What is This?

Hint: it was a Christmas gift from Dana and Jim. Pay close attention, Lady Findhorn, when I come to the full reveal, for it does remind me of a meal we made for you back in 1974 or whenever it was that we lived there....

I had a list of things I wanted to to today, and taking down the Christmas tree was not one of them but I discovered my hands taking the ornaments off the tree before I even knew what they were doing. We put it up very early this year and I was really itching to take it out once the festive day was over, so I suppose it was something of an accomplishment to wait until today.

I also changed the sheets on the bed, mended a sweater and untied the drawstring on my winter pajamas which has probably been tied for 30 years. John bought them for me on a business trip that many years ago and I have worn them ever since. It took a pair of pliers to get the job done, but now I can keep the bottoms up without clutching at the waistband. They'll be good for a few more years. I also threw away a pair of sneakers with a hole in them. I knew I would keep wearing them if I didn't just get rid of them. I hope the day is coming when I can wear something besides supportive sneakers.

There are still plastic storage bins for the ornaments which are still on top of the credenza in the living room but I always feel that order has been restored when the tree is gone and I can see out the front door from 'my' spot on the couch again. 

The item in the photo is a tortilla press. It came with four bags of masa...corn flour of different colors from which tortilla dough is made. We couldn't get tortillas in Edinburgh in 1974 and I wanted to make tacos for Lady F. MY mother sent me what must have been a 5# bag of masa from California which must have cost 5x more than the cost of the masa. We plan to make tacos soon with our own hand pressed tortillas...I'll report on developments.