Leg of Lamb

Happy New Year!

During our holiday week, dear friends came over for dinner. We had the idea of making something new. So I found a choice specimen at the market of the required ingredient and came home to find Paul riveted to YouTube watching a French chef expertly preparing a leg of lamb. One part of the operation required Paul poke gentle holes in the leg, insert a sprig of rosemary on which he had wrapped a curled up anchovy and a clove of garlic. These flavor spears dotted the meat here and there and made for a pretty display. As basically a life long vegetarian, this production might well have given me pause, but actually there was a bit of a thrill, when some hours later, with a modicum of artistry, Paul presented that leg on a bed of wavy kale, dotted with raspberries on one side and succulent green grapes piled high on the other.

Life came rushing back in for me during 2016.  I just pretty much said YES to everything in 2015, to every invitation, every date, every new opportunity. And then in 2016, I had to make good on my word! It was a whirlwind year with many blessings and opportunities in both work & play. We saw each of our kids take giant leaps professionally, we welcomed new people into our lives and celebrated our 30^th wedding anniversary. A big ballroom dance party where among other things, I debuted my new (fledgling) skill- tap dancing, for which I had secretly taken lessons for months. It’s hard to surprise a lifelong partner and Paul was flabbergasted—just the reaction I was going for!

My health is excellent and my spirits run high.

And all of this over the backdrop of so much trouble in the world and an unknowable future. I lean on many of the tools I sharpened during illness to stay grounded and centered and forward facing, during the much larger, deeply concerning national and global stresses of our time.

We all sit poised to welcome 2017 into our lives, to vision it, to create it, live it, enjoy it and wring out all the goodness we can find.  Learning ballroom dance cracked our world open to the thrill of learning something new, doing something strange, meeting people whose paths we’d probably otherwise never cross, taking chances, being silly, doing something just cause it’s fun. Sometimes we look at each other and say, what else should we try? What else should we learn? What else can we get good at? Where else can we let this life take us? Watching Paul wrap those little anchovies around that sturdy sprig of rosemary, I loved that, a small gesture, the familiar hands, the focused concentration, something I’d never see him do before.

I don’t know what your leg of lamb will be this year, but hopefully there will be a few things, some smaller, some bigger that tickle your fancy, enliven your tastebuds, bring new energy and love into your life.

May we all be blessed for a healthy & happy New Year in a world of peace.

With love & light,

AMY

New Year's Day Hike. Quabbin Reservoir Snow & Sand!