#Vacation fun

The further south one vacations, the hotter it gets. Watch those temperatures when pursuing beach activities.

#Roladen

Last night we had roladen for supper. With spätzle (pasta) and boiled potatoes. (The spätzle and potatoes were left over from another supper. We never throw out leftovers). Broccoli for vegetables.

Roladen (#Roulads) are meat rolls, usually made from beef. Ours were made from deer meat, which I cut from the hind quarter of the deer I shot during hunting season last year.  My wife sprinkles the flat pieces of meat with Hys seasoning and a little pepper. After that, she brushes them with mustard. Then she lays strips of bacon on top of the meat and rolls the whole thing. She uses toothpicks to hold everything together. (My mom used to use string instead of toothpicks). She bakes the roladen in her Dutch Oven with onions. These were baked for two hours because they were big. (I ate only 1 ½; my wife ate one.) It is a lot of work to make them, so my wife made eight roladen. We kept out 2 ½ for one more meal and froze three for a third meal.

Usually we drink red wine with venison, but this time we drank white wine. The reason for that was I bottled a couple of batches white wine yesterday and the last bottle is never full. So we drank it for supper.  I know it is against the unwritten rule of wine drinking: Red wine for red meat, white wine for white meat. I’m not famous for abiding by rules, so that didn’t bother me. The white wine tasted just as good with the roladen.

The roladen were tender and delicious. It is important to use good meat for them.

Tonight we'll eat Manitoba Pickerel (Walleye). It's Friday and we eat fish, not because of religious reason but because it is our tradition. We love fish and pickerel are one of the best tasting fresh water fish. I can't wait for the winter to end so I can go fishing again.

#Empire

A couple of nights ago we watched the first episode of a new show on TV. The show is called Empire, a musical drama television series.

The only reason we started watching is was #Taraji P. Henson. She plays Cookie Lyon in the series, a woman who spent time in jail and was released. She’s claiming half the company she helped built before she went to jail.

We like her from the show #‘Person of Interest’, where she played a cop and we were disappointed when her character was killed off. The reason was probably her new role in the new show ‘Empire’.

Well, we won’t be watching the show. We stopped watching it about halfway into the episode. Don’t care for it. Don’t care for the music (rap and similar stuff), don’t care for the characters. Too bad, because we really like her.

We’ve been dropping a few shows again for different reasons. Some of them were beginning to bore us. There are a few new shows coming up and, hopefully, some will be to our taste.

Another TV show (new for us) is #‘Reign’. It is about #Queen Mary of Scotland. The show is into it’s second season (10 episodes so far) There were 21 episodes in season One. We just finished season One and started watching the second season. We are hooked on ‘Reign’. Wonderful show, great acting.

I want to briefly mention another show of which I only watched ten minutes: #Galavant. What a dumb show. I suppose it is meant to be a musical comedy. Well, it didn’t work for me. The jokes are old and stupid. The acting is ridiculous. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

#Vacation tips

So you finally arrived. Sometimes those bargains may not look so attractive once you get there, but there is always a positive side. Try to find it. Perhaps, you should have done more research. Those pictures of the hotels may not be accurate. You should ask questions, like: When was this resort built? Remember: There may be downfalls when you look for bargains.

#Borscht

Yesterday I had Borscht for lunch. Delicious, as usual. In the Fall, after harvesting the Red Beets, my wife makes Borscht. She makes a lot and freezes a few containers for use in the Winter. Then, when I want some, we take it out of the freezer, thaw it and sprinkle some Dill over it before it is eaten. We also have ‘fresh’ Dill all winter from the freezer. In the Spring, the Dill weed grows in abundance in my garden. Once it has reached about 3 to 4 inches I pull it out, therefore weeding my garden and getting plenty of beautiful, fresh, green Dill. We wash it and freeze it in small freezer bags. When we need some, we take it out of the freezer, break off a piece and quickly put the rest back into the freezer. Once outside, it thaws in seconds.

My wife makes the best Borscht. I’ve had Borscht in restaurants and at friends’ places, but none were as good as the one my wife makes. Most of the Borscht I’ve eaten was a bit bland and watery. I’m not saying it is no good; many people probably like it like that, but I like a bit more substance and spicy. One of the secret ingredients is liquid from pork meat. Before we barbeque Ribs, we boil them; we save the broth and keep it in the freezer until we need it for the Borscht. The broth from the ribs is tasty and makes all the difference in the world. You can’t get that taste and the substance from just putting a piece of meat into the pot when making Borscht. Also, she shreds the beets instead of just cutting chunks. And the ribs that yielded the juice? They are super tender after barbequing.

For a detailed recipe check out my blog from Wednesday, September 24, 2014

http://hergros.blogspot.ca/2014_09_01_archive.html

Here is a picture of the Borscht I ate yesterday. 

Vacations - make sure you have transport to your hotel

Here is another installment in my not so serious series what to watch out for when going on vacation. I can't say it often enough: Do your research. You don't want any surprises.  Read the fine print.

Research...research...research.

#The Book of Negroes

A couple of days ago we watched the first three episodes of ‘The Book of Negroes’, which aired on #CBC. There are still three more episodes to be aired. The book was written by #Lawrence Hill and published in 2007 and has now been made into a TV series. It tells the story of a black woman; how she was captured as a little girl from her village in Africa and then taken to America, where she was sold into slavery. It is a powerful story and makes you think.

Stories about slavery are nothing new, but every story brings back the sad fact how cruel we humans are to our fellow man (or woman). ‘The Book of Negroes’ is about slavery and it is a long dark moment in the history of the United States of America. The media doesn’t let us forget the Holocaust and the atrocities Nazi Germany committed, but horrible things have been done all over our Globe. #Slavery is one of them.

Slavery has existed since the beginning of the human race on this planet. It exists to this day. Young girls forced into prostitution against their will, young men brainwashed to fight as soldiers for a cause that isn’t theirs, young women pushed into marriages with men they don’t love, children forced into labor at a young age. All those things are a form of slavery. It is estimated that there are 29.8 million persons living in slavery today, but the practice of keeping slaves goes back six thousand years to Sumeria, an ancient civilization in Mesopotamia (modern South Iraq).

Black people are not the only victims. Slavery was practiced in Ancient China, ancient India, and ancient Greece. The Romans kept slaves. The Aztecs and other indigenous peoples practiced slavery. Slavery was a legally recognized system in which people were considered the property of another. A slave had few rights and could be bought or sold and made to work for his/her owner without any choice or pay.

Throughout history the Islamic World has been involved in slavery. Christians sold Muslims captured in war as slaves. During the Middle Ages slavery was widespread in the British Isles. The Portuguese and the Spaniards are not innocent, either. In fact, no country is.

The #Vikings and the #Mongols kept slaves. I could go on and on.

‘The Book of Negroes’ is a sad story, giving us glimpses into a short period in the history of mankind and worthwhile to watch, not just as entertainment, but to make us realize how little some of us humans value the lives and the well-being of our contemporaries, even to this day.

We think we are civilized, but the veneer of civilization is thin indeed. Deep down we are still barbarians, cruel and vicious, hung up on fears, old religions, and superstitions taught to us by people with little vision. It is time we free ourselves from these shackles, evolve to the next level, throw out the teachings of outdated books and ideas and embrace each other, no matter what we believe or the color of our skin. It is a difficult and tall order, but if we don’t do it, the future for mankind looks grim.

I wish everyone peace and good will.

More things to watch out for on Vacation

Hopefully, you booked your seats already, but another pitfall may come up for the bargain hunter. Make sure you do your research:

Be careful now.

Vacations - things to watch out for

I've been looking at vacation deals and there are certain things we need to watch out for. For the next few days I want to make you aware of what I'm talking about to save you from unpleasant situations. I used my meager talents as an artist  and drew a few cartoons. This first one I published already last year, but here it is again for the people who haven't seen it:

It's all about food and taste

Sunday we had dinner at the #Olive Garden on Reenders Drive in Winnipeg. There were 9 of us, 3 children and 6 adults. I’m not that much into #Italian Foods, even though I like pastas. The problem, especially with Olive Garden, is that every dish has either tomato sauce or a white cream sauce. On top of that, they use a lot of cheese in their dishes. I’ve never liked tomato sauces and I have to be careful with cream and cheese sauces, because I am allergic to Dairy products. A little is okay, but I have to watch my intake.

They have a bottomless salad bar, but their dressing is much too sour for me and my wife. We usually order the salad and the dressing on the side.

There wasn’t much on the menu for me. I ordered the garlic chicken breast with garlic mashed potatoes. Even the mashed potatoes were mixed with cheese. I don’t know what it is with all that cheese these days. I love cheese, but not with everything. Same goes for the tomato sauces. You can’t go anywhere without getting tomato sauces. That’s why I like Chinese Food. No tomato sauces there. Same goes for German dishes. I guess, it's my German background.

I remember in my younger years tomato sauces were not used that much. We could buy spaghetti with meatballs or just meat sauce, when the meat sauce was actually made with meat and no tomatoes. I love spaghetti with meatballs, but without the tomato sauce. It has to be meat gravy. My wife always tells me to stop griping, but what can I do? Today we had lunch at the casino and they served cabbage rolls. Nice rice and meat stuffing, but they were not spicy enough and they drowned them with tomato sauce. Too bad. I remember going to the Hungarian Pavilion at Folklorama in Winnipeg where we had cabbage rolls. They were spicy and delicious and without tomato sauce.

Everybody else was happy, though, at the Olive Garden, which was the main thing. What does my opinion count? Not much, I’m afraid. I’m in the minority. Just an old relic left from the 20th century with outdated opinions and tastes. Sigh!!!

Yesterday we got the ham bone, which was left over from our Christmas dinner, out of the freezer and my wife made yellow split peas in her Dutch oven. OMG, I ate so much I couldn’t breathe after. It tasted so good. That’s plain, basic food, but so delicious. I don’t need all that stuff mixed together to make a good meal. Keep it simple; that’s always the best. I don’t want sweet berries and nuts in my salads. Perhaps a few onions, a few pieces of tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, mixed with a mild dressing, that’s enough. NO SWEET STUFF in my salads. No #Jell-O on my lettuce leaves! Please.

We still have the deer heart from the deer I shot in the freezer, which will make another meal do die for, together with dumplings. And then there are the pork hocks. Boiled with sauerkraut, they will be a meal to make a song about (Hey...that even rhymes). How about those Rouladen I sliced from the deer meat? (Meat rolls stuffed with whatever stuffing goes into them.) My wife makes them. I have no idea what she puts into the inside. I just eat them, but they are yummy. Now that’s food. Old-fashioned—yes. Basic—yes. Tasty—yes. And my wife just knows how to make them all. I guess I’m just a lucky guy.

For Valentine’s day, we’ll have a duck with Savoy cabbage. It is tradition in our house. Another scrumptious meal. I can’t wait.

 

Who needs to go out to eat good food? Perhaps my wife. She has to make it all.

I got lucky last night

That’s right, I got lucky last night. However, before you jump to conclusions and get a completely wrong picture into your mind, let me clear that up. It’s not my love-life I’m talking about, in fact, I never talk about it. Even in this day and age where everyone blabs about everything they do on their blogs and on Facebook, there are still some things that are taboo, or should be.

I belong to the #Seven Oaks Game and Fish Association, which, as the name implies, is a club for hunters and anglers. Last night we had our yearly trophy night, where everyone who was lucky, enters the big fish they caught, the big ducks, geese, turkeys, grouse, and whatever they shot during hunting season, and the big game hunters bring their trophy antlers for scoring and, hopefully, a prize.

I entered the 40 cm #Goldeye I caught last year and I got a plaque for it, the third one in three years. My wife thinks I have enough of them now hanging on the wall. I won’t enter them anymore from now on, except if they are bigger than 40 cm.

Anyone reading my blog may remember reading about my successful hunt last year. I was fortunate to shoot a large buck with a great rack, which I entered in this year’s competition. There were not many entries. With the low numbers of deer in our province, not many hunters were successful in bagging a deer. It was ‘bucks only’ season, which makes it more difficult to put venison in the freezer. Many hunters go only for big bucks, but probably most go for the purpose of getting some venison. I know I do, a buck is just a nice bonus.

The buck I shot scored 122 7/8 points. It is the system used by the #Manitoba Big Game Trophy Association. Anyway, I tied for first place with another hunter, but my buck’s antlers won first place in the most unique category. Yes, I am a very happy man today.

And there is more. We also have our silent auction at this time. I bought 25 tickets for $20.00 and put them into the various paper bags. I won two of the prizes and walked away with a deluxe barbeque set, a $49.00 camouflage belt, a $27.00 camouflage wallet (everything from #Cabela’s), and  a $50.00 value gift card for an oil change. Not a bad investment for twenty bucks. I’m not complaining, because last year I bought tickets for thirty dollars and didn’t win anything.

So, yes, I got lucky last night.

I wish you all the same luck I had, perhaps even better.

Till next time.

Gas prices

I'm done with complaining, at least for awhile. There is nothing I can do about the terrorists and getting upset about them is not helping my mood. However, today I'm as happy as a jockey on a winning race horse. I filled up my tank with gasoline today. I know that's not an earth-shattering event and no reason to be happy--not usually. When I drove by the Petro Gas station I usually use to fill up I noticed gas was 83.9 cents a liter, higher than the last time I filled up, so I decided not to get gas. My tank wasn't empty yet and on the news they predicted gas prices would drop again.

When I got to Selkirk, that's where we shop, I looked at the Co-op Gas station and to my delight gas was posted as 77.9 cents. I didn't need any prodding from my wife or anyone else to tell me what I needed to do. So I drove in and filled my tank. I don't remember the last time I saw gas prices this low. What really made me happy was the fact when we drove by in the afternoon they had also raised the price to 83.9 cents.

I have no idea what's happening. The oil companies are playing again. Apparently, the price of a barrel of oil went up again yesterday, so they decided to raise the price of gas.--one day after. Makes sense!! No explanation, no excuses. It would really be nice, if we could shake off the shackles of the oil companies by developing a new source of power, a better and cheaper one, and if the car manufacturers would build and sell the cars for that new power source for the same price as cars that use gasoline. Then we would not have to rely on the whims of the oil companies and OPEC.

I hope you find cheap gas the next time you need to fill up.

Have a pleasant evening.

Some good news

Three of those imbeciles from Canada who joined the terrorist group #ISIL have met Allah--or maybe not. Anyway, they have left the land of the living. Good riddance. One can only hope more of the others who followed their footsteps will meet the same fate.

I feel sorry for their parents--I think. Apparently, they had no idea what their sons were up to. That begs the question: wouldn't there have been some kind of clue when their sons who seemed to have a great future here in Canada, a free country with free speech and other great perks, converted to Islam? I'm also wondering, why they made such a stupid move in the first place, and then joining a group of bloodthirsty extremists? Criminals usually blame their straying off the straight road to a bad childhood. Did these guys have a bad childhood? Is it something their parents did that drove them to become terrorists? Or were they really so weak-minded that they actually believed that nonsense about going to some kind of heaven if they died in battle? A promise like that is the oldest trick in the world and as old as the hills to get men and some women to go out and put their lives on the line for some cause that's not even their own. One would think in this day and age people are smarter than that. I guess I was wrong.

One of the three killed said in one of those recruiting videos that he used to be just like us, playing hockey, going to school and doing whatever young people do in a free country like Canada and the USA. I didn’t quite understand what his message was supposed to be. Did he mean he lived in wonderful country, got an education and had a great future and he gave all that up? Traded in a great life for living in the hot desert, his toilet a hole in the sand with no toilet paper, little water for drinking and for use to stay clean, sleeping at night in a tent with a bunch of unwashed, smelling psychopaths he never met before all for the purpose of shooting and murdering people who were strangers to him and to die for a cause that wasn’t his? It made no sense.

Young people are so impressionable. I read somewhere that the power of reasoning doesn't fully develop until humans are in their early twenties. That would explain why young people do such irrational and illogical things sometimes. Maybe they thought it would be romantic, running around in the desert dressed in weird outfits and waving automatic weapons around. Maybe they thought it was just some kind of a game, like a video game. Young people are obsessed with them and they may have lost the ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

Tonight in the news I saw that the anti-terrorism squads in #Belgium took out a group of terrorists who had planned an attack on a police headquarters in a Belgium city. Apparently, more raids took place in other cities. A few suspected terrorists were taken in custody in Canada, with more arrests to follow. Perhaps there is still hope that good will prevail.

It is difficult for me to imagine that there is so much evil out there, that men are actually plotting to murder innocent people, people they don't even know, people who have done nothing to them. All I want is to live in peace, write my stories, enjoy my home and my garden, plan a holiday, and love my family. Is that so hard to understand? Sometimes it takes work, but that's what life is all about. To be busy, to create things not destroy them. All these religious fanatics claim they are following their god's will. Whatever they are doing is so wrong. God does not destroy, God builds, Gods creates life. Life is holy and must not be taken away willingly and callously. Killing wantonly does not earn eternal life but eternal death.

Wow! I'm beginning to sound like some kind of preacher. I better stop.

#Peace.

They are dead. The #Terrorists are dead in Paris

A massive manhunt has come to an end and the three terrorists are dead, but so are four of their hostages. The third guy who fatally shot a police woman has been out of jail for just a month. It just shows you that putting these sick criminals in jail for rehabilitation does nothing. Their minds have been warped by the propaganda of their religion with false promises of a better life after they commit coldblooded murder and die as martyrs. People like that can never be convinced that what they believe is wrong.

Nobody knows what happens to us when we die. All the information comes from what the so-called holy books tell us, books written by smart people--a long time ago. Most people are afraid of death. People are gullible, especially when it comes to religion. The church has used this as a weapon to control its followers and make them pliable to do the bidding of the church leaders. It is a form of mind control.

Of course, most normal people with strong and logical minds will never commit atrocious acts, like murder, or stupid acts like strapping bombs around their bodies and blowing themselves up for a vague and uncertain promise. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of stupid, naive people who believe everything they are told and no shortage of  sick psychopaths. That's what we are dealing with here. All terrorists have twisted minds; sadly some of them truly believe in their cause, not realizing that by killing themselves or dying as martyrs they accomplish nothing but only create more hatred and negative feelings toward the religious group they belong to. Violence breeds violence. If you live by the sword you shall die by the sword. Only love and tolerance toward those who believe something different or are of a different faith will bring about a better world.

However, until that happens we have no choice but to fight fire with fire, violence with violence. That is the sad truth we must face. There are evil forces out there who are bent on creating chaos and they are succeeding. Slowly our freedom of traveling this world of ours, of speaking our minds, of poking fun at each other is being eroded by narrow minds, but we can't give up. We must not give up.

#Je suis Charlie. I am Charlie. Ich bin Charlie.

#Murder in Paris. A cowardly act of Violence.

Terrorists strike again! I’m talking about the #Terrorist act in Paris. 12 people dead in a senseless shooting. People who valued freedom of speech and expression murdered for what they believed in. And the three terrorists who believe that violence is the only way to express their feelings; three terrorists who are members of Muslim extremists. Apparently, they were upset about the cartoons featuring the prophet Muhammad. Pretty petty to commit murder over a bunch cartoons.

Acts like that do nothing to ease the existing tension between Muslims and the rest of the world; and that is because these terrorists come from the Muslim community. Of course, we can’t condemn every Muslim because of the horrific acts of a few. There are moderate Muslims who are trying to live a peaceful life, who are trying to live in harmony with non-Muslims, even though, according to the teaching of the Prophet, the infidels have to be killed.

Quote:

 “O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends: They are but friends to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them [for friendship] is of them [an infidel]. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust” (Koran 5:51).

#Prophet Muhammad’s words: “I have been ordered by Allah to fight and kill all people [non-Muslims] until they say, ‘No God except Allah.'”

Quote:

Quran (2:191-193) - "And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-believers]... but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah." The historical context of this passage is not defensive warfare, since Muhammad and his Muslims had just relocated to Medina and were not under attack by their Meccan adversaries. In fact, the verses urge offensive warfare, in that Muslims are to drive Meccans out of their own city (which they later did). The use of the word "persecution" by some Muslim translators is thus disingenuous (the actual Muslim words for persecution - "idtihad" - and oppression - a variation of "z-l-m" - do not appear in the verse). The actual Arabic comes from "fitna" which can mean disbelief, or the disorder that results

Here is a quote I found on a site: (You can check it out here)

Best Answer:  the answer is simple. the quran is many to be taken literally. the prophet muhammad, peace be upon him was given the truth by allah who created the universe. allah wishes us to murder those who do not believe in him. Jihad is commanded on all true muslims, not just by some fringe group.

I love tacos · 2 years ago

Scary Stuff, isn’t it.

One can only hope that not all Muslims follow this literally. The Muslim community has to join in the fight against the radicals in their midst. It is the only way.

Of course, Christians have not been the wonderful, peace loving people with lily-white sheets. Just go back in history and read about the terrible acts that were committed in the name of religion. Men and women tortured, crippled, drowned, and burned at the stake as witches. During the religious wars between the Catholics and Protestants that lasted decades millions were killed because they didn’t follow the teachings of the Church.

Muslims get upset when fun is poked at the Prophet and their religion. It is understandable, except their displeasure should not be expressed violently. That is barbaric and unacceptable. However, think about this. What was so different a few hundred years ago in Europe? During the Inquisition people who spoke out against the church or the Pope were persecuted, imprisoned, and murdered. Once they were out of the way, the Church confiscated their possessions.

We think we are civilized and out of the Dark Ages, but who are we kidding? Nothing has changed for thousands of years. We are the descendants of killer apes. The genes are inside us. How can we expect anything else but violence? Besides, much of this has nothing to do with religion, anyway. It’s all about power. It’s about power and the excuse for a bunch of Psychopaths to commit horrendous acts and to murder innocent people. Unfortunately, there are so many of those Psychopaths and the future for humanity looks bleak. Peace and Freedom? They are a concept but not a reality.

#The Equalizer

  It just came out on DVD. The Equalizer, starring#Denzel Washington. The premise of the movie is nothing new or outstanding. It’s been done many times before. It’s about a man with a violent past who wants to lead a quiet, peaceful life, but it never happens. We’ve seen it in Westerns, like the 1953 movie ‘Shane’ starring Alan Ladd; and numerous others. I enjoy them every time, especially when they feature stars like Denzel Washington. My wife and I have been fans of Denzel W. ever since we saw his first movie. He is a great actor and has a powerful screen presence.

We watched the movie December 30th and it was an enjoyable evening. We were not disappointed. Both of us are suckers for ‘kick-ass’ movies. We loved the Death Wish movies with Charles Bronson. Who doesn’t like to see criminals get blown away instead of putting them in jail?

I’ve always loved stories about men with a secret past, be they ex-agents or gunslingers as in the movie Shane for instance. I’ve used those characters in my own stories. My trilogy Web of Conspiracy features Police Detective Jeff Chartrand, a former agent. PI Frank Hummer in Bullet of Revenge is a man with a violent past he likes to forget, so is Peter Hartmann in Mark of the Cobra. Both men are drawn back into the violent world they left behind. The hero Thomas Stone in my two-book Science Fiction novel Seeds of Chaos is a mystery man. He possesses powers he can’t control or explain and the search for his past takes him across the galaxy to different planets. He finally discovers his true identity on the planet Ramarra, which means Portal. In fact, his identity is revealed with the last word in the novel. (Don’t read that last word if you are interested in reading the books. Book One: Eden’s Gate and Book Two: Hell’s Gate ☺) You don’t want to spoil the ending.

2015 has arrived

 Well, here we are in the year 2015. Hope everyone made it safely across the threshold between 2014 and 2015. Many people go crazy celebrating and they do stupid things that end their life at Midnight of the old year.

We celebrated the evening by going out for supper to Larter’s (it’s a restaurant in a golf course) with our friends Rudi and Hedi. We ate scampies, shrimp, octopus, oysters, and other good stuff. Even some meat. It was a buffet and it was good. We were home and alone at 10:00 P.M.. So we watched the continuation of the movie ‘The Councilor’ which we had started watching a couple of nights before, but stopped watching it because we found it boring. We had nothing else to watch (the New Years celebrations on TV are non-watchable for us because of the music).

The Councilor actually wasn’t as bad as we assumed. Kind of slow and kind of weird. At times the plot was hard to follow and we didn’t know who the good and bad guys were, but as we watched the movie we found there weren’t any good guys. The movie was directed by Ridley Scott and stars Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, and Brad Pitt. The story was written by Cormac McCarthy. There were some weird sex scenes and a few violent scenes. It was a strange movie. The ending was okay. We sort of liked it.

We shut off the movie five minutes before midnight and flicked the channels on the TV to find a channel that would announce the New Year. The ones that broadcast the celebration from New York were already finishing up, because it was close to 1:00 A.M. there, but we found a local station just in time to see the fireworks. Almost missed it. If I remember correctly we did miss it 2013/2014. We drank a glass of champagne and then finished watching the movie.

I know, it sounds boring, but that’s how it is these days for us older folks. When we were young and all our friends were young, too, we had parties with music and dancing, with good food and lots of laughter, but that’s all gone now. The few that are still alive are as old or even olden than us and nobody has the energy to do much celebrating. Even the clubs that used to put on nice New Years dinners and dances have disappeared. The ones who supported them are old or gone and the young people are not interested. It is a shame but that’s how things change. Nothing stays forever.

Time to plan the new year. Hopefully, it brings only good and pleasant things.

 Happy New Year and all the best to all my friends who read this. Stay healthy and enjoy each day as if it is your last. At our age it may very well be ☺

See you next time.