Christmas Snow

A White Christmas came to visit us with a roar this year. Nice pretty green grass one day, ice and snow the next. I was fine with warmer than average temperatures and green grass. I typically like the winter season, the white snow and sparkling skies are so very pretty. But rain/snow on a holiday week are not so fun. And it was a very busy season!!

Chex Mix Day is an annual event with my daughter and I, right before Christmas. We have been doing it so long I can’t remember why we started doing it! But we do love home-made Chex mix. The stuff in a bag just cannot compare! Every year it is a test to see if we can get the seasonings right, some years with more success than others. For a while we made enough for us, my sister, her friends and my brother if he was up visiting with his family. I think the record was 12 gallons? This year it was just myself, Tanya, and my sister Laura so we only made 6 gallons, loose gallons, but still a lot!!

My daughter and her husband came to visit on Christmas Eve and she brought my “granddaughter” Freya. Freya is a 6 month old Birman kitten that is about 5 pounds of strong-willed, curious, adventurous, fluffy kitten who loves to explore and play with her little balls. Bringing her with was a test to see if she would be okay coming to visit with me, so I could be a kitten sitter while they go on vacation. The visit went well so I am hopeful it will be fine when she comes in the future. She has a respiratory infection she is fighting right now, I sure hope she gets better fast. She is on her third antibiotic. We are all fell in love with her right away.

For brunch I made my Bedstemor’s aebleskiver recipe. Aebleskiver (sometimes called pancake balls) not only taste great, they bring such great memories of my childhood. My dad’s mom (Bedstemor) would make them for us as special treats. Dad and I always piled on homemade jelly and brown sugar, sometimes syrup too. I still enjoy going to the local Danish American Center for their aebleskiver breakfasts, I have missed them so much this year and look forward to them coming back in the future. I did make enough to put a few in the freezer.

We all sat and watched a movie after brunch (Psych), played with Freya and chatted. For dinner we had lasagna that Tanya made, it was just awesome. She is such a great cook, I wish I was as good but I am just not patient enough maybe. After dinner we unwrapped presents and it was a good year for me. I think my favorite present are the photo blocks above, Tanya picked some of her favorite photos and had them embedded onto acrylic blocks to put on my desktop. I actually put them under my tv so I can see them every day! They are a small photo pasted on back of an acrylic block. I think I need to send a suggestion to Forever as I know they could do a better job with these! But regardless, I absolutely adore them. Christmas arrives so fast and leaves even faster. The holidays are a lot of work, but the time you share with your family is priceless which is the whole point when you get right down to it.