Pantone 2021 Colors of the Year

Pantone has selected two colors this year - "Illuminating Yellow" - a bright and cheerful yellow and "Ultimate Gray".   I'm onboard with cheerful yellow.  It reminds me of many kitchens that were painted yellow in the 60's.  It also reminds me of lemons, school buses, sunshine, and sunflowers, and even my cup of green tea this morning that steeped to a light lemony yellow color [Harney & Sons organic Green with Citrus & Ginkgo].  But the color gray doesn't motivate me at all.  It's not a happy color and makes me think of  drab, cloudy winter days .  

A quick Google search reveals we can expect to see a lot of yellow in this spring's fashions. Initially I didn't recall ever owning a yellow outfit, but then I remembered buying two casual yellow outfits for my trip out west last summer.  Do you wear yellow or grey?

Did you know School Bus Yellow was specifically formulated for use on school buses in the US in 1939 because it attracts attention faster than any other color?  Who can forget the canvas-coated raincoats kids used to wear?  Maybe they'll make a comeback this year toned down from mustard yellow to Pantone's illuminating yellow.  ;-)

How have you been spending these first five days of the new year?  I stayed up watching a Hallmark movie on New Year's Eve and switched channels just before midnight to watch the crystal ball drop in New York City's Times Square at midnight, ushering in the New Year.  I fell asleep to the sound of fireworks going off by party revelers.

My hubby and I spent New Years Day at our son Jeremy's house.  Our daughter-in-law's parents were there too.  The guys watched football all afternoon and the women chatted in the kitchen.  There were also 8 active children who kept the house very lively.

Hubby took our outdoor Christmas decorations down today, but Tiffany's ice skate from when she was a little girl will remain on the front door through winter.  The indoor Christmas decorations will remain up a little while longer too.

I finished up another Shutterfly photo album Sunday night and sent it winging it's way through cyberspace.  It's the years 1965-66 after high school graduation and the beginning of marriage with our first rental home in Altus, Oklahoma where we were stationed with the U.S. Air Force. 56 pages of happy memories!  The cover says thru 1967 so I'll have to live with my error.  I'll take a short break before resuming work on the next album.

I ordered Joanna Gaines [HGTV's Fixer Upper star] two cookbooks which arrived in the mail.  Lots of good recipes inside.  Both are best sellers.  Joanna makes no claims of being a chef or culinary expert.  The recipes are uncomplicated meals she makes for her family.  She has a new cooking show on Discovery Plus, which I haven't subscribed to yet, but plan to.  The previews look great.

I have always made printed menus of every meal I prepared for company and special occasions and have kept them over the years.  My goal for next Christmas is to make a cookbook with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and Birthday recipes along with pictures of our celebrations for my granddaughters.  I'm excited about the project.  The older I get the more I think about my legacy which is why I made the Tea Time with Nana Shutterfly album for Tiffany this past Christmas.

I can't think of a better way to close this post than by sharing some adorable photos Tiffany posted on Facebook of her sweet little girls, Evie and Juliette, playing in the snow a couple of days ago. She told Evie as soon as there was enough snow on the ground to make a snowman they would go outside and do it.  Evie didn't let her forget that promise.  ;-)

When you're young, you enjoy getting out in the snow and playing in it.  When you're my age, not so much!  ;-)