Happy New Year!

Daughter spent Tuesday night at Brother's, and I ended up leaving her there all day yesterday. She was anxious and missing me, but she managed very well, especially when I consider that she had several of her stubborn low blood sugars. Cell phones are a wonderful invention!

Yesterday evening I joined her over at Brother's. Dad wasn't feeling good, and we decided it would be too much for Mom. Brother made the traditional beef stroganoff from the Christmas leftovers. After supper, we continued a family tradition of almost 40 years, celebrating a neighbor's birthday. K is a widow with no children, so the tradition began shortly after her husband died. Brother may not have even been born the first time we did it.

For a number of years Mom decorated a snow man cake for K's birthday. It was a stand up snowman, and the decorations were always intricate and time consuming. Brother took it over a number of years ago. When I was arriving, he was hard at work decorating it while Daughter slept and Girlfriend watched the two young daughters of some of their friends. Shortly after I arrived, the cake collapsed. He said he wasn't surprised-- one of the two cakes that are secured together with straws and toothpicks had still been warm when he started decorating, and it had been sagging. The picture above is the cake that was presented to K. We had a wonderful laugh over it. Oh, and the candles were wrong, she's only 92, not 93. She still lives in her own home and drives.

K and I partnered up for bid euchre, and after suffering from bad cards Monday night, were able to avenge ourselves nicely last night. It was a fun evening. Daughter watched movies and fell asleep on the couch.

Daughter and I are finishing up things around Dad's apartment and packing to head home today. Reflections on last year and hopes for the new year will come later.