Savoring the New Year

Do you wonder what 2016 will hold?

Panetone: a Christmas must in any Italian house!

I certainly do. I'm full of questions for 2016.

Do you make resolutions? I do, even though last year's resolutions totally failed! However, this year, I hope to do better. Actually, never-mind, I did loose 10ish pounds last year, come to think of it! I got physically miserable in June had a blood test which resulted in a diabetes scare, and cut out most processed sugar as a result and saw the majority of the fat on my thighs slowly disappear. It was kind of a cool transformation to see my fat go away just by cutting out processed sugars and not eating like a little pig. Where did the dimples go? So if you ever want to loose weight: eat little and cut out that sugar! You are sweet enough, I'm sure....

Speaking of pigs and animals, 2016 has been great so far. We have been feasting on nature and sea food and enjoying land animals.

We started the new year by hiking at Seneca Falls which was absolutely breathtaking. I had been wanting to go for a while but had no idea it would be this pretty.

With God, anything is  possible, even a tree growing from a rock.

Food has also been hitting our bellies quite nicely this year. A few little octopus (is there a plural for octopus?) came swimming downstream one day it rained. Fatty left the house with his little fishing net and a thick rain coat. He returned a few hours later with a basket full of octopus and this is the result:

I also tried my hand at making a gateau di patate (a French turned Neapolitan recipe). I had my mother in law on the phone giving me precise instructions on how to pat down the potatoes with butter and salt.

However, the kittens haven't had such a good year so far.

Bah Humbag!

 Bentley started it by jumping on the stove which would be terrible enough, but was actually dangerous since the stove was on! I screamed a scream I didn't know existed in my body and scared all of us. It would have been good if Bentley hadn't re-jumped on the stove a few minutes later. Thus, he and Fatty spent the rest of the day in the basement. The next day Fatty ate some plastic. They both got cat-lax and today has been better. It makes me wonder if I should feed Bentley more so he can get too fat to jump.

In any case, I have cheated on my cats. I met a new red-headed feline called Cowboy. He had me at Meow.

He lives with our friends, the horses, around the corner. Today, Cowboy came up to me and showed me his good stuff. He purred and rolled and rolled some more. Watch out, Fatty! You have some competition!

"Hey Lady! I heard you have a cupboard full of Lively Senior for cats! Have me over for dinner sometime!"

Awwww

awwwwww

He's a good boy!

By the way, did you know that horses fall in love? It is true! Today we saw one horse cry because he felt alone, then the horse-lady brought out his friend and they were happily reunited. It was very sweet.

"I missed you Baby Cake!"

"Privacy please?"

"Hey Sugar."

Whispering sweet nothings.

And in case you need a good scoop of poop to scare away the neighbors, you can stop by on Saturdays after 12 and the good stuff will be waiting for you. Donations accepted, of course, for the work of the horse. 

"I promise it's handmade with tender loving care...and some gas."