Ice Sculptures

 Syracuse, NY 

Jan. 3, 2021

Before the new year I had purchased tickets to the Syracuse City Ice Sculpture drive through event. I had hoped my family would be interested, but when I mentioned it to them I got a big fat NO thank you. Instead I was relieved to have my two friends Brenda and Carol join me for the evenings event. 

I really had no idea what this was about or how it would work, but I was excited for something...anything new to attend. It was actually kind of nice. 

I picked up Carol and Brenda and we headed to the NY State Fair grounds for the event. 

There were some pretty neat looking pieces. 

As we drove through this lovely ice we caught up on how the Holidays had been for each other and what is happening with our lives. It was a nice relaxing and enjoyable evening away from the house. 

I have really been struggling with being stuck in my home of late. It's much to cold to go on any hikes or even enjoy the outdoors. I spent some time in my casita earlier in the week in an attempt to remove one of the chairs and it was super cold inside. I am thinking I will pull her in later this week and see if the heat works while my son helps me get the rest of the rug up. I did finalize painting all of the cabinets, but I really cant do much more with out some assistance. 

This one has to be my favorite. 

But this one is pretty cool too, it reminded me of the movie "Call of the Wild" which I recently watched. Yes, I have watched a ton of tv lately. 

My pup Riley was a reminder here too.

And then before we knew it, the evening had come to an end. Plan to try and get together and maybe walk the mall or something. Hopeful for an odd heat wave to come my way so I can spend some time outdoors. There is not even any snow...just cold. At least with snow it feels like it should be cold out. At any rate, it looks like I can look forward to a tropical get away soon as Mark and I will finally make our way to  Florida to see Ben (our son) in Feb. Its been over a year since we have seen him. This COVID has surly impacted all of our lives. Until next time. TTFN

Bring on the new year!

 Jan. 2, 2021

Welcome 2021. I have never wished more for another year to come forward. I know that things are not magically going to recover from the plaque of 2020, but there is something refreshing thinking about this upcoming year.  I already have 2 vacations planned an although there are no cruises in our near future. I am embracing the "road trip". American Road Trip was the theme of the New Years Eve party at the Turning Stone Casino that Mark and I attended this year. Being the year of the COVID, the event was quite different from what it has been in the past. All very safe and cautious. Mark had secured us a two nights stay in the Lodge and we were both excited to celebrate the New Year coming in and our 19th wedding anniversary. 

This is our 4th or 5th year celebrating New Years with the Turing Stone Casino, and each year has been amazing. This year as I mentioned was a little different. Instead of a continuous party going late into the next year. We were assigned a dinner time and escorted to our private table. Masks were required when moving about, and there was no endless buffet. Although the dinner menu was quite fancy. 

They also had an extensive drink menu which included drinks from all of the identified road trip states. Dinner was in Hollywood and Mark was a star!

Our American Road trip started in NY.  We then jetted by Florida, made our way to Texas, Chicago and finally California. 

I had hoped that there would be more adventure at each state, but there was only the state signs.  The signature drinks from each state, I guess was the road trip experience. 

New York offered the Classic Old Fashion which was not enjoyed by either Mark or I....

Florida offed the Florida Sunset, which was a fruity cocktail that I consumed rather quickly. Texas's Tex Mex Margarita was yummy as well but we decided on beer after those. Chicago offered a Bufala Negra (?) and California's signature drink was the Summer Vodka Collins. Of our "road trip" I have only visited; New York of course, Florida, and California. Mark and I have never been to Chicago or Texas. (We see Chicago in our 2021 future). 

We have a wonderful piano player though out our meal. 

Mark enjoyed the second course. I have never been a raw bar kind of gal. The plate was made of ice. This was pretty cool. 

I missed getting a picture of the main course, but the filet mignon was indeed delicious.  Desert was fun. A little treat from each state. Key lime pie from Florida. Which I was surprised that I really liked. I have never had key lime pie. I must make this a staple while I visit Florida in the future. New York had a mini cheesecake. Cheesecake has always been my favorite. Chicago had this popcorn Creme Brulee. I was not a fan. I do not like Pecans so I skipped the Pecan Pie from Texas, but I did enjoy the California Chocolate Chiffon. 

After dinner the new years eve party from Turning Stone was over. Mark and I spent some time in the casino and then headed to our room. I feel asleep some before the ball dropped. Although a wonderful evening. It was certainly not the all night party of the past. Still very much enjoyable and a very Happy New year. 

The following day was our 19th wedding Anniversary. We had our complementary breakfast which was lovely, and then Mark treated me to a massage, and I took full advantage of this spa experience. Due to COVID however a mask was required during all activities with in the spa. This included the hot tub and mineral pools. My massage was so wonderful and welcomed. I usually talk through the hole thing, but this time I shut up and just enjoyed. I felt like I was on another planet when I was done. Enjoying the sauna, hot tub and pools was a little less enjoyable. There was very little others there which is always nice. I got the hot tub to myself, and other then only one other women at the pools. There were limits on how many people could be in the pools ect. at one time and apparently they stagger the clients in. So this is all wonderful except as I was enjoying the pools I somehow got my mask wet. Not just damp but soaking. If you have never experienced this, let me tell you it felt like I was inhaling water and about to drown. I had to leave shortly after that as I was sure I would not be able to breathe much longer. I did return later in the evening with a fresh mask and although it also got quite wet, I had learned from earlier too keep my head up and not wet my hair. 

Mark and I had an enjoyable time gambling during part of the afternoon. He was a winner and I had been ahead the day before, but lost this afternoon. We both still left ahead. I always bank when he wins so I was a winner. We had a wonderful dinner in the VIP room where I had the most wonderful bowl, I actually had two, of Broccoli cheddar soup. I had been craving Wegman's broccoli cheddar soup for some time, and I hate to eat it out of the store container and not fresh, (unavailable due to COVID) so this was a pleasant gift. Additionally they had specialty cakes for dessert and I split an amazing piece of Cheesecake with my husband. 

Our 2020 to 2021 was indeed a wonderful experience.  Happy New Year! TTFN

Addendum:

Our December was fairly uneventful. I admittedly struggled with the winter blues as well as perhaps the inevitable reality that I am getting older and my hormones are alerting me to this fact. I have been an emotional nightmare fighting endlessly with being to cold or hellishly hot. Oh why do us women have to suffer so. My mood perhaps or simply feeling sorry for myself has left me unmotivated to do much of anything this month. I did finish up some crafting I had been meaning to complete.  Worked on the Casita and I did some deep cleaning, but most of my free time was spent watching Netflix and playing games on my phone. I am certainly going to make some changes in this area for the New Year. At any rate, there was no trips taken, no exciting adventures happening and December, I was pretty much ready to say goodbye to with the New Year. 

Our Christmas was unusual this year. My parents who have been a part of every one of my Christmas's decided to stay at home this year. It left our family traditional holiday short of their presence, but grateful for their health and accepting of their reasons for staying home. Our holiday was spent with three of my children. No big brunch was had, I didn't and haven't been to church all year, and we simply just exchanged gifts and enjoyed each others company.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. TTFN