Merry Christmas, Part 2

Wishing all of you in Blipland a Joyous, Blessed Christmas. We have certainly had two wonderful days filled with family, food and fun. Hubby’s bread was not ready to come out of the pan until 1:00 am this morning. Somehow, I was awake before 6:00 am. I felt bad about deciding to go to Jamie’s for breakfast at the last minute. We had country sausage links in the freezer; Jamie said they would be a welcome addition to their breakfast menu. And of course, I made scones for Parker. While they were cooking, I gathered everything for Kristen’s Caesar salad. Then our day of travel began. After breakfast, we watched Abi and Parker open gifts. We had to leave before Lauren and her family arrived. Our next stop was at Barbara’s to visit with our Mother. She was alert and seemed happy to open her gifts. She couldn’t decide which treat to sample first. We went to Kristen’s next for a “simple soup and salad” lunch. Kristen just can’t settle for simple. What a delicious feast we enjoyed. Glad I had a light breakfast. While my sister and BIL went home to let out Sugar, we went home to my disastrous kitchen. I was in such a hurry to get to Jamie’s that I had left all the food prep scattered on every horizontal surface. We hardly had time to sit after cleaning before we had to head to Kim’s for dinner. Mancil smoked coffee crusted pork tenderloin that was moist and tender, no knife required. He made mashed potatoes, two types of gravy and prosciutto wrapped asparagus as sides with homemade herb bread. We were stuffed. We parted company after they’d opened their stockings from us. “Little” Mancil was at Madi’s so he will bring his stocking here to open it first chance he gets. Hubby is Brooklyn’s Godfather. She was excited about her personal smoothie maker he gave her. We planned our mid-January trip to TN to see the boys and Jillian. I am about to fall asleep typing this. Better get some rest. The kids have a 16-day Christmas break since Christmas was on Wednesday. Wishing you a nice break where you can relax. Stay safe. Thanks for visiting. "It's true, Christmas can feel like a lot of work, particularly for mothers. But when you look back on all the Christmases in your life, you'll find you've created family traditions and lasting memories. Those memories, good and bad, are really what help to keep a family together over the long haul." – Caroline Kennedy