Did You Know? - In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve (also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries), the last day of the year, is on December 31 which is the seventh day of the Christmas season.
In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated at evening social gatherings, where many people dance, eat, drink alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the new year.
Some Christians attend a watchnight service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year's Day, January 1.
We are doing something new this year. We hired "Nine Carat Gold" to play at Old Ranch Country Club! We have know the guys for 15+ years and they played last year for us so we KNOW they are good!
We also invited their wives or significant others to be our guests for the evening so they cold enjoy a great meal and lot of fun along with the rest of us!
As of today, December 23rd, we are "SOLD OUT" with 100 people joining us for the evening... For those who waited too long, we are sorry but the event appears to be fairly popular!
There will be a mix of our family and friends and a few of the Old Ranch "Old Timers" who enjoy good music and dancing.
We arranged with Old Ranch to allow us to join their "private club" New Years since we are bringing our own band (and we are pretty good members).
Several of the members of Old Ranch are going to join us for the festivities because they are "older" and appreciate good music and real dancing!
We can join the private Country Club party and they can join our area (seating permitting). So if you want to join their Las Vegas night, you can! (We just found out that they are bringing two tables into our area so we do not have to walk so far!
This is the first time we have done this so we are excited to see how it is going to work out. Only time will tell!
Remember: New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions. - Mark Twain
The band arrived at 3:00 PM to get all set up so we popped over to make sure all was going OK. It was going just fine so Paul showed some of the guys around, what the meal arrangement were going to be and other specifics.
Thank you Chad St. James, James Popper, Renee Ord, and Ashley Fox or Old Ranch Country Club for arranging and making the evening VERY SPECIAL!
Nita checks in on our daughters Robin and Michele
who volunteered to meet and greet tonight!
Now this is what we call being greeted!
Franklyn (Michele's husband) joins the fun!
Lisa and Pete just returned from Long Beach after
picking up Bernie who is turning 96 (Thank you guys!!!!)
Bob, Robin's hubby, is the photographer!
Vicky and Del right on time... She knows where the oysters are going to be!
"Jiggers, it's the cops"
"Now what do we do!"
Bob makes the rounds!
Dressed to the 9's!
Where they be?
Ah ha... Caught powering up for the next four hours!
Our party was not a bit bashful... Sounded like a thundering herd
going down the hallway to the dinner selections!
This helped us remember what we are celebration!
Jon and Paul compare notes!
Meeting and greeting is well underway!
Bob s'plains something...
Our grandson and his lady, Kerrick, joined us this evening
Now you see them; now you don't!
Guess who is the "Birthday Girl"
Jan greets Craig & Marianne
Will sports the new look... Tux with tennies!
Did You Know? - In the late 18th century, people wore rubber soled shoes called plimsolls, but they were pretty crude—for one thing, there was no right foot or left foot.
Around 1892, the U.S. Rubber Company came up with more comfortable rubber sneakers with canvas tops, called Keds. By 1917, these sneakers began to be mass produced.
The food be coming... Irene and John doing 60...
Kayla and Grandson Connor trying a little of everything!
They even had "health food" this evening!
Did You Know? - Oysters are good for the environment: they each filter between 30 and 50 gallons of water a day.
Bob makes his final selections
Meet James Popper... Old Ranch Food & Beverage Manager!
Cheeses and cold cuts by the ton!
The "Cigarette Ladies"
Did You Know? - Cigarette girl in European and American context generally refers to a person that sells or provides cigarettes from a tray held by a neck strap. They may also carry cigars, and many novelty items like lighted roses, candy, snacks, chewing gum, lighted jewelry, and lighted yo-yo's on their trays.
The modern image of cigarette girl developed in the 1920s with the urbanization of America. Though largely not seen outside of speakeasies and supper clubs, cigarettes girls were frequently shown in Hollywood films and soon became well-established among the general public. ] The cigarette girl of the night club became a staple figure of film and theatre.
With the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, speakeasies across America closed and cigarettes girls soon found employment in more popular business destinations.
Cigarette girls were a common sight in restaurants, clubs, bars, airports and casinos during the 1930s and 1940s in the United States. From the end of World War II into the 1950s, cigarette girls further expanded into sporting events and in the lobbies of theaters and music halls during intermissions.
With the rise of cigarette machines in the mid-1950s, however, venue owners no longer needed to seek out cigarettes girls who worked for a paycheck and the girls largely vanished from the public eye. There were still some casinos and other night club establishments that still use cigarette girls today, especially in Las Vegas.
Circa 1945
The lines moved pretty fast this evening
Marianne and Craig make a beautiful couple
All smiles
James and Chad St. James (The House Manager) keep an eye open
and pay attention to the details!
Love the ice sculpture
A little of this; a little of that!
Back for seconds OR to the dessert tray, that is the question?
All smiles... A good thing!
Kathy is on a mission
Did You Know? - Cherries jubilee is a dessert dish made with cherries and liqueur (typically Kirschwasser), which is subsequently flambéed, and commonly served as a sauce over vanilla ice cream.
The recipe is generally credited to Auguste Escoffier, who prepared the dish for one of Queen Victoria's Jubilee celebrations, widely thought to be the Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
Other flambéed fruit dishes include bananas Foster, mangos diablo (mangos flambéed in tequila) and pêches Louis (peaches flamed in whiskey).
Nita and Neal seemed to be quite satisfied and ready to dance!