Happy New Year’s Day, yesterday

Except for the outcome of the semi-final college football playoffs for the five major conferences, New Year’s Day was very enjoyable. There was a celebration of mother-in-law Peggy Rogers’ 85th birthday at her home. The gathering included two of her sons Patrick and Michael, two of her grandchildren (Michael’s children Madison and Adam), her daughter (my wife) Nancy, and me.

We feasted on leftover turkey and dressing from dinner at our home New Year’s Eve. Also, prepared for the party was Nancy’s delicious stuffed potatoes, fruit salad, rolls, jalapeño cranberry sauce, and an ice cream cake which Nancy made and which was unbelievable. Peggy really enjoyed the day.

Along the way home on NC Highway 751 is Doyle’s Vineyard which does not make wine. It is a tasting room for RagApple Lassie Vineyards in Boonville NC. We stopped for a delightful conversations with the owners, for a tasting, and to buy a bottle of red Zinfandel. We used to visit North Carolina wineries on a regular basis, enjoying a tasting and buying NC wine. Those stops have become NC brewery visits while our appreciation for NC produced wines has diminished in favor of lower priced selections from Trade Joe’s and more seasoned selections from the Wine Merchant in Cary. We have several favorite NC wines but not all NC wines are our favorites.

At home we watched Florida State and Oregon in the Rose Bowl but when the Dukes went up by 18 points or so, we opted for viewing The West Wing TV series. We have the complete set of DVDs and binge-watched for a couple of hours, bypassing the Alabama-Ohio State Sugar Bowl game. The outcomes of both games, run-away scores by Oregon and Ohio State, were disappointing to me but pleasing to Nancy who doesn’t like FSU’s Jameis Winston or the Alabama coach Nick Saban for reasons other than their abilities as quarterback and head coach.

Have a nice day. More here tomorrow.

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Dictionary.com word of the day

remunerative (adjective) [ri-myoo-ner-uh-tiv]: profitable