...And Digging In On New Year's Day

...Continued from yesterday: 
      We welcomed in 2017 with a big New's Day breakfast feast,

...in which everyone lent a hand,

     On the menu was delicious mushroom and spinach  scrambled eggs made by Justin,

oven-fried potatoes,

...spinach salad,

...and fruit salad.

     After breakfast the rest of the family went for a walk to downtown Manhattan Beach along the Chip Path,

...a beautiful walking trail that runs parallel to the ocean along Manhattan Beach.

...while I stayed home to do some cleaning up and blogging.
     However I did later join the family downtown,

---

...which was crowded with strollers out enjoying the lovely weather.

     We had lunch at The Kettle,

...which was also crowded,

...inside,

...as well as outside  with people waiting for a seat.

       We eventually snagged a nice booth,

...with a pretty view.

     The food was good, as it always is at The Kettle,

...including the fluffy pancakes that I ordered.
     This was the first time I was ever served pancakes with a sprig of parsley.  Could this be an LA thing, I wondered, a reminder that I really should be eating something green instead of this stack of white flour (which is kind of a dirty word in this health-conscious part of the world)?

     After breakfast Justin and Maria drove the girls home while Tom and I walked from downtown,

...back to the Chip Path and towards home.

    When dinner time rolled around a few hours later I fixed us

some oven-fried chicken,

...and spaghetti squash topped with tomatoes, and green onions and garlic sauteed in olive oil,

...which everyone agreed rounded out the day nicely.