Christmas Week

Although it was the holiday vacation week, we decided to have a traditional family Christmas at our primary residence.  To have Santa relocate the gifts to the cabin was simply too much to ask.  Moreover, we were concerned that some gifts may not fit down the chimney and, even worse, Santa may hold it against us and leave a lesser bounty.

On Tuesday following Christmas we arrived at the cabin rather leisurely to find grandma and grandpa had already arrived.  Our visit with them was too short and we thanked them for driving all this way to visit with us.

On Wednesday night the kids returned home with Mom to spend a day with their cousins.  Naturally, I enjoyed two days of bachelorhood, sleeping, reading and making fire.

On Friday the family reunited for a couple more days together at the cabin.

Cold January

Fortunately we have had very little snow this year, almost none since October.  Still, sub-freezing temperatures make enjoying the outdoors more difficult.  We took walks to the green bridge but managed to miss each other at the destination.  I planted some oyster mushrooms in a dying tree that we hope to harvest later this year.  Most of the time was spend indoors playing Fantastic Contraptions on the computer, and watching classic Looney Toons cartoons.  The menu included homemade rolls, goat stew, and a hearty vegetable soup.