Happy New Year's Eve!

What a fun holiday season we've had! There was lots of feasting on a Christmas ham. I tried the brandied ham glaze recipe from the December issue of Everyday Food magazine and it tasted fantastic!

The table was set for a romantic dinner =)

And we had ham sandwiches for days and days and days afterwards, but it was so good we didn’t complain about it getting boring.

The dogs and cat got plenty of scraps. Bandit would meow every time he heard the ham dish come out of the fridge.

We had such fun getting the xmas surprises from friends and relatives and various things Jeff and I ordered for each other. I don't care that it makes me seem about 12, I will never be too old for stuffed toys! The Labrador puppy hand puppet is from my mother and really confused Saffy and Silas when I unwrapped it and started petting it.

After the last big snowstorm, Jeff and I cracked and bought a snow blower, so that ended up being our big Christmas present this year. Although there was no snow when it arrived, the snow started right after I took the pics and the ground was white within a short time.

The dogs turned the shipping box into a dog house...

until the snow began falling...

and all they wanted to do was jump for snowballs!



The snow is coming down fast! I wonder if my herbs will survive the winter this year? The rosemary still looks ok. Some years it makes it and other years I have to replace it with a new plant.

I'm not setting any specific New Year's resolutions, just looking forward to my knitting and usual activities after the lovely holiday diversion.

I wish everyone the best in 2010!!

Christmas Day

Silas got fresh tennis balls for us to throw for him.

Saffy got a squeaky chew toy.

Bandit got a new scratching post which he is vigorously enjoying, but I haven't gotten a picture of it.

I got lovely presents including a labrador puppy hand puppet from my mother that really amazes the dogs. They think there is a new dog in the house! Jeff and I got a nice selection of books, dvd's and games. The big present this year is a snow blower, ordered though not yet shipped. That might mean it doesn't snow for the rest of the season, but we will be ready when it does!

Christmas is a great excuse for cooking and there is a ham in the oven now. For Christmas eve, I made my favorite French Onion Soup.

It was plenty filling after overdosing on sugar cookies earlier in the day =)

Best Wishes!

(Scan of a vintage card from my Grandmother's scrapbook.)

Spoiled Doggies

There has been lots more fun in the snow and Jeff carved out a snow cave for the dogs to play in too! They love it!

Mooch

Bandit trying to cuddle up to Saffy...or maybe just trying to steal her warm bed?

Digging Out

Rather a lot to do...

You have to click to see the full sized images for the next two, it's about the facial expressions.

Ow! My back!

Just kidding...sort of...

Ok, kidding, it's not quite *that* deep!!!

I worked on making a dinner to warm Jeff up when he came back in: chicken chasseur, roasted garlic and rosemary focaccia. I love having the oven on when it's snowy outside.

A Real Snowstorm

The dogs haven't seen this much snow in awhile and were pretty amazed!

It was hard work to run in the drifting snow. Long winter's naps followed when they got back to their cozy beds by the warm radiator.

Frosted Saffy!

Looking for his toys under the snow, although tunneling and finding my feet was apparently fun for Silas too!

My fingers were too cold to push buttons on the camera so I didn't change the settings for snow and they are a bit gray!

Snow!

Snow is a bit of a shock after the warm weather we've been having, but it IS December. The dogs were very excited. Even though it was midnight, we had to have a bit of play.

The glowing eyes really crack me up!!!