Seattle Holiday Wrap-Up

Greetings all ... today is the first day we have the time to sit back and ponder our wonderful holiday with both family and friends. We kidnapped Dad from Surrey for two weeks and Chris' folks flew in from Kansas. Our house was full - not a difficult task, given its cozy dimensions - almost nightly. Below is a wrap-up of this year's Christmas festivities:

Holiday Preparations: This year we set up a martini tree, complete with mini martini glasses, mini vodka bottles, and "shake it up" martini shaker ornaments. Teddie was not amused, as she'd hoped for a dog treat tree. This year's gifts were either made with love by hand, or experiences, rather than more stuff.

Christmas jams (made mostly from the fruit in our own backyard) & knitted
dish &/or handcloths (Jacqueline has now taken up knitting) as gifts; Teddie awaiting Christmas (she was not disappointed, as she was a very good girl this year: she's pushing 15 years old, after all!.

Holiday Cruise (December 23rd): Chris and I hosted the entire clan to an evening on Lakes Union and Washington. A 2.5-hour cruise complete with champagne and heavy hors d'oeuvres, this event was a hit from Sklyer to Dad!

The number of lighted boats cruising on Lakes Union & Washington as a the grande finale to the Holiday Parade of Lights was breathtaking; the number of boats easily numbered in the dozens (some piped holiday music, too)! Chris, Jacqueline, and "Captain Skyler" at the helm. Skyler waited the entire 2.5-hour boat cruise for the chance to be captain ... if only for a moment!

Christmas Day: Chris and I hosted the entire clan for Christmas dinner, which consisted of a nice, Kurobuta ham with all the fixin's! There was enough food for an army - which led to subsequent - and nearly nightly - games nights and dinner parties.

The holiday hors d'oeuvres in the living room - from cheeses and crackers from the local farmers market to homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and homemade dill pickles - tied folks over until the Ham din-din was done 'n' ready for all. The holiday feast of ham, scalloped spuds, green beans, carrots, mac 'n' cheese, rolls, and Waldorf salad would not be complete without pumpkin pie and the beloved French-pagan tradition of the chocolate yule log, or Bûche de Noël.

Nothing beats a full house filled with loved ones during the winter holidays. This year, we had all ages - from 7 to 81 (over 100 years old if you count Teddie).

It was a fun-filled time of great goodies, family, & memories.








Hockey Game (December 27th): Chris, Dad, and I attended a Seattle Thunderbirds-Chilliwack Bruins hockey game. What fun! We enjoyed hamburgers and beer while Dad cheered for the Bruins (he was, as far as I can tell, the only one in the arena). Good times!

Chris, Dad, and I drove out to Kent, WA to the ShoWare Arena to see Seattle play Chilliwack. The Chilliwack Bruins ended up beating the T-Birds in overtime, 3-2 (the reason Dad is smiling so broadly).

We hope that your holidays were as wonderful as ours. Happy New Year - we hope that 2010 is the best year yet - hope to see you as it unfolds!

Happy New Year, everyone! (Be sure to stay tuned for our 2009 annual e-newsletter, coming SOON!)