Last night I wish I had gorged on grapes while bells rung, toasting my feet on the fire of my (least favorite) calendar, then running all over the house opening the windows and doors and running all the way back around closing them. I wish I had grabbed the whiskey bottle and a lump of coal, rubbed the coal on my face, – commando-ed out to the barn (though I would be wearing underwear lest we get confused, ) and I would have burst through the front door of the barn, I wish I had been singing, kissing the animals and sloshing the whiskey about shouting – Don’t mention the Scottish Play! I would have done a jig! Sheila would have been deeply underwhelmed. But it was so cold yesterday, I would have had to wear three pairs of socks and two pairs of gloves.
Then I might have broken into the tinder box and let off all the fireworks while Queenie and I shared a jug of ginger wine (How did Queenie get to be the senior cow!) and TonTon and BooBoo set off rockets behind our considerable backs. We could have gone for a walk to look for wild animals and good luck corn, banging pots and lids to ward away the bad spirits (and probably the wild animals!)
Then the three kittens could have picked imaginary roses and had a parade but no-one would have been watching because we would all be sorting and soaking the black eyed peas for New Years lunch, throwing out all the peas that had blue eyes or even brown eyes while drinking turkish coffee and throwing the grinds down to tell our future.
Then we might have sat around crouched over a fire, the dogs and I, melting lead and dropping it into cold water to see what we could see. Once I made a dragonfly, but I cannot remember what year that was or what the following year was like. Probably a lot of hovering. If we had sat there long enough around our smoky fire, staring into the buckets of water and lead, Daisy and Kupa and Mama and Big Dog and Scrapper and Mr Pink would have come out of the shadows to sit a while. But only if you pretend not to pay attention. You must never look directly at the New Years ghosts. You have to let them be.
But I didn’t do any of that. I drunk pear cider and we ate pickled herrings (John’s tradition, actually he ate them, I didn’t – all that salty mayonnaise is not to my liking) and way before Midnight I was fast asleep in my big boat bed, dreams and New Years Ghosts gently rocking me through the night tides, from one year to the next and now I have woken up in 2015.
No fowl will be eaten today. The Matriarch will cook lunch (steak) and in the evening John will cook little wonton bundles made with go-forward pork and shrimp – filled with good luck – this is another of his traditions. I am happy to be cooked for, this is the best kind of good luck and a most excellent tradition. Otherwise it is business as usual and hopefully not as cold this morning as yesterday, that blowing cold made my hands cry.
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Happy New Year from the farmy.
celi
ps. I know we were going to drive to Indiana on Friday to pick up the pig huts but now John is workingon Friday so once again I am at an impasse. I cannot drag that wonky trailer by myself. Never mind. Something will turn up.
pss. You and I leave for New Zealand in FOURTEEN days. This time we are going to stay on an authentic New Zealand farm, you will love it, a big beautiful farm house that is rented out as a wedding venue with porches and orchards, shearers quarters, barn and fields of wild flowers. My daughter and I will be cooking! And you are coming along!
The Kitchen's Garden 
52 responses to “Happy New Year”
Happy, happy New Year! All the best to every creature
on the Farmy!
Went to sleep last night with the sounds of fireworks going off in the neighborhood all around us. Today, there will be pork (ham) and roasted veggies to bring in the new year. Happy New Year of 2015! And C, if you had done all those things last night into the wee hours, you would still be asleep!
Love to hear about other traditions/rituals. Happy New Year!
Hmmm pickled Herring, or Herring salad haven’t had it in ages. Happy New Year!
I like the IDEA of that wild New Year’s party …. but, like you, I was asleep well before midnight! 🙂 I did have some grapes, of the fermented juice form!! The New Zealand farm will be so interesting.
Oh my gosh, that reminds me that my grandmother used to read melted and dropped-in-water lead too! Oh the things I forget. Happy New Year Celi and much love to everyone over there from all of us over here. Fourteen more sleeps to go before the warm sunshine. Yay! Can’t wait. 😀
Happy New Year, C! May 2015 be full of adventure – starting with the trip to New Zealand!
For someone with no New Year traditions, you have the most wonderful non-traditions! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year !! I hope it is a wonderful year for you and I shall look forward to sharing your travels !!
Happy New Year to you and the farmy! A B1 bomber just flew over our house for the Rose Parade. It’s 37 degrees outside which is freezing for us! Hot chocolate and donuts sound really good right now, while we watch the parade on TV all day.
The happiest of New Years for you and all at the Farmy. Are you sure you hadn’t been at the whisky when you wrote this post? (just joking!). I too was thinking of all those, here and there, who left us last year. I hope the pig huts can be fetched soon.
Love,
ViV xox
There is hope Viv, evidently next week may be too cold for Our John to work.. so my plan may yet work!.. fingers crossed.. c
It may just work for you, I just watched the weather guy, 4-7″ of snow Sat. night & Sunday, temps dropping Sunday and a high of minus (MINUS!) 2 degrees F on Mon.! Brrrr. I don’t care what you do to them, I’m not eating those slimy little herrings!
Also wind chills in the minus 25 F range!
My eldest step daughter went to New Zealand upon graduating college. She did a farm stay there and says it’s the very best trip she ever took.
That sounds nasty, but our little seals on legs do very well so far don’t they.. little barrels of warm lardy bums.. c
The New Year arrived here with terribly cold weather 7* right now as I write this to you, the skies are a leaden grey with white frost hanging here and there…and it isn’t even pretty hoar frost–just frozen air. There is a sharp breeze making the wind chill at Zero. I’m dreaming of spring…wish I could sleep right through until March when farming starts again. BUT come the end of January the range cows will arrive. That is always a very good thing for me.
Happy New Year, My Friend in the middle of the breadbasket!
Linda
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Happy New Year to you and John! I will be happy to accompany you to New Zealand, to escape the bitter cold and snow that is now Minnesota. What should I pack?
It is so cold outside as of late and the idea of spending New Year’s Eve out was not appealing in the least, although I did enjoy the description of how you would run out singing and kissing your animals.
I also very much enjoy the Guinea Fowl picture. It’s still on my list of animals that will one day be on my farm and if we stick to our plan, that farm will take root this year!!!!
Happy New Year Cecilia!!!!!
Happy New Year Cinders! I too was exhausted after reading all of what you did in your sleep last night! Whew! Do you mean that pear cider was not even hard pear cider? I think I would of had to sneak in a little spirit! Would you ask our John…for all of us…if he would share his wonton recipe with us? They sound wonderful!
I’m getting my suitcase out and starting to pack for our trip to NZ….can’t wait. By the way, I think it was Aukland that was the first city in the world to ring in the New Year! 🙂