WWC and After Christmas Blow-Out

I'm a little late with the WWC this week. Sorry about that. If you don't know what the WWC is, that go to the amazing Tink's blog Pickled Beef and join in the fun!



With apologies to the vegetarians out there, this is the traditional rib roast with its pink center that I make every year.


Cosette enjoyed this tradition. She smelled the roast cooking for 2 hours, and she was about to hyperventilate from sniffing the air around the oven.


And I'm joining in with others who shared their Christmas tree tradition.


We had a lovely Christmas. It was just the three of us most of the day, then we went over to some friends' house for Christmas dinner. We got up late, took a long, quiet walk with the dog, came back for breakfast (I made scones and eggs and peppered bacon) and we enjoyed a cup of coffee as we read the paper. Then we mixed a pitcher of mimosas (champagne and orange juice) and opened gifts. This is the first year I can honestly say that I did not go overboard. I said I wouldn't and I didn't. It helped that others said the same thing and were sticking to it, so I had to, too. But it was nice and calm and I knew that everyone was going to get what they wanted, and I got awesome things, too. And Cosette got a stuffed leopard that she loves to death, literally. I'll be sewing up the hole in its leg this afternoon.

We capped off Christmas by going to the Mannheim Steamroller concert. It was amazing and a little surreal. I really like Mannheim Steamroller, but I always kind of thought of them as computer-generated, new-agey, techno geek music. So seeing them live, playing their instruments and loving what they were doing was a little weird. But weird in a good way. Chip Davis, the founder, is from Omaha, so they always end their tour here. During the show, they were presented platinum albums for the latest CD. It went platinum in 9 days.

So, New Years, then the gray days of winter. I don't mind it so much, but my hubby hates it. I know this because he tells me at least twice a day. Although it was gray this morning during our walk, the trees were twinkling with ice and it really was beautiful.