A Little Trip

I've just learned that my Uncle has passed away. We called him "Gooner," which is how he pronounced junior when he was a boy.

He was my mom's brother and they were extremely close. We spent a ton of time together growing up, and his 6 kids are my only cousins. Gooner was a very friendly, social guy - always dropping in to say hello and shoot the breeze over a Diet Coke. He called me "Legs."

I'm leaving town to head back to Sparta for the services. It will be absolutely wonderful to see all my siblings and their kids, plus my 6 cousins, and become reacquainted with them and all their children and even a grandchild! That part of the trip is going to be terrific. Saying goodbye to Uncle Gooner will be hard, but he was ready.

Cards and Catalogs

I was talking to my dear childhood friend, Betsy, about the holidays. The weather in NY had been hampering her holiday plans, her travel, and she was late in getting her cards in the mail...and we got to discussing whether it was environmentally correct to even send Christmas cards anymore... but neither of us want to give them up.

We love going to the mailbox and finding those envelopes from far and near, photos and letters and news from all our friends, even if it's only once a year. A letter is a good thing. And we decided to continue with cards. So what do you give up to make up for the cards we send? Catalogs!

I went into the den and grabbed all the catalogs I hadn't already recycled and went here. Catalogchoice.org. You can decide when and if you want to receive catalogs - you can use your current catalogs to jog your memory, or browse through their lengthy list - and remove your name from all the catalog mailing lists.

Let's face it, I didn't order one Christmas present because of a catalog I received. I hardly have time to read newspaper and my favorite magazines, much less pore over catalogs for ideas. That's what the internet is for!

I'm done with catalogs! Whew! That was easy!

December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas!

We always get up at 7am sharp, look through the loot in our stockings, and then come down to open presents. There's coffee and a big cookie platter, with a hot breakfast ready to pop in the oven when we're finished.

















































Christmas Eve. Hors d'oeuvres, martinis and champagne.
Cousin Charlie, Marguerie, Aunt Lelia and broth-in-law Larry.
Silly fun, old photos to watch (through Apple TV) and a few presents.

2008 Cookie Exchange - pics only

TOO BUSY! Will fill in the details later. Just know that the party at my house was impossible, so we took it to a local pub. Claire and I hiked out of the neighborhood and snagged a ride from a neighbor, but everyone else walked - Joy even rigged up a sled to carry home groceries - all of us arrived in great form, ready for a super fun party, presents and cookies! The boys arrived later for a burger. It was a blast!

Just Shoot Me

Four dogs for the holidays.
Boomer, Lucy, Bean and Peter.
Behaving for the camera, but otherwise, not so much.

Everyone is here. She made it!

Whew! We had to go to the airport to pick up Claire this morning. We had a moment of worry when she called to say they were stuck on the tarmac waiting for PDX to find more de-icing solution. But minutes later she called to say they were on their way. Departure: 8:30am, arrival scheduled for 10:30.

We were nervous about the road conditions, so we left a 9am just in case.

The ice on the windows was super thick - we even broke the scraper.





















Vermont hill... no sledders, but plenty of walkers. 30th Street was closed going downhill to Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy.























A little more traffic accumulated as we neared the airport. When we arrived, we found that most flights in and out were cancelled. There were people asleep everywhere, dejected travelers staring at the tv screens, some just learning that they had no way out or no connection.























We chatted with some lovely people from West Linn who were waiting for their son to return from a semester aproad in Seville. Their house has been on the market for 19 months and we talked strategy. We suggested a cute girl we know who goes to his college. We watched as soldiers arrived to sobbing mothers. Finally, at 10:40 her flight arrived, and Claire walked through, carrying a very wiggly duffel bag. Lucy was so happy to be freed!




















The hills were so icy it looked as though everything was photographed in black and white. There was more traffic on the roads, but we made it home safely by 1pm.






















Let the holidays begin! I can hear Home Alone playing in the next room!

Whew! Almost Everything is Done!

Thanks to all the snow days, everything is done!

All I have left to do is plan/make the food for:

Monday night's cookie exchange (a few munchies and a signature drink)
Christmas Eve (a heavy hors d'oeuvres fest)
Something for Christmas brunch - just us
Salad for Christmas dinner
Brunch for the big old friends gang on Dec 26

Claire arrives tomorrow - food & entertaining is the part where we're yin/yang. We get it all done quickly, her ideas are wonderful, and she makes it fun!

We're all decorated, shopped, partially wrapped, cards and gifts all mailed, & some cookies in the freezer. And it's only the 20th!

This afternoon we did a kahlua taste test!

Odds and Ends

A couple of photos that never got blogged, but I promised more pictures to far away family, so the few from fall that are still lurking around ...

One of the few pictures of Cam in his Oregon Marching Band uniform - this one on the way to the Civil War (Oregon -vs- Oregon State) on the day after Thanksgiving.
























A Christmas card picture that didn't make the cut...

















Bean and Peter enjoying a sunny day. (bean looks evil in this picture!)

Seriously!

Thank GOODNESS I had several days with no appointments, as I've been slaving away over the CD burner, and making liner notes, and writing cards, and running out for envelopes and the proper stamps, in case I can't make it to the post office because of the weather, and just churning out greetings to my dear clients, who I LOVE, but this is taking a long time! Check out my production line... (I can safely post this now, since they are in the mail)
























And in between, I've made the most incredible olives,
which forced me to have a martini, in which these olives are THE BOMB! (recipe upon request!)

And then I've also made some spiced pecans, and some sugar cookies with a bit of almond frosting, and I've tried out a new pork tenderloin recipe, and made chili.... and more cookies... and then more cards. Seriously, it's a production studio over here.

All we're doing is eating, and cooking, and baking, and writing notes and burning CD's...and I couldn't be happier, since I have one child at home - the funniest one - for comic relief, and luckily, we have a car that can get us to the grocery store, and today we are trying THE MALL, but in spite of not going anywhere, we have been busy and having a lot of fun!


















Do you like the stamps? I love the chair and the coffee pot!

Seriously, this snow storm has made me the happiest I've been since the last snow storm. A Wisconsin girl needs snow, I tell ya.

Have fun! Enjoy the snow and the season...

Cabin Fever

Bean experienced his first snow yesterday.


















He was NOT happy about it. Even though he was sporting an adorable Juicy Couture ski jacket, compliments of Claire, his little feet were just too cold. He spent most of the time standing on three legs and looking longingly at the door.




















Finally. The torture is over.





Today he got stuck inside of his ratty old stuffed lion.

It is the kind of day we're having around here. Just playing around - making soup, decorating the Christmas tree, reading and listening to music.

























Thank heavens for snow days.