HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! 
I love snow. Whenever I go to the mountains to get my fill of the 'white stuff' I ask myself why in the world I ever left Wisconsin where snow was an inevitable occurrence anticipated by every child and cursed by those adults who had to shovel their way out of the mess and wait for snow plows to clear streets. Then I look at my Subaru's disgustingly dirty windshield or I watch parents of young children peeling off the layers of snowsuits and boots to change a dirty diaper and I remember why an hours distance from snow is a 'piece of cake' compared to living in the midst of it. I think of my cousin Sue in the Denver area and wonder how she is faring. Thus far this has been an incredible winter for the western U.S. and the Midwest is off to a slow start. But there is more to come as we are only a week into winter.
This year's Christmas dinner wasn't a dinner, instead we opted for an appetizer buffet. It allowed for a little bit of everything; cheeses, dips, veggies, a lovely nicoise salad, teriyaki chicken wings, eggs poached in red wine, cookies, candy, peppermint mousse, and plenty of wine. The open tables allowed for lots of grazing and visiting all afternoon long. Kornowskes hosted us along with 6 other family and friends. The only thing I missed was a rousing game of dominoes. Maybe I will talk Anna Rae and Chris into a game
O.K. so I really wasn't going to bake any cookies this year but when it came right down to it, I just couldn't resist putting together one batch of the traditional cut outs. Here we are doing our artistic best (hah!) to get them all frosted on Christmas Eve day. I reminded Anna Rae that when she was little she thought she was such a big help and she maybe frosted only 4 or 5 cookies and there always seemed to be as many cake sprinkles on the floor as there were on the cookies! But to not make decorated cut out cookies for Santa and all our holiday guests was just unthinkable!
Chris has since snipped the gutter off and we have called a repair guy but who knows when he will get to us. We talked to an insurance guy yesterday (YES! He called on Christmas night!) and he took details over the phone from Chris. He said he would be out to examine the damage for himself and make out a check within a couple weeks. As I ran through Lincoln Park in the rain today I was impressed with the huge piles of logs and debris and caution tape strung here and there. Some damage is more visible now that clean up has begun.
This tree is in downtown Seattle in the square known as Westlake Center. I took these night time Christmas light pictures on December 2nd, the night of the Figgy Pudding carolling contest. I sang with the Pacific Northwest FASOLA Singers. We were only one of 48 different carolling groups raising money for the Pike Place Clinic and food bank.
