And for the grand finale (and it was grand as always) we had a roast beef and yorkshire pudding dinner at Allison’s parents. Yorkshire puddings are delicious puffy bread type food, best served slathered in beef gravy. Yes, I’m drooling right now. Wikipedia has a much more eloquent description. And to top it all off we had my favorite pie, lemon meringue. Yes, I’m drooling again.
My grandparents drove down from Chico to visit while my brother was in town. It was great to see them and I’m glad the whole family was able to get together. We had a nice lunch at Quinto Patio. Short but sweet.
This year, we hosted Allison’s family Christmas. We cooked a great big turkey, mashed potatoes, peas, and the coup dé grace was the cake Allison made. It’s called a “bûche de Noël”, or “yule log cake”. It’s a sponge cake coated with a Cointreau-cream cheese filling and rolled into a log shape. It was really good. Yay Allison!
As a special bonus, Allison’s grandma was in town. They haven’t seen each other for around 10 years.
Shortly after leaving Christmas One, we were on our way to my mom’s house for my family Christmas. The whole family was here, including my brother from New York. Soup, ham, and yummy cake kept everyone fat and happy. 😀
This year we decided to include a “Pirate’s Christmas” game. Where everyone brings a gift and we all take turns picking from the pile or stealing a gift from someone else. It was lots of fun and I hope we continue next year.
It’s officially begun. The celebration marathon, and this is a good thing…
First up, the Friends Christmas. Decorating cookies, eating pizza, and opening presents with old friends. What a great way to start things off…
A Sears gift card came in handy today. Allison ordered this nifty push-mower, and today was the inaugural mowing. I had to bolt the handle on, but it come otherwise assembled. It’s very light and quite easy to push. And after spending about 30 minutes mowing (5 in the front, and 25 in the jungle out back) I have to say that I like it more than a motorized lawnmower. It’s very maneuverable and quite effective.
Well sort of. Frost on the roof this morning. Brrrr…
Well, with only 17 days until Christmas we finally brought the boxes of goodies over to the new house and Cheer-ified the place. New large ceramic C9 multi-color bulbs went up on the gutters outside. I built the tree while Allison starting laying out the other trimmings.
After a few hours of decorating, I think the tree looks great, the house looks great, and we’re all ready for the big day. Well, except for some shiny boxes under the boughs. 😉
