December. Always a marathon of shopping, wrapping, visiting, cooking, clean-up and hugging. This month seemed especially full. Every weekend entailed a two-hour trip to Seattle for one gathering or another (all wonderful in their own ways), ending with four days of guests here including Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas breakfast, and Christmas dinner. I'm not complaining about this...it is always a great blessing to gather our family together and I am anxious to make a memorable holiday for everyone. I get lots of help, too, so it wasn't just me, but I'll admit that I am tired now. It is pleasant to collapse into the quiet darkness of this time and let a few things slide.
This was our granddaughter's first Christmas, so we had the added joy of a baby in the house. She is already an excellent present opener, which is good because between Christmas and Hanukkah she got quite a few.
For the table this year I returned to my green and gold color scheme, partly because I scored the warm white poinsettias that make it work easily. They are not always available in our little town. We had nine people at the table for Christmas dinner, which was pretty tasty if I do say so myself: beef tenderloin with shitake cream sauce was the main course, with fruit and green salads, Brussels sprouts and rolls, and chocolate pie and ginger cake for dessert. (I'm full again, just thinking about it.)
Now that it is over I have finally got the time to hope that your celebrations were as warm and pleasant as mine were, and wish you all the best for 2020. I think it will be a big year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.