That time of this month... lacking only in Krampus.
This Christmas was actually a really good one for me. I did all my shopping on line, so did not even have to set foot in a store once! My ancestors may have been consummate raiders and pillagers, but that does not mean I am willing to partake of the Black Friday madness! The only time I actually went out to physically get a present, was went I went to Laura's of Hooping Harmony apartment to pick up a custom hoop I had ordered on-line. And Laura is such an amazingly pleasant and wonderful person, a visit with her is far from a chore!
So, Christmas shopping consisted of dealing with the boxes that were sitting on my doorstep every day after work for a week or so, and this was not a real problem at all. And while my budget was indeed stretched this year to be sure, it was not broken.
I gave more gifts than I got, so that is always a good thing in my book! And we made sure to give lots of our friends clothing for this holiday, and we received clothing as well... so we are all pretty safe from the Yule Cat. Sadly that other wonderful Christmas/Yule time figure, Krampus with his whips and chains and bells did not make an appearance. I guess our Christmas festivities weren't “his kind of party.” Ah well, his loss!
We hosted the Gothdaughter, her family, boyfriend, and a family friend, and Marti's beau Dave for Christmas... the only people missing from this gathering of intentional family was Joanne and her daughter Riley, but they had other obligations for this holiday.
I made sure that the wood I hauled in for the day had lots of birch in it, because birch burns fast and bright, so we had a wonderfully cheery and warm fire going in the wood stove all evening.
And then we did food... lots and lots of food! There was a ham with a honey/clove glaze, sweet potatoes stewed with apples and raisins and other wonderful things, home made pot stickers, apple pie, an awesome salad; and I even figured I would try to resurrect my skills at dessert making, and found that I can make a pretty durn good crème' brule'! There was also good imported German beer, and I cracked open a bottle of my home made orange/pepper mead. I was pleased to note that as it ages, the pepper notes are receding and the orange notes are coming to the fore. So really, we were not at all lacking in the food and drink department.
So yeah... there was great company, great food and a generally stress free holiday, which is great! Even the feral cats we feed made out well in the food department, as they got a good dollop of the fat and drippings from the ham with their normal ration of cat food.
We even did great job of 'cleaning as we went' during the whole cooking and then present unwrapping business, so the house was not a disaster after everyone left!
And now, on the day after, we really don't have much to do except hang out and nap while we wait for the blizzard we are supposed to get, eat wonderful leftovers, putter around the house, play on the x-box, nap, pet the dogs and cats, read (I am starting Robin Hobb's latest trilogy, the first book of which is Dragon Keeper)... and did I mention nap? Yeah, life can be rough sometimes.
So, Christmas shopping consisted of dealing with the boxes that were sitting on my doorstep every day after work for a week or so, and this was not a real problem at all. And while my budget was indeed stretched this year to be sure, it was not broken.
I gave more gifts than I got, so that is always a good thing in my book! And we made sure to give lots of our friends clothing for this holiday, and we received clothing as well... so we are all pretty safe from the Yule Cat. Sadly that other wonderful Christmas/Yule time figure, Krampus with his whips and chains and bells did not make an appearance. I guess our Christmas festivities weren't “his kind of party.” Ah well, his loss!
We hosted the Gothdaughter, her family, boyfriend, and a family friend, and Marti's beau Dave for Christmas... the only people missing from this gathering of intentional family was Joanne and her daughter Riley, but they had other obligations for this holiday.
I made sure that the wood I hauled in for the day had lots of birch in it, because birch burns fast and bright, so we had a wonderfully cheery and warm fire going in the wood stove all evening.
And then we did food... lots and lots of food! There was a ham with a honey/clove glaze, sweet potatoes stewed with apples and raisins and other wonderful things, home made pot stickers, apple pie, an awesome salad; and I even figured I would try to resurrect my skills at dessert making, and found that I can make a pretty durn good crème' brule'! There was also good imported German beer, and I cracked open a bottle of my home made orange/pepper mead. I was pleased to note that as it ages, the pepper notes are receding and the orange notes are coming to the fore. So really, we were not at all lacking in the food and drink department.
So yeah... there was great company, great food and a generally stress free holiday, which is great! Even the feral cats we feed made out well in the food department, as they got a good dollop of the fat and drippings from the ham with their normal ration of cat food.
We even did great job of 'cleaning as we went' during the whole cooking and then present unwrapping business, so the house was not a disaster after everyone left!
And now, on the day after, we really don't have much to do except hang out and nap while we wait for the blizzard we are supposed to get, eat wonderful leftovers, putter around the house, play on the x-box, nap, pet the dogs and cats, read (I am starting Robin Hobb's latest trilogy, the first book of which is Dragon Keeper)... and did I mention nap? Yeah, life can be rough sometimes.