New Year’s 2024-25 has come and gone, and now it’s back to the grind. We had a pretty boring holiday. It was the usual drinking of beer and wine, listening to music, eating too much… basically like every day at our house, except there were fireworks and Christmas trees. But I did take some photos and videos, which I will dutifully share here for the interested. Here’s a video of the scene when the clock struck midnight.

On New Year’s Eve, we had quesadillas, mainly because we both ate heavy leftovers for lunch and weren’t very hungry. And, as usual, there were lots of people outside in the frigid weather, setting off the fireworks they’re only allowed to use at New Year’s. I tried out my new camera, which wasn’t that great at catching the fireworks. I need to play with the settings a bit.

I think we got to bed at about 2:00 AM or so… then we slept in until about 9. It was cold, but sunny… unlike this morning, which is cold and rainy. Bill cooked a lovely New Year’s Day dinner. He used the sous vide to cook prime rib, baked some potatoes and cloverleaf rolls, and, of course, served black-eyed peas and green beans.

One other thing that happened is Charlie finally got up on the bench. If you know us, you know that Arran and Zane, our beagles, used to get on the bench with us all the time. Charlie has been wanting to get up there, too. I finally gave him a boost. Now, we have a monster. It’s like Charlie won’t do anything like that on his own until we give him “permission”. Then, once he has “permission”, he takes the initiative.

Below is a video of their budding bromance… I swear, I think Arran is lurking in Charlie’s soul.

I’m usually relieved when the holidays end. This year, I’m pretty nervous about what the future holds. But at least we had relatively pleasant 2024 holidays. There was no drama. And Bill’s last present to me arrived the other day. He bought me a Bodhran drum from a shop in Ireland, which I’m sure I’ll be beating on a lot, as things get weirder. It’s always nice to have new musical instruments!

Happy New Year, everyone. Hope it turns out okay for all of us.