T Stands for Hope

Hi everyone. Happy new year to those of you who only stop by for T.  It is our first T of the new year, and I  look forward to all the T adventures we'll have in 2021. 

I have to say I am not usually someone who gets very excited about a new year's arrival. It was like that with the start of school also. I liked it better once it got going a little bit. 

This year however, I was very excited to wrap up 2020 and start the new year. I feel like there is hope for something better ahead. Maybe not right away, and I do hope the winter isn't too long this year.  I'm not sure things will get back to what they were as soon as I want them to get there (as that would be right now), but maybe at least we can all be a little less covid overwhelmed sooner rather than later. 

I am hoping to reach a point where I can comfortably go into a store  again, that I can go when I feel like going to the store and not have to plan  to go during a not so busy time.  I live too rural  for grocery store delivery, but I have done online ordering for other items that require me to go into the busier stores in the cities near me.  I want it so I can back shopping in general. It would be nice to visit a museum and meet my friends  and family inside. Some of my friends and family I haven't seen in months. Although I may not be able to travel overseas yet,  maybe I can at least travel out of  New Hampshire or even out of New England without worries.

I was so excited on New Years Eve to see 2020 depart,  I went through a whole bottle of wine.

No, I didn't drink it all.

I made a baked rigatoni dish that is sometimes called (in my area) a Northender or an Italian Pie ,depending what restaurant you visit. I added meatballs and sausage. At a few restaurants in my area they also add some chicken, but I figured for the 2 of us we didn't need any more meat. The name Northender is homage to the North End of Boston where there are some amazing  Italian restaurants.

That is something else I hope to do again in 2021, actually go out to eat. We do get take out every now and again, but what I am really missing is going to breakfast in my favorite hole in the wall restaurant. I haven't done that in what seems like forever.

This recipe for my baked rigatoni called for 2 cups of red wine in the sauce, so I used what I had on hand. I had a bottle of Trader Joe's Merlot, which for $3.99 a bottle isn't a bad wine. 

My husband and I finished the bottle with dinner. We had a toast to the new year.

The wine is my ticket to T this week. Stop by  Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog  for T.

One of my friends posted this photo on Facebook. I don't know if she took it or if she found it somewhere, but it made me laugh. The look of the sign with the old car next to it reminds me of a restaurant in Portsmouth (NH), but I may be wrong about that.

With all my holiday baking I did I think I am well on the way to being the chunk! (smile).

Since I stuck on the word hope right now, I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year, and that you have a great T day too.