Keto Friendly Celebrations....

     ​We spent a wonderful New Year's Eve with our friends and family.  Steve's brother and his wife, Trudie visited over the weekend.  We are very dear friends as well as relatives, and try to get together as often as possible, particularly during the summer.  Steve and Ken like to fish together and especially love crabbing.  The two of them plan to take the big boat out to some Canadian Islands across from us and do fishing there for lingcod, a fish we enjoy very much.  Our other friends that joined us last night have a cabin across the street.  Although they have a cabin here in Birch Bay, they live in White Rock, BC.  We began gathering on New Year's Eve several years ago and continued the tradition.  Sadly Gene, Aline's husband, passed away, but she and her son Troy continue to join us.  We shall keep this tradition going for as long as possible and hope everyone continues participating.  It was terrific because the keto dishes I served, including turkey tetrazzini and the crab cauliflower bake, were well received.  People found both items delicious.  I also made a lovely broccoli salad that everyone enjoyed, along with roast beef that turned out well.  Actually, "well" is the word because it was well done and should have been a good enough cut to serve medium.  However, the grocery store deceived us by making us believe it was a large New York roast when it was two small roasts bound together with string.  I'm very aggravated about that.  However, it turned out well; everyone ate it and enjoyed it very much, so I'll let it go.  Almost all the food was keto-friendly, including the appetizers and desserts!  Amazingly, many yummy selections are available if one is willing to investigate and then take the time and effort to create or try new recipes.  I shall make the new recipes in Hawaii when we return.  We head back to Waianae next month, and I'm looking forward to getting there and basking in the sunshine and perfect weather!  It is nice to trade the rainy, gloomy winter for the glorious climate on Oahu!  We always enjoy spending time in Birch Bay and love spending Christmas here.  Christmas in Hawaii doesn't work for us, so we'll continue returning to Washington every Christmastime.  Although we missed the kids, we're happy they didn't try to get here, given the airport mess.  We're confident they'd be stuck at one or another airport, and what a miserable way to spend the holiday!  In any case, everyone survived.  It's such a shock that we are already entering 2023!  Our life is racing past us, but Steve and I are making the best of every day and will continue to do so by maintaining our health in every way possible, beginning with weight management.  Therefore, keto will remain a big part of my life even when I achieve my goal weight at the end of September 2023.  I hope to maintain the weight loss for the rest of my life.