And now back to our regularly scheduled program...

It was a wonderful holiday season and now it is time to get back to schedules and deadlines. I was sort of lazy over the last two weeks and now feel I have some posts to catch up on! I have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts about what they've accomplished in 2008 and their goals for 2009. I'll get there. I just have a couple of posts to write before that...

First off-

Christmas was delightful. We opened presents, had a late breakfast and went skiing! The snow was perfect and the trails were in good shape. The world is so beautiful and quiet with a layer of new snow over it. We then came home and baked a ham and had a delicious meal with horseradish brussels sprouts and cream biscuits. That evening it snowed again. What a great Christmas present - good weather on one of the days that we could all enjoy it as a family.

To top it off we had a Christmas pudding. Here is a picture of when we lit it.

We had it warm with whipped cream on top. It was quite delicious and worth the wait... we cooked them in October and they have been aging in the refrigerator since.
As good as it was warmed on Christmas Day. It is even better the week after: sliced with butter and a cup of strong tea.


Some favorite gifts? Warm slippers, an extra-wide ironing board, a new cuisinart and a wonderful handmade apron. All of which have already been put to good use.

I always make something for Coleen to wear for Christmas - I really like how this turned out. It's from Ottobre... one of the boy's patterns. That's another post to write.



Thomas, being the cat he is, felt it was all for him and picked his own present from among the many offerings...






a close second for him was probably the marble run Coleen got from my parents. He was fascinated by those marbles moving down the track.



Lucy, our other cat, was not sure about the whole unwrapping presents thing. She is skittish to begin with and all that noise was enough to drive her downstairs until the craziness was over. She, however, loved the fact that we had a tree in the house. She spent most of her time under it and I am sure she was saddened when we removed the tree yesterday.

I hope your holiday season has brought the year to a good end and that you feel refreshed and ready to face the joy and the challenges of the new year.

Happy New Year to everyone!