The holidays are over and there are so many things I want to write about so my column may be a little longer this week. I really hope Christmas was good for many people this year, and starting with New Year's Day, that the whole year will be the best.

Were any of you as busy as I was? I'm sure you all were. Why does time seem to go faster when you have lists about two pages long to take care of?

So now you can take a deep breath and maybe slow down. I say maybe because some of us probably won't get a chance to.

My schedule has been so busy but great.

Just before Christmas, I went to the Italian American party I wrote about. It was a good, good party. Lots of laughter, dancing, talking and all things that make a party fun.

The next week, I went to the Opera House and a tour of the new banquet hall called The Point that Sean Lattimore from the Springside Inn bought and renovated.

It's at the traffic circle at West Lake Road on the right as you go down West Lake Road. It is beautiful, and they have had many parties there. A couple of days later, I was invited to take a tour of the house next to Springside, which Sean purchased to use as a bed and breakfast.

Sean named it Holland House in honor of Capt. Holland who originally opened Springside Inn as a summer resort in 1919.

In 1851 Springside was built by the Rev. Samuel Brown. He owned Springside, the Holland House and the property now called The Point. He had built a church there. Now Sean owns all three properties.

So 156 years later the three properties have gone back to one owner. Isn't that amazing? History does repeat itself. I loved both of the tours, and having worked at Springside for so many years, I knew a lot of the history. But it was so nice to learn about it again.

I live on Holland Drive, which was already named after Capt. Holland. It is right across from the inn.

Speaking of Holland Drive, the day after we had that terrible snowstorm that stranded so many of us until we could shovel our way out of our drives. I went out on the porch and looked towards the lake. I could not believe what I saw. There were at least a couple of hundred black geese.

There were enough so that they were in front of at least four houses with no break in between. I have seen white geese down there but this is the first time I happened to be home when the black geese landed I guess. I found out they are Canadian Geese and have landed there many times. They were gone the next day, but I will never forget watching them swim around. Several told me they come from Canada looking for warmer weather.

New Year's Day came last week. My wishes are that hopefully it will be a very good one for all of us and the world.

My ethnic recipe this week is for Swedish Lamb, and my other recipe is for Ham and Asparagus Casserole.

Today's blooper

My blooper today could easily happen to any of us in this day of microwaves.

My friend had a package of frozen meatballs. They were in plastic. She needed to use them right way so she put them in the microwave and pressed the defrost button. What she didn't do was check what setting it was on. It was on high, so of course the bag started to melt and then caught on fire. She had one big mess to clean and could not use the meatballs.

Diana Sobus, of Auburn,specializes in making ethnic foods.

Ham and Asparagus Casserole

Makes 4 servings

3 tablespoon butter or margarine

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1 1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups cubed cooked ham

1 10-ounce package frozen cut up asparagus, cooked and drained

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Dash Tabasco

1/2 cup slivered toasted almonds

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour and mustard. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Add cheese, stirring until smooth.

Combine with ham, asparagus, onion powder and Tabasco. Put in a 1 1/2 quart casserole. Sprinkle with almonds.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Swedish Lamb

Makes 6-8 servings

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper

1 5-pound leg of lamb

3 onions, sliced

3 carrots, sliced

1 cup hot beef broth

1 1/2 cup pot strong coffee

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat over to 450 degrees.

Rub salt and pepper onto lamb and place meat on a rack in a roasting pan surrounded by onion and carrots. Roast for 30 minutes then skim off fat.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Add broth, coffee, cream and sugar. Continue roasting and basting frequently for 45 minutes to one hour longer depending on desired degree of doneness.

Transfer lamp to warm plate.

Force the gravy through a sieve or puree in an electric blender. Serve with lamb.