My feast and the blooming orchids

Some shots of my Christmas feast this year. I actually had planned to have a back-up meal for my son and his family from Ohio, if they arrived too late to go to dinner around here. I had ordered some nice catered items. So I went ahead and got one meal's worth for me. And then I added my own roasted asparagus, tomatoes and garlic.  

Before...

After...the carmalized garlic and asparagus were wonderful. I threw in the tomatoes just because they're cheerful. 

Before: This vegetarian ate the apricot sauced chicken breast, sour cream mashed potatoes, and the roasted veggies. The boneless breast of chicken was delicious with all the apricot sauce.

After...

 OK, I lied (and admitted it!) ...about blooming orchids...

These are just promises of blooms. A funny term, buds.

Yes the red shamrock is also blooming in its bucket!

As of Dec. 23. No more have opened by Christmas.I have moved them to a less sunny spot so maybe they'll last longer. I usually have a couple of months of joy from them.

I've been on Ancestry, updating my various relations by marriage...mainly those of my daughters-in-law. I've had their own family trees separate from my own, but am slowly adding them all into my own. It means spending a lot of time looking at dates, names, and marriages. It also made me aware of how many people were at the ends of their lives when I was a young adult doing the most adventurous parts of my life. So now I guess I'm one of those elders while my descendants should be out doing young adult things. But they're not. I do wonder at that. PS, some of them are showing promise!

Here's an enjoyable video...not related to Christmas, but shared recently. Best to watch as a full screen enjoyment! Sadek Waff says..."There is magic everywhere, the key is knowing how to look and listen in silence. Like a cloud of birds forming waves in the sky, each individual has their own identity but also has an irreplaceable place in the whole."

Today's quote:

Every second you spend worrying about the future or thinking about the past, regretfully or not, is a second lost, because really all you have to live in is the present, the now.”

 Eckert Tolle