123123

We've got another double flower this Christmas - the first Amaryllis was blooming over Christmas and still remains here for New Year's Eve, but the other one is coming along and looks ready to replace the first very shortly!

The Zombie Gävle Goat is soon to be taken down, not a victim of arson or reckless driving this year, but rather flocks of ravenous birds after the seeds in the straw.  The poor goat was deteriorating before our eyes, being skeletonized very quickly and sort of putting it out there to would-be arsonists:  how about a mercy kill?  I mean, a Flaming Zombie Gävle Goat would be pretty spectacular.  No, let's not advocate arson here.  

The date today is 123123, which has been noted time and again leading up to today.  The date is written (in North America) as 12/31/23, which apparently won't happen for another hundred years.  So what to do with this information?  You sort of make a mental note of these things, point it out to everyone, do one big collective "huzzah" and then move on with life!

Today I was walking in Times Square, or at least on the treadmill.  The workouts continue - I did 93 in 2023, which is pretty good considering I got the device set up the first week of October.  We were imagining what Times Square would be like tonight.  It's cold out there!  You can tell because all the birds are puffed up, and nearly round in shape like little angry birds!

It was a quiet day, one where we were filling out new calendars, cleaning up, sweeping up, and doing a bit of bird watching too.  You can see the Phoebe there, and below a mockingbird, cardinal, and some bluebirds on the new bluebird feeder.

We also have some visitors on the birdhouse I got Mom for Christmas.  It says "Merry Christmas" on it, and has a lot of birdseeds all over it.  We had some birds enjoying the snacks this afternoon, and pretty much a full aviary out there on the deck.  

It was a quiet New Year's Eve.  The last day of 2023 was spent doing some grocery shopping, but Maddie isn't feeling as well today with some coughs and a stuffy nose.  We stayed home for the rest of the day, and that was okay.  We've been out a lot lately, and we should be out tomorrow, hopefully.  Maddie and I were getting groceries, and then using up some of our cards for one last free boba tea of the year at Tea Top.  Maddie likes that place, and so do I.

So we were looking back at the year, remembering quite a bit, although there were some harder memories of the year too.  But we made it to 2024, and this year is going to be great.  I sent out an email to our friends at church with that reminder:

In Genesis 24:7, Abraham spoke of stepping out with faith into something new, how God blessed him, and how an angel would go on before his servant in order to help.  Yes, you’ve got that same help too!  In 2024, remember that God will be with you 24/7!

It's going to be a good new year.  And this last year was good too - we spent the last night of the year with a fine meal from Mom, who prepared some delicious shrimp pasta. We had cake, and those white strawberries that fool the eyes but look really nice with the delicious strawberry cake we picked up from Publix.  Gluten free!  

Tonight's television viewing helped us stay awake until midnight, and it was a marathon I was looking up as we went along watching.  These were some fun shows that you could watch that cover New Year's Eve pretty well:

Laverne & Shirley - "New Year's Eve 1959" - this might have been the weakest link on the chain as far as writing goes, but seeing Squiggy lowered down like a Times Square ball was fun.

Frasier - "RDWRER" - this is a great episode. We were laughing through this one, a unique story involving Winnebagos, truck stops, time zones, and police chases. 

Mr. Bean - "Do-it-yourself Mr. Bean" - the one is a classic.  We've seen this a few times, the highlight being the easy chair on top of Mr. Bean's car, where he's forced to sit as he drives down the street.

Phineas & Ferb - "Happy New Year!" - We love the infinity slide, and I imagine some day they'll probably actually lower a giant New Year's ball from outer space.

Austin & Ally - Jessie - "All Star New Year" - The Disney Channel came through with a couple themed episodes that take place around Times Square at New Year's Eve.  Or, perhaps Tim's Square Pizzas.

All the while, Maddie was revisiting her game Animal Crossing, where there was a countdown going on within the game.  Characters there were assembling for the big moment, and as we got closer to midnight, we put Animal Crossing on the big television set, and on this laptop we had a livestream from the Magic Kingdom.  Together, we all counted down the final seconds of 2023, celebrating at midnight with everyone from Disney, plus a whole lot of random animals up there on the screen.  Maddie was interacting with them, wishing them a Happy New Year.  And of course we were wishing each other a Happy New Year too - we had the sparkling grape in the bottle and the champagne glasses, plus some Christmas crackers that each of us pulled on, getting the usual trinkets and paper crowns and bad jokes within.  We had just barely made it to midnight - everyone was super tired.  We made it though!  

We toasted each other, the new year... and were fast asleep soon enough!