Advertisement
How are those New Year’s resolutions coming? I am happy to report that so far I am on track with my daily diary entries, and working on gathering previous recipes but slipped a bit on healthier eating habits. I’m determined to get back on track though.
With the usual early holiday deadlines, I am a bit confused as to what was reported and what happened after so please forgive an old lady if I repeat a few things or omit others.
It’s always good to hear from Pastor Tim and Marilyn Diemer, who are now living in Elkhart, Ind. They really have a bad case of empty nest syndrome, as Laura is attending college in Germany for a year. The German chocolate is great but she misses good old American candy bars and Doritos. They send hello and good wishes to their friends and former parishioners here in the Hixton area.
It’s been a while since brother Jim and family have been over and I’ll bet it’s gonna be awhile again before they come back, in the winter that is, after trying to maneuver on our icy drive the Saturday after Christmas, caused him to slide off the drive and end up way into the ditch. After giving up trying to get him out via my Jim and his super tractor, it was nice to know that Jensen’s was only a phone call away. We did manage to have lasagna and a great visit, once things were back on track.
I was able to get together with good buddy Sue for our traditional Christmas gift exchange on New Year’s Eve Day. She had her fantastic chili — I brought the pickle things — and we had a nice assortment of holiday treats for dessert. Gotta love those holiday traditions with treasured friends.
The laugh was on me on New Year’s Eve — I really wanted to go to Club 95 to hear SAGE play; however you can’t do that when the lady of the house falls asleep before eight p.m. I did wake up later to see in the New Year, but it was still embarrassing just the same.
Erick Conrad, a member of Hixton Troop 9, will be traveling to Europe as a Youth Ambassador with the People to People program next summer. What a wonderful opportunity, and we wish him well as he gets ready for the experience.
Allison Ehlert got an early Christmas present, receiving her bachelor of arts degree in geography from UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 20. Congratulations, Allison.
It was interesting reading about the renovation to the former Thunderbird Roller Rink. I had some very fun memories of the place and incidentally, it was there that I happened to catch my very first look at the guy I would end up marrying on Jan. 8, 1977, on the coldest night in history, as a matter of fact, and now I get to wish the man a very happy 32nd Anniversary. We celebrated early, gathering the boys for dinner out and getting back home before the ice started happening.
Sympathies are extended to the families of Robert Pulling of Hixton, who passed away on Dec. 11 at the age of 79 and Doreen Oppegard Gronski of Hixton who passed away on Dec. 17 at the age of 61.
I’ve learned ... That although I feel stupid talking to a machine, dialing 511 gives you latest road reports in a timely manner — and with this goofy Wisconsin weather, I need all the information I can get.
Word of the Week: Floccinaucinihillpilification: (This 12-syllable word is pronounced flock-se-no-se-ne-hill-e-pil-e-fi-kay-shen.) It means the estimation of something as having no value.
Natural High: Knowing that Christmas isn’t over yet when we are still looking forward to Christmas at the cabin coming up soon.
Thrifty Tip of the Week: Activate your “sleep” feature on energy qualified home office equipment (PC, fax, printer, scanner) so that it automatically powers down when not in use to save up to $70 annually in electricity bills and, better yet, turning off your computer during long periods of non-use cuts costs and gives your computer a longer life.
Cranberry Orange Slush
1 cup of fresh cranberry orange relish, 1 12 oz can frozen orange juice, slightly thawed. Blend together in a blender until well mixed. Add 3 1/2 cups water, stirring till combined. Freeze overnight in a covered container. Take out an hour or so before serving time and let stand till mixture starts to thaw to slushy consistency. Put 1 scoop of slush in a glass and pour in your favorite soda—ginger ale, 7UP or sour are all good. You may also scoop slush into punch bowl and fill bowl with soda.
Quote of the Week: Some people are always grateful for the roses, while others always grumble at the thorns
Advertisement 
