Holiday packages that I'm in charge of - 80% sent. And the ones to littles are all sent, so I don't have to worry about any wee folk not getting their presents ( Read more... )

This past weekend I made ginger ice cream with crushed gingersnap cookie bits mixed into it, and it's pretty fabulous stuff - cool and decadently creamy, suffused with warm ginger, and the cookie bits are a mix of soft and crispy, so the texture is pretty fabulous. I think it may call for homemade caramel sauce, though. I'm especially proud of ( Read more... )

There's something intoxicating about a four-day weekend, truly. We slept in a lot, kept the tree lights on, and talked to lots of family on the phone ( Read more... )

I don't know how all of this is going to happen in between my regular work and life stuff, but happen it will. The sad thing is that I know I'm forgetting at least three items that should be on this list...

• Finish holiday shopping, wrapping, and shipping. By Friday, latest.
• Bake chocolate crinkles for lil' brother's Christmas package. By tomorrow.
• ( Read more... )

We made it through Christmas Eve and Christmas, and they weren't awful. There is, as N says, a hole in everything, but having accepted that, there was room for some genuinely good moments. We really did try to opt out of most of our family gift exchanges, but we received big old boxes from everyone, anyway. Our Christmas day consisted of ( Read more... )

Since I was very small, I've loved Christmas - the blare of carols in stores, the family get-togethers, the snow, the food, the candles, the colors, the television specials, pageants, and concerts, the private and public rituals of the season. Decorating the Christmas tree is one of my favorite activities, and I tend to be surprised that so many ( Read more... )

The weekend's glogg was delicious very warming. Here's my second hot spiked beverage recipe of the year. I've been missing Dad a bit lately - we used to go get the Christmas tree together and spend some of the winter holidays driving up into the mountains or going ice fishing. Now that I'm working for a living, I have to settle for much less Dad ( Read more... )

The Lazy Swede refers to me in this case. This is my adapted version of a more labor-intensive traditional recipe. I play with the spices quite a lot depending on my mood. Allspice can be nice in this, and so can a few black pepper corns or pepper-infused vodka (very warming). If you’re feeling really lazy, you can use a mulling spice mix - but ( Read more... )

Students are already starting to run away after finishing their final exams, there's snow on the ground, and the temperatures are in the single digits. This past weekend I survived a holiday party that was mostly fun. The not-fun part I don't want to talk about except to say that some amazingly cold things can come out of people's mouths when they ( Read more... )