O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!
You can't really see them in this light, but we switched to lower-energy-use LED lights on the tree this year.
We had a great Christmas. Hydra woke up at 3:15 and there was no more sleep to be had. We opened packages that had arrived from people in other states, and a couple from each other. Did a little prep for dinner, set the table, etc. Most of the prep was done the day before.
The cousins arrived from Orange and Riverside counties around 11:00 and we broke out the Mimosas and the-- Let's call them Pimosas. Champagne and peach juice cocktails, for a change. Appetizers: homemade shrimp spread, cheeses, crackers, TJ's Sun dried tomato/pesto torta, kalamata olives, nuts.
Opened gifties from one another. Lots of goodies!
Dinner was pork tenderloin roasted with garlic, rosemary and sage; P's killer mashed potatoes, V's delish spinach pear and Gorgonzola salad, apple-sage stuffing, shaved Brussels sprouts with bacon.
Now the birdhouses I painted (but did not build) can be revealed. I had a lot of fun with these. Ended up doing two more. Green and another pink/lavender in another shape.
After dinner we drove over to Shambala for the traditional viewing of the lions. Okay, it's not a tradition yet, but it may be... It's only about 7 miles from us. This guy was in an enclosure near the road.
This big fellah huffed and puffed for us from down in the canyon. We just stopped along the road to look in.
Back to the house for apple pie and mincemeat pie, and tea. Everyone stayed till about dusk.
We felt really good about the day. And I have to admit, it was nice not to have to drive anywhere!
