A quiet Christmas Eve chez Pipers.
All the hustle and bustle over.
Ham in the oven, potatoes and corn cooking, Nat King Cole Christmas Album playing … and one excited Cub!
Best wishes, everyone!
This is the first Xmas we’ve celebrated in three years (I’ll spare you the details); it’s been worth it, so far. Expecting it to get even better. I made cookies!
Good health and happiness to you and yours.
The cinnamon coffee cake just came out of the oven for tomorrow’s breakfast and the house smells delicious! I hope everyone enjoys their holidays!
It’s just after midday here, and 20 degrees outside, which is quite cool for Christmas Day in this part of the world. Food is cooking, and all we need now is children and grandchildren.
Quiet in the backwater boonies of south Arkansas. All prep for tomarrow is done. Wine is flowing and warm thoughts are forefront. Happy times,all!
Working overnight.
As much as I appreciate the sentiment I strongly suggest NOT calling 911 just to say Merry Christmas!
Sigh.
I am off duty from 7am and can go home to a not so special dinner. I planned to pick up ham and trimmings when I got off work after my night shift Saturday night… which meant Sunday morning. Somehow slipped my mind that groceries here are closed on Sundays. So frozen pizza it is?
I wasn’t going to do anything for Christmas this year, but I was at the grocery store a couple days ago and decided to get a small ham and the ingredients for potatoes au gratin. I’ll make that tomorrow, so I had the frozen pizza tonight.
Just enjoying a quiet evening. There’s a fire in the fireplace, and the cats are sacked out in front of it. I’ve been watching classic Christmas movies on TCM, and sipping at a glass of whisky.
Tomorrow, it will be ham, potatoes, and peas for dinner, with mince tarts for dessert.
Hope everybody has a great Christmas!
Christmas night here now, the hustle and bustle of lunch over. Drove to son’s house 1.5hrs away this morning with a ham about the size of a mastadon’s thigh (cooked yesterday with maple, orange and star anise glaze) and a turkey buffe thingy. He’d prepared chickens, pork, salads, eggs and another friend brought individual plum puddings, strawberry trifle and pavlova. This was to serve 9 adults and 2 kids. None of us will have to cook for another week at least. 
But the highlight of my day was overtaking a MASERATI on the drive home, in my very ancient and arthritic old ute. Damn, but that felt REALLY good.
Merry Christmas all, eat lots, only drink if you’re not driving, and have fun.
kam
The China twins 13th birthday is today, 24 Dec. We had their party yesterday with a bunch of classmates. Birthday shopping of new skateboards and pads was done yesterday as well, so all is good on that front. Did a bunch of last minute Christmas shopping but no major crowds and it was pretty painless.
Tonight was a Christmas Eve Chinese feast with 2 roast ducks and a ton of food. Had a couple of Chinese families over for dinner and drinks.
It is a white Christmas in Seattle. started snowing around 3:00pm, have a good half inch of snow on the ground now, and the forecast is for rain tomorrow afternoon to wash it all away before it becomes a nuisance. Pretty much perfect if you ask me. 
and ACTION!
Piper Cub at 4.36 am: “Santa’s been here! Santa’s been here! Get up Daddy! Mommy and I are opening presents! There’s stuff in my stocking! [Cub turns on bedroom lights] Get UP! (Please!)”
And all present unwrapping and stocking unstuffing completed by 5.31 am - a new Piper Cub record!
I need to sleep.
My SIL just texted me, they have three little ones. She said she just woke up from a nap and is exhausted. Our daughter is sixteen. I told SIL, it’s bittersweet. I remember the Christmases when she would be so excited and have us up at the crack of dawn. Today, we got to chill with mugs of coffee before she made an appearance. Try to get a nap, and Merry Christmas!
• Turkey in the oven, with the Cub’s help stuffing it. (Moment of crisis when I told him he was stuffing the bum and I was doing the neck :eek: ).
• red velvet cake baked and iced with chocolate icing, again with the Cub’s assistance.
• cranberries cooking, then out to our auxiliary refrigerator (i.e. the backyard) to cool.
• on to the potatoes, corn and roasted Brussels sprouts!