I had planned to post various recipes for sugar cookies – and was going to call the series ‘The Sugar Cookie Experiment’, but as sometimes happens, life & The Holidays just got in the way.
I didn’t return from my trip to Italy until late November and, before we could even begin thinking about Christmas, my son and I had to clean out the barn and put away all my outdoor furniture …. a big and ‘not fun’ project.
Then began the lugging to and fro of lots and lots of Christmas stuff from the 2nd floor of the barn, such as lots of extra chairs and leaves for two tables, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons, plates and platters, tree decorations and lights etc. etc. (Hay had been kept, many years ago, on the 2nd floor of the barn. It’s so cute up there with all the gables and the quaint ‘tack room’ from the days when the barn housed horses that I’d love to fix it up sometime with a pool table etc.)
For the first time in years I have a real, live Christmas Tree. I am so in love with it! This year I had an ‘assistant’ in the form of one of my sons, who helped me pick out a lovely tree and set it up. The decorating he left to me, which was fine ’cause I love decorating for Christmas.
The lamp my friend Frank made me, based on A Christmas Story, still ‘blazes forth in all it’s glory’!
As you may remember, our moth-eaten but much beloved angel is placed at the top of the tree by one of my grandchildren.
Every year our family celebrates what we call Our Roy Christmas in the middle of December. This year it was Saturday, December 12th and entailed lots of gift buying, gift wrapping, decorating and cooking which had to be done almost two weeks before the 25th! Somehow – we manage to pull it off each year – and it’s always so much fun.
My yellow farmhouse looked so festive and just so downright happy that I decided to host another party this past weekend. As I often do, I prepare several heavy appetizers and ask others to also bring something to share. We always end up with copious amounts of delicious things to eat!
++ A few photos from my December 19th party! ++
The cage with my parakeets, Linda (who’s a boy..) and Skye can be seen in the background. They loved all the noise!
I promise to post a few of the recipes from this year’s parties before New Year’s Eve!!