Christmas Morning

The kids were up early of course, even before we could get the breakfast dishes in the oven. So we munched on cookies and coffee instead while the kids started the festivities.

 

Zeph's favorite gift this year may have been the boy-sized duplo dump truck from Troy and Stacey. He rode all over the kitchen and living room in it, with a push here and there!

Matt and Jacinda always find thoughtful gifts from the places they are staying - a beautiful way to share their experiences and support local artisans.

 

Christmas Eve

After a few quick hours of sleep, cooking for Christmas Eve dinner began! Soon the house was full of family, and the kids played enjoyed playing with their cousins while the adults referee'ed.

Jacinda made a spectacular spread of eclairs filled with chocolate or vanilla creme...

 And then came the presents...

 Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

BBBBBRRRRRRRRR

We are finally on the road, on our way to Idaho for the holidays!

Shaun had to snap this pic, as he felt cold just looking at the single digit temperature in outside of his toasty, warm car as we zipped along through Northern Utah. The roads were clear, thankfully, but I fear there will be no snow in Idaho for us :(

Two Yule Revels

We made it to the Altavia Yule for just a bit to say hello to friends. They started feast early (gasp!) so we didn't stay long, though.

  

At Angel's Yule, we did go for the feast. I made a gingerbread galleon for our table centerpiece, which suffered little bites here and there as the evening went on. The recipe came from a site called "Gingerbread Lane" at http://www.gingerbreadlane.com/recipe.html. It's the second, rather untraditional but highly effective recipe on their page (quoted from the page):

1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark molasses or corn syrup (dark gives dark, chocolate colored dough; corn syrup gives light dough...or use half molasses and half corn syrup for a medium colored dough)
 
Melt these three items in a pot over low heat.
 
Remove from heat and stir in
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
 
Then stir in 4-4 1/2 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. (You may have to enlist the help of an electric mixer on the last cup as the dough gets quite thick and hard to stir. Split the dough into manageable balls, wrapping excess in plastic wrap. Roll out, cut pieces, bake at 375 for 6-12 minutes.
 

Note: If you feel like the dough isn't working well, heat it in the microwave about 10 seconds to warm it, knead again and then roll it.

 

The event was lots of fun, Abi enjoyed listening to the entries for the Bardic competition and running around with Cora. Uncle Bear orchestrated the Return of the MacReeky Clan, leading us all in procession under the (very hideous) conglomerate plaid banner once sported by their Excellencies, Master John Griffin and Mistress Flavia. They were amazed (or was it aghast?) to see the old banner and laughed and laughed.

Eli Breton, Egyptologist

Eli's class is working their way through World History, and they are currently on the unit about Egypt. His teacher has some very creative ways for the kids to explore the material! The first picture is Eli's shoebox sarcophagus and papertowel roll mummy...

Kitty Makes the Best of It

Suki stayed at the house for the weekend while we were at the farm. Although he enjoyed having free reign of the counter and the sun on the windowsill, he was glad when we finally came back.

December Dye Workshop

Pics from the latest dye workshop at the farm. Bjo and John came out to see what all the fuss about the Laneset dyes was about. Bjo also brought blank silk scarves to play with, and Aunt Pat showed her how to dye them.

Hurricane Winds

The power went out last night just before 9pm, though the kids were already in bed so it didn't matter much to them. In the early hours of the morning, I could hear the wind shaking the house. By 6 in the morning, it was light enough to see that limbs were down from trees all over our street. Dust had blown in through between the old, unsealed window frames, and the loose insulation from the attic had falled down through the tiny gaps around fixtures. Still now power. By 7am, the Pasadena schools were declared closed for the day. Shaun drove out to survey the damage and see what else had happened. Traffic lights snapped, power lines were downed and cars and houses were smashed by fallen trees. Amazingly, only a few people were injured and no one was killed.

The city ended up declaring a state of emergency, as winds continued another day or so.We took refuge at the farm, as Eli was too unsettled by there being no power. He kept asking for "Clocks on, please." "Turn on the light." Most of Altadena and people in our area up on the hill were without power for several days. Thank goodness it was only down to the high forties at night, no one froze to death!