Jen, I just gave Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat to my mother and husband for Christmas. (I'm waiting for DH to open it, but pretty soon, I'm just going to exert primae noctis rights or something.)

Today is henceforth known as Double Bacon Miracle Day.

This is too exciting, Teppy. One time, I had an entire dozen eggs, each of which were double-yoked, but that pales beside this.

The “First...of the year....” part was an attempt at humor.

Ha. You got me too, dcp.

One time, I had an entire dozen eggs, each of which were double-yoked, but that pales beside this.

I don't know; all 12 eggs double-yolked is pretty frigging amazing, statistically.

We are putting a new, very fancy heated mattress pad* (Christmas gift) on the bed, but because I married Doc Brown, it's a long involved process where he got under the bed to undo all the zip ties** he had used to hold the cords of heated mattress pad #1, and then we needed to vacuum under the bed because it was dust rhino central and now, 2 hours later, we need to eat dinner before he goes back under the bed and zip-ties the cords of the new mattress pad to the frame, so we can put clean sheets on the bed and collapse in it.

*This mattress pad has controls for each side AND THEN each side has 3 zones -- head/shoulders, torso/butt, and legs/feet -- where the heat can be individually controlled. So, like, my torso can be toasty warm and my feet can be moderately warm, while Tim's feet can be broiling and the rest of him can be barely warm. Sorcery!

**I honestly do appreciate the neatness and organization of zip-tying the cords to the bed frame, because if it were up to me, there would be an ungodly hydra of cords shoved under the bed. But getting everything all organized and zip-tied takes SO LONG SWEET FANCY MOSES.

I took down the tree and put all the decorations away. Tomorrow I’ll vacuum and move everything back into its non-holiday configuration. I kinda like this New Year’s ritual. It’s like clearing the decks for 2021.

Double bacon sounds like a great start to the year.

Well, now I have a new project: getting a heated blanket with zone control, and ziptying all the cords around my bed. And making double bacon for breakfast.

Double bacon seems like an excellent augury!

My sister gave me a box of assorted fancy chocolates from her favorite local chocolatier and I have been sampling one a day (er, not every day because without the advent calendar’s numbered doors I sometimes forget) and today’s was Earl Grey enrobed in dark chocolate and let me tell you it was delicious, so that’s my contribution to the reading of signs and portents, I guess.

ETA yesterday’s was ghost pepper and it was a bit alarming as I suppose was appropriate for seeing out 2020

I had such a good day—two of my friends (a couple) and I had decided to semi-quarantine (we agreed on one or two minor risks) and get together this weekend, and so we hung out at their place last night and played trivia and had a bonfire, and today they came over and I made a taco bar for brunch, and then we sat around and watched “the Wild” and alternated it with “the repair shop” because it was soothing. And ordered pizza. And we plan to do similar tomorrow at their place but maybe with some games instead. I will be so sad to go back to real life/work on Monday!

That sounds lovely, meara.

I’m so glad you were able to do that, meara. I hope tomorrow is equally good

I join in celebrating the Miracle of the Double Bacon! The auspices are in our favor.

Today for my birthday Dylan and one of my best friends organized a two-hour Zoom call where I think 20 or 30 of my friends and relatives just hung out and talked. I knew something like that was being planned, but I hadn't expected anything like so many to show up and it was completely wonderful

I love Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat...I haven't made many of the recipes but I just like reading it. And the illustrations are wonderful.

Happy Birthday Susan! 50 isn't nearly as old as it used to seem.