My festive flop

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My festive flop

When it comes to holiday events in my family, the tables are typically topped with an abundance of delicious yet fat-, calorie-, and sugar-laden eats and treats. So on our Christmas Day buffet table, I decided one of my dishes would be a more healthy sort of something.

No veggie tray, mind you, as peppers, carrots, celery and such notoriously go untouched. Instead, I chose fresh, fruity fare with a festive flair to impress my guests with a healthy holiday option.

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Holiday highlights... in passages and pics

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It was quite indescribable. It was like what happens when you shake a kaleidoscope. The parts of it are the same parts, but they are arranged differently; they are arranged in a new pattern...
~Agatha Christie "The Water Bus"

family at Christmas 

They err who thinks Santa Claus comes down through the chimney; he really enters...

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The more things change: 10 ways my Christmas has long remained the same

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Now that the nest has emptied, home, family, Christmas and more are far different than they were in the past. The more things change, the more it matters that some things remain the same, things such as the following.

10 ways my Christmas has long remained the same

Christmas treeThe Christmas tree — Regardless of all the ornaments my daughters accumulated through the years then took with them when they moved into their own places, our tree always — somehow — continues to look the same every single year. (And our cats...

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Missing the magical ordinary days

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Today marks six weeks since I've seen my grandsons. It seems so very much longer than that, as I'm so very much missing the magic of their ordinary days.

Days that looked like this last time I was with them:

It will likely be a while before I get to hug my grandsons — or their parents — again. Thank heavens for the hundreds of photos and videos I take when I'm with them. They keep me smiling from one hug to the next.

Today's question:

What is keeping you smiling today?

Glimpses of Christmas

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As New Year's celebrations will be here in the blink of an eye, I thought I'd seize one final opportunity to post about Christmas.

Here are glimpses of what portions of my Christmas looked like this year:

A small Sunday pre-Christmas celebration with my mom

 

Christmas Eve at my house, pre- and post-candlelight service

 

Christmas morning—also at my house—followed by Les Misérables in the afternoon

 

What? No grandsons in the pictures? That's right, as they celebrated in the desert with Megan and Preston, and looked cute as ever while doing it, proof of which I posted here.

Though the desert-dwelling branch of my family tree was sorely missed, all reports are that their Christmas celebrations were just as grand as mine. I hope yours were equally grand.

One final Merry Christmas to one and all!

Now on to looking forward to 2013 and all the hope and promise it brings.

Today's question:

What is your favorite thing to do in the limbo between Christmas and New Year's?