Vermont can be very cold this time of year. The wind chill makes it even colder. Right now it’s mild and it’s supposed to be mild all week.

When my son was little, we used to go out to breakfast on Saturdays. One place that was fun to go to was “The Igloo” in Putney, Vermont. They had the best omelettes there and the ambiance of the place was just fun. Then, down the road from the Igloo is Basketville which used to be fun to browse through.

Each year on the first day of the year, I try to make the above lucky foods. I made “Hopn’ John” which has black eyed peas and rice in it and I put crumbled bacon on top of it. I had 12 grapes and made a wish on each grape which is supposed to make good luck on each of the 12 months. I made some corn muffins. And I had some collared greens. I also had an old fashioned plain donut for breakfast. Something about the round shape is supposed to bring you luck. Anyways, it’s just plain fun.

I had a glass of Champagne at midnight New Years Eve which was fun. Also used a noise maker and watched the ball drop on TV in New York’s Time Square. That crystal ball just seems to sparkle a minute and then when they are counting down to the 3-2-1, it drops a very short distance to the clock which then lights up to 2019.

I got an “Elegant Writer” pen at Hobby Lobby and it’s fun to make a monagram with my initials. If I look at a fancy letter, I can copy it and it’s easy with the pen and looks elegant.

I got an Instant Pot for Christmas that is a pressure cooker, slow cooker and it even sautes. I found a recipe to make a cheesecake in the Instant Pot and I found a Better Homes and Garden magazine at the Walmart that was like an Instant Pot cookbook.

Amazon has a 7 inch cheesecake pan that fits in the 6 quart Instant Pot.

You can also make bone broth which is supposed to be really healthy. I found a recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup where you can just put the dry noodles in with the chicken and vegetables and herbs and it cooks up in a short time. I think that it will be handy to have the Instant Pot as there are all kinds of recipes for it. You can even put frozen meat in it if you forget to take the meat out of the freezer.

I found the above cheat sheet for using the pressure cooker part of the Instant Pot. Kind of handy to have. Dried beans are very inexpensive to buy and I have read that they are healthier to pressure cook.

You can even make popcorn in the instant pot. I love it!

I also saw a recipe for Cabbage Roll soup that sounded good. I pinned the recipe on my Pinterest Instant Pot board along with a ton of other recipes.

I saw the above kitchen and what I like about it is the half window idea and I love the height of the ceilings. Plus I like the bay window over the sink where you could put plants.

Martha Stewart’s “Seal Harbor” cabinets are still my all time favorite for a kitchen and I love the kitchen island and the lighted china cabinet. I would just add a double wall oven and a stainless double door refridgerator. But I like vaulted ceilings and that half window idea. I love the Martha’s farmers sink.

I think that if I could design and build a house that the above idea is what would work for me. It would all be on one level with vaulted ceilings and I love the porch. Also the window box. Love the style.

And a little kitchen garden would be fun to have. I can’t even imagine it.

And those are my thoughts for this first day of January 2019.