What Are You Doing New Years Eve?

"Ah, but in case I stand one little chance,

Here comes the jackpot question in advance:

What are you doing New Years Eve?"

Every year when we were younger, my parents would host an openhouse on New Years Eve. Over the years, I think the only consistent guests were the Firmes :) This year was a nice medium-sized gathering, and there was lots of food (and eggnog!) to go around. I love parties, and it's even better when you get to help prep for a party (as long as you don't have to do too much of the cleanup), picking out serving dishes, arranging the platters, laying the heeps of food on the table. I think it's grand! Also this year, we started the festivities around 4 pm, and it went till about 9--so we did an "East Coast New Years on the West Coast" thing, I guess :) 

In the way of victuals, we had homemade fruit punch, homemade eggnog (oh so delicious!), champagne!, all sorts of goodies (including a marshmallow holly wreath, two kinds of fudge, at least 10 kinds of cookies, homemade caramels, rum-soaked fruitcake, and lots of chocolates and candy), pulled pork with beans, turkey and gravy, bacon-wrapped brown sugar sausages, pastry puffs, spinach salad, smoked salmon... and I can't remember the rest, but I'm sure there was more. So much good food. Yay for parties at Momma's house!  Maybe I'll start a New Years Eve tradition.. What are you doing New Years Eve 2009?  

So we had a good evening and it was nice to spend more time with my CA sisters (but Vivian had already left for Long Beach, and we missed her terribly!).  

Here is a picture of Momma's Christmas Cactus--it bloomed for us this year!