Happy Holidays everyone! For those who celebrate Christmas, I hope the day was lovely. I think this is probably the smallest gathering we have had for Christmas but you know what? It was great. Julia, Ray and I were together and we enjoyed it very much.
Knowing it was supposed to snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we invited my parents over for cookies and coffee on the 23rd. Mom and Dad live at a higher elevation than us and thus get quite a bit of snow. Once it snows, their part of the highway is often impassable. They know to plan ahead and ‘hunker down’ when it is snowy. Our afternoon together was very nice though.
Because it was going to be just three people for Christmas dinner, we decided to make something less traditional than the prime rib my husband normally makes. Julia found a recipe for Bao (Chinese Steamed Buns) as well as a recipe for a Chinese Beef Noodle soup. Both were fun to make and really delicious.
This is the bao after we steamed them. Making these was a fun family project. Julia made the dough and I made the pork filling. We all worked to assemble them. Yummy!
I had some time to do a little bit of sewing on my Meadow quilt (which, per my usual, I started long ago). The flowers are all glued down with heat and bond. I did some free motion quilting to hold them before I basted the top and backing. Now that it is basted, I have been doing more free motion on the flowers. Once that is done, I will work on the background. It is a fun project and I love how it is looking thus far.
Just before the holidays, I found these cute cups at one of the local thrift stores. I bought five of them. They are so sweet and I have visions of grand children drinking hot chocolate from them at Grammy’s house. A grandma can dream, right?
Closing with a cute picture of my girls. They are becoming good friends as A gets older and H develops patience. I love seeing them snuggled up together watching cartoons on this little iPad. Check out the curls A has!
That’s it for now. We are in the midst of a power outage so I can only write while the generator runs and it is time to turn it off! More soon.
Take care everyone.
That last picture is the sweetest!! Made me smile.
Me too Kathleen. While I know they will argue like any siblings, seeing the girls all cuddled up is heartwarming. Happy New Year to you!
I’m glad you were able to get together with your parents before the snow hit. I hope the power isn’t off for you for too long; stay warm!
Thanks Yvonne. I hope you both had a nice Christmas too. We got our power back tonight! Hurray for hot showers and lights on in the house after dark. It wasn’t awful but being without power gets annoying! Happy New Year to you!!
Merry Christmas! Your Christmas menu for three looks so interesting, nothing better than a change now and then.
Hi Jenny, I agree – it is fun to mix it up a bit. The new recipes were so yummy plus we had enough for two meals! (I love when I get to skip cooking for a night!!). Happy New Year to you!
Beautiful granddaughters… lucky you! Enjoy them while they’re young. BTW, who made the English Toffee??
Thank you Carol – we do enjoy the girls so much. FaceTime makes it fun to chat with them.
That English Toffee was made by my sister in law. She makes the best toffee I have ever had! So yummy. Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year to you as well. If you get a chance, would you ask your sister-in-law for the recipe for her English Toffee? It looks really good.
Well, I have asked but it is a family recipe which isn’t shared?! If ever she does share it though, I am happy to send it over. Have a great day Carol.
I totally understand. Some people are very protective of their recipes. Thank you anyway!
Happy New Year Bernie! Beautiful granddaughters!
Thank you Cindy – same to you. 🙂
We deviated from the usual Christmas foods here, too, and made chicken egg rolls (that we baked). Looks like you had a lovely Christmas. Those little cups are too cute, and the photo of H and A is adorable! Happy New Year to you, Bernie!
Yum – that sounds like a great meal. Last night we had a really good chicken and veggie stir fry but Ray had to make do with frozen egg rolls though. 😉 C’mon 2022 – wishing all of us good health and no more Covid variants!!
Those Boa look delicious! We did just the three of us on Christmas day, too, having had the bigger dinner with the my mom, my MIL, and my BIL on Christmas Eve. Cheese Fondue is our traditional dinner for whichever day is just the three of us. I loved having a low-key day. Your granddaughters are adorable!! Happy New Year, Bernie!
Cheese Fondue – yum! That is such a great meal to do because it is so fun to eat. Have a nice week off and Happy New Year to you and your family.
Sounds like a wonderful day!
Thank you Alycia! It was a fun holiday. I hope yours was as well.
Happy New Year!!
Any celebration with family is the best Christmas. It doesn’t have to be on the correct day or with “traditional” foods. It looks like you had a wonderful day. I hope your power is back on by now.