Christmas Eve is our big family gathering, we include a dinner for 20. We serve buffet style, but sit at dining tables. (I discovered that 20 is the perfect number: 10 at the DR, 10 in the sunroom at two folding banquet tables) We went with a simple dinner menu this year: beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes (two trays from costco, they were great, and pretty in my new red-orange Dansk pan) and a simple Chistmas salad my aunt made. Elegant! Appetizers were made/brought by others: just shrimp w/sauce, an artichoke dip with crackers, and my kids always make the classic Lipton soup dip. Dessert was the most complicated: DH made his mom's Walnut glory cake which calls for 9 count'em 9 separated eggs. But it's not called "glory" for nothing! Our Scandinavian tradition calls for rice pudding which, for the first time, came from my kitchen. It was a tad soupy, but delicious. And folks brought cookies and candy. Christmas morning DH made our traditional "Eggs McDH" and mimosas. We forgot to make the fruit medley, but that's okay. Then we went to my folks' and my brothers met us up there, for baked French toast (made with Challah, best French toast ever!) and bacon. Christmas night is our quiet intimate dinner at home of leftovers, at the dining room table with the party dinnerware. Me, I felt like the Very Hungry Caterpillar: I ate "one nice green leaf and felt much better". Literally, I had the salad with no dressing lol! Ahhh.

Cleaned up and ready for bed! Dinner went well. A few people cancelled due to icy roads, everyone else made it and as each new group arrived they were hailed as heroes. It really is crazy slick out there. I decided to steam the crabs, but to assuage my vegan friend, I first chilled the crabs by setting them outside until they went dormant, then placed each one in boiling water to kill it quickly, before transferring to the steamer. 25 minutes steaming. The crabs were very good, although I can't say they were dramatically different than boiled crabs. After dinner, getting ready for a white elephant present game. SWMBO is sitting at the piano. The man in the black sweater is a standup comic, a very funny guy. His wife has white hair and is also wearing a black sweater. She was a model in England in the early 1990s, now a makeup artist for film, TV, and print. She recently returned to England and reconnected with her friend who fronted the BritPop band "Lick" and, for a brief moment, was in the limelight, then walked away from music. https://youtu.be/jYeAE4y6Vkg She and her friend are working on a book or screenplay or something about those days. It is an interesting story. The English music scene then was controlled by a few labels and promoters who choose which bands to make into stars. He was overtly gay and that was still unacceptable in the industry. They struggled, finally found a label, started touring and released an album, then the pressure blew the band up and he decided it wasn't for him. He recently regained control of his band's music and I've been listening to their first and only record. Not exactly my kind of music now (or then - in the 1990s I was a jazz snob), but it sounds pretty fresh even 25 years later. We haven't had a big dinner party for quite a while. It was fun to shake off some of the rust and get a bunch of friends together. Finally, here's the cat with her Christmas present, knitted by DD. She doesn't mind wearing it.

Thank you all! I thought I would be exhausted but it was so much fun it invigorated me. But I must confess it took me until today to finish hand washing the last of the wine glasses and I still have the tablecloths and napkins to wash. LOL /biondanonima I separated the skin from the breast, created cracklings and used them as garnish. I used the duck fat to sear the breasts.

(Sort of) sorry to add a bit more stress, on you who "work", as in being employed for essential compensation. One more reason to be thankfully retired, not having to juggle the timing of when to celebrate holidays. Could you use a Christmas gift from ole ... (let's call it "old" this time - as it involves suggestions/((advice)) from one who claims to be a senior) ... old joyful/joyfuelled. Sometimes I approach a smoker, usually one standing the required 75 feet or so outside the door of a store or mall and with a smile and a bit of a lilt in my voice, I say that how s/he chooses to live his/her life is their business ... but ... how would s/he like to retire early? As you can imagine, I receive a variety of responses, but try to keep the conversation in a humorous, light-hearted fashion. Perhaps it's substantially curiosity, coupled with their impression that it looks as though this (old) guy isn't about give them a hard time, but quite a few are willing to pursue the conversation. I suggest that they write down the cost of their smoking for at least a month, but I suggest that a quarter or a half or a year may be better ... and give thought to whether they might like to retire early ... and whether transferring a good (and increasing?) portion of that money to investing for an earlier retirement might be a good idea? Plus ... it's been pretty well established that non-smoking may add years, and more than likely healthier years, at that, to one's life. If the conversation is going well I may ask whether they might be interested in using some of their spare time to start a new hobby. As a financial planner for some time, I've suggested to quite a few people that learning how money works can be an interesting hobby - and it pays well! As does learning about taxes! Back to old joyful's gift to you. If you're a smoker - you might like to consider the message so far as part of it. Is it time to have a hard look at the results of Christmas at your home/in your extended family connection, as to whether, in the light of remembering that much of the media advertising related to the season pretty well paints a picture of Christmas as equalling shopping ... ... the gifts that are exchanged really provide sufficient value to the recipients among your family and loved ones to make them worth their cost?? Many families choose to choose names and give to only one adult, and others choose to concentrate on gatherings of loved ones. Some choose also to agree among their connected ones to devote a percentage of their Christmas giving to helping needy fellow humans. For a number, they might be tempted to reconsider the above ... when the credit card statements arrive in the new year. (Anyone up for an addition to the new year's resolution list?). If you don't/aren't able to pay the credit card bill in full each month, if you don't know the rate of interest you're assessed ... in your wise and effective management of your money, it's important that you find out! On many store-issued cards it's often up near 30% annual rate, compounded monthly, and on bank-issued and similar agencies, up just under 20% - but several percentage points higher on cash advances. For those of you with ongoinng balances owing on your credit card(s) ... how faithful are you at fulfilling promises that you make to yourself?? If your record is bad - ignore what I'm about to say - please - please!!! Quite likely your bank/credit union may be willing to lend you money at 5% or less: less if you have collateral or co-singer (who'll have to pay if you default!). Your promise is to buy no more using the card till the loan is paid off ... ... and after that, your iron-clad promise to yourself is that those amounts owing must be paid in full every billing period!! Anyone who fails should have arranged with four friends to give him/(her?) a kick in the rump every month so long as that new credit card balance runs over that month. The lower rate if interest will enable the loan to be paid off much earlier! And don't e.g me started on these horrible pay day loans - $20. fee to borrow $200. for up to two weeeks?!?! Horrible! I hope that you all have a joyful, companionable and blessed Christmas/holiday and a new year that brings the fulfilment of one/some of your dreams ... and the envisioning of some new and worthwhile ones! Remember, please ... learning how money works is an interesting hobby - that pays well. Taxes, too. old joyful (ole joyfuelled)