Tis the Season!

Well, Thanksgiving has passed. Everything was delicious, once that turkey finally finished cooking. Who knew not to trust the meat thermometer? grr. Oh well, we all ate well. The stuffing turned out very nice, as did my first pumpkin pie.

On Friday, I decorated for Christmas. Note to self: put away all Thanksgiving decor first, don't pile it on the counter. On Saturday, I cleaned up all my messes!

We had friends in for supper Saturday evening. I made Turkey Rice Soup and Carrot Ginger Soup, bread, crudites, and Harley's Brownies from the Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader. Man, as Dooley would say. They were good. Much better than the cake I baked first that would not.come.out.of.the.pans. Geez.

I ended up scraping cake bits out and putting them in a container and tossing it in the freezer. (I'm doing a tea on the 10th and will use the cake bits in a trifle. Waste not, want not.) Not fun though, just two hours before the guests were to arrive. I stayed really calm though, thank you Jesus, and decided to make brownies instead figuring they could just be scooped out of the pan.

I also did hot cider in my hot drink dispenser, a la Anna. I had put it some mulling spices and apple juice and let it all percolate for a few hours. It smelled so good. I was really the only one who drank any, though. In fact, I'm still drinking it! I put the leftovers in a jug in the fridge. Now I just pour out a cupful and nuke it. Mmm. It tastes so good. Hold on, I think I'm going to make a cup. Be right back!

I'm back. I just poured the last cupful. I'll have to brew more later this week. Where was I? Saturday. Our guests arrived and seemed to enjoy themselves. We had our supper and then retired to the Family Room by the fire. Their son and daughter helped to entertain Pumpkin who stayed up way passed his bedtime. We all just visited and ate. What fun!

We love these guys. We met years ago when the wife and I worked at the same elementary school and their son was in my fifth grade class. He's now a junior in high school and I feel old! They have the same quirky sense of humor and we all try to get together at least at holiday times.

On Sunday my Mom, Pumpkin and I went over to a different suburb of Denver, Lafayette. They have an Old Town area with some adorable little stores. We did a little Christmas shopping without the crowds. I found an adorable ornament collection to give as gifts, a frame for a gift exchange an a 1916 edition of The Little Xmas Carol. I was so excited to find this book as I read just an exerpt years ago in a copy of Victoria (where else!) and loved the story. I can't wait to read it all!

Sunday evening I sat by the fire after Pumpkin went to sleep and read The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I'm not sure if I've ever read it all the way through, or if I've just heard parts of it and seen the movies. It's not very long and was quite fun to read. Do find a copy this season and read it, maybe as a family.

All in all, it's been a wonderful week. I should be back to more regular postings now. I've taken a few pictures of decorations and will try to post some later. I'm working on planning one, maybe two, Christmas Teas and may post details on that later if anyone is interested. What do you think?