Another closing of a year-----something I have never really felt the urge to celebrate. So we are meeting up with some of our dearest friends for a quiet Italian dinner at a new restaurant, some good wine and then---to be honest---probably home to my PJ's well before midnite. Through the years, some Christmas presents are sometimes forgotten and then resurface much to the delight of the recipient. One year, a stocking stuffer was found a year later in the stocking and today I found a present from the heart that I overlooked in the bustle of Christmas. My husband gave me a cookbook I have been wanting--by Ina Garten. Today I noticed the sweetest inscription inside--"To the Greatest Cook in the World, from the Greatest Husband in the World". He got it half right and I love it!

I have boxes and boxes of old pictures. Every year I sort through them and put some favorites together and make a calender on an online photo site for my family. I actually think they look forward to it! This vintage pic is one of my favorites from this year's calendar. My father in law's annual tradition of standing on his head on Christmas Eve while the grandchildren gathered around and grabbed the change falling from his pockets(they didn't know he would stuff his pockets with coins for them). We all should develop some sort of unique rite to bring a smile to people's faces after we are gone!

My knitting needles were clicking away from October through December when I decided to make 1. a pair of fingerless gloves for my photographer son and they turned out so well that 2. I decided to make a coordinated hat to go with it and liked it so much that 3. I thought my other son would be pleased to have a hat that has the colors of the Ohio State Buckeyes on it and 4. he would love some gloves too and then 5. I didn't want my husband to feel left out so 6. he got a hat and 7. a pair of gloves and then I didn't want to offend the photographer son's girlfriend who doesn't care for the team colors I knitted so 8. I made her a hat in the colors of Michigan and 9. a pair of fingerless gloves to match. And then while I was on a roll, my husband has 2 sisters with birthdays in December and 10. one got a purple fingerless glove and the 11 the other got beige and then along the way 12 I knitted myself a torquoise pair and 13. a black pair and whew, 14. I didn't get my husbands ski sweater finished---yet. But before I get the sweater finished, I received some really soft alpaca yarn for Christmas--a skein of gray and a skein of scarlet and I really feel the urge to make myself a pair of striped socks!!!! Here are 3 of the recipients modeling their new woolens!

Can Christmas really be over with? Already???? We had a wonderful gathering of family, fun and food! It started with the annual arrival of Santa Claus! We broke with tradition and instead of attending our own Parish's Midnite Mass instead we went to our Cathedral for a beautiful, traditional Midnite Mass. A fitting end to the Holiday was a little excercise on the pond for a sunny skate!!

Look at this cute door! Unfortunately it didn't win a prize at my employer's annual Christmas door decorating contest but I think it is cute. The theme is mittens and scarves and at the end of the week, the woolens are donated to charity.

The marshmallows were a success. I got the recipe from this great foodie blog, Smitten Kitchen-http://smittenkitchen.com/. I followed the recipe exactly and sprinkled crushed peppermint sticks on top. I also splurged and ordered some Williams Sonoma hot chocolate and plan on serving these together. Love to try new recipes!!

Every other blog I read features someone making yummy looking marshmallows. And last year I tasted chocolate covered homemade marshmallows and they were yummy!!!! So this last Sunday morning before Christmas just seemed to be a good day to try them out. I plan on using them in Hot Chocolate so I sprinkled crushed peppermints on top. They are chillin in the fridge and I am chillin on the couch but tomorrow I will give a report on how they turned out. Really easy to make---but a little sticky messiness seemed inevitable.

Aren't we all just really getting tired this time of year? And to make matters even more tired, the surgery center I work at is incredibly busy this week. But-----there is hope on the horizon and it is a man who knows how to make a tired wife dinner! He pulled out a package of asparagus ravioli from the Cleveland West Side market, whipped up a tossed salad and poured a glass of wine. This man is a keeper!

Mother Nature must have felt guilty after yesterday's storm because today was sunny, gorgeous---and cold. Me--I had a day off to bake and get ready for Christmas but I took time out for a walk in the park with Magglio. And then back to baking! The steamy kitchen window made the Christmas lights look magical at dusk.

Baking day!!!!!! Which is great because it is a wet, heavy snowstorm outside. I didn't plan it this way but while I was baking I noticed that I was making thumbprint cookies from my Mom's Betty Crocker Cookie Book(I think these was the first cookie recipe I ever attempted way back when) and I was using her rolling pin. So of course---I made all the principle characters pose for a picture!!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care----and Gross family legend says if you haven't been good this year, your stocking will fall down. And it may be true because Matt and Adam's stocking have a hard time staying hung------but mine hasn't fallen down yet. And yes---that is a stocking for Magglio! And on a positive note-----there is a winter weekend snow storm coming! How fun is that!!!

It's the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and I watched a reunion on the news of the 90 year old survivors of Pearl Harbor. To me, they truly are the Greatest Generation. They saw the world change in saw many ways--both good and bad. We can all learn from them. And, of course, to me, the greatest of the Greatest Generation was my Mom. Here she is---teaching my son Adam how to make her Hungarian pastries. Perhaps Adam can put to good use what he learned and make us a batch for Christmas!

There is ice on the pond---and not just any old ice but swirlty pretty patterns. This makes us very excited because--hopefully---we will be skating soon. The first ice of the season is usually the smoothest and best to skate on!

I was able to cross something off my bucket list today! Dan and I went to the Toledo Symphony's performance of Handel's Messiah. The picture is of poor quality because I wasn''t sure if I was allowed to take photos, so I quickly held my phone up and snapped away---before the performance started!! A great way to head into the Christmas Season! Hallelluia!

Magglio must have been a very good doggie this year because Santa Paws made an early visit this year. What fun to come home from work and find this package on the back deck. And inside----a Bassett Hound cookie jar! Now how did Santa Paws know that Magglio loves cookies!!