enjoyed Sissy's homemade Tom & Jerry's.  A nice fire in the fireplace and great conversation made it a great way to start off 2019.

Perfect batter made from fresh farm eggs.

Rusty was a hit in his naughty Santa suit.

Our Christmas was spread out over a couple of weeks.  Lindsay, Jeff, and Celeste were our guests in early January for the last Christmas hurrah.

The Normandy is a lovely, intimate French restaurant on the south side of town.  We had a delightful, well-paced dinner with a consummate waiter.  We've had multiple gatherings with these biking friends and always enjoy lots of laughter together.

Peter, Susan, Deb, Kerry, Rusty, Di Clayton, Annette

First Friday Jazz this month featured Group Sax.  They played lots of familiar tunes and made a very cold day lots more fun.

Paul, Mark, Ed, Scott

Scott really made this huge sax swing!

In the middle of the month we had the Fredricksons and VanHorns as dinner guests, but I forgot to take a picture.  This is another group of folks we enjoy having dinner with somewhat regularly.  Since there is a strong Irving Middle School connection, we are never at a loss for stories to share.

Rusty made delicious gumbo!

Our guests brought a sweet-potato-apple salad and apple pie.

The cold weather has certainly curtailed my outdoor biking, but we still try to get outside for exercise when we can.  Thankfully the huge field behind us gives us opportunities for snow shoeing.

Rusty powers through.

Bundled up against the bitter cold.

Gretchen loves following the bunny tracks in the snow, but she's unwilling to be outside for very long.

Some of my lady friends and I experienced LBD of shopping.  Translation:  Lincoln Boutiques Day.  Our first stop was Patino Joe's in Eagle, NE.  The coffee shop in the back of the store was a great way to start the day.

Di, Lorraine, Susan, Pat

The Nines and Guru Honey were also destinations.  After a morning of shopping and chatting we stopped in at MoJo Cafe for lunch and a glass of wine.

What a fun day!

Jazz in January featured Dave Stryker and his band.  They rocked the house!

Dave Stryker on guitar.  Wow!

 This concert was held in what is now called the Boiler Grand Hall.  The building itself, now known as The Grand Manse, was built in 1904 and called the "Old Federal Building."  It housed the U.S. Court House and Post Office.  The court room has 24 foot tall oak walls, a beautiful maple floor, and original murals.  The judges bench is now used for serving drinks.

Mural and ceiling of the old court room.

We finished off the month with yet another concert.  This was a lovely performance by members of the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra.

Clark Potter (viola), Katie Wychulis (harp), Joyce Besch (contra bassoon) playingDaniel Baldwin's In the Shining of the Stars.

Tonight's predicted low is -7 with winds out of the NNW at 20 mph.