Last year ended with a party and the New Year began with one – for our household anyway. We hosted the New Year’s Eve gathering. I prepared for 18, but the flu bug lowered the attendance by six. We’re still enjoying leftovers as of Jan. 6. For the benefit of those who don’t know me, if my family members and/or a few close friends tell you I am weird, don’t believe them. Yes, I like to try new and sometimes strange recipes, but that doesn’t make me weird, in my opinion. Since three of the four households represented at our gathering have house cats, I made Kitty Litter Cake for dessert. Setting it (yes, in a brand new litter pan) on the table resulted in some interesting looks and comments, not to mention a lot of laughs. I would have loved for you readers to see the looks on people’s faces! It did look like the real thing because one of the guests suggested putting it down on the floor to see what our cat did. It wasn’t fantastic tasting, but it was tried by almost everyone. The next day was the Hoeft Christmas so we partied again. Mr. Hess’ third-graders started visiting at the dining center on Jan. 14. They will be with us Jan. 21 and 28 as well. Some Legion Auxiliary and Junior Auxiliary members came to the center for Martin Luther King day. Their support of the dining center and seniors is appreciated. Thank you for your thoughtfulness! The junior members served the diners, and cleared and washed the tables after eating and visiting. Sounds like their visit may become an annual event. One of the major frustrations I hear seniors express in January is the increase of their health insurance premiums. Jerry’s went up over $100. That would have been enough to last all year, but not so. We received notice from our homeowners insurance that they would not renew us when our current policy expires. Why? We had a “smoke damage” claim last year. Legally, a company can do that. It didn’t matter that we’d been with them for 18 years, or that this was the only claim in eight years. I’ve been learning a few things already this year. Did you know insurance companies don’t want to cover you if you had a claim in the past three years? Piano students of Barb Root will share their talents with the diners Friday, Feb. 13. I read somewhere that Muffin Mania is Feb. 3-9. To add a little something different to help make winter go faster and warm up your kitchens, bake up a few of your favorite “from-scratch” muffins and bring them along Wednesday, Feb. 11. We’ll check them out with early coffee. A friendship luncheon will be held Tuesday, Feb. 17. It will start with early coffee/tea at 11:15 a.m. Bring your favorite coffee mug/tea cup and enjoy muffins again. KEYS members will join us, so we will serve the luncheon at noon.
