Henry and Gracie 2015

Each year, I order a box of Dog Biscuit Mix, and make dog biscuits for all of the neighbor dogs and for Polly.  They are fun to make, and are filled with healthy ingredients such as carrots and flax seed.  The dogs love them!

Here is Alison opening up the jar of treats on Christmas Eve for Henry and Gracie.  Isn't this a cute picture?

Birthday Girl

Ah, how I love my birthday!  I've been celebrating for weeks with my various friends and neighbors, and I enjoy every minute of the festivities.

Don and I had a birthday dinner for me last week at our favorite Thai Restaurant, my friend Janet took me to Molbak's Cafe for lunch, and the Maltby Neighbor Girls went to Preservation Kitchen.  We went to the Matlby Cafe for my birthday breakfast, and next week, I'll celebrate with my Starbucks friends!

Poulsbo Bakery

Last weekend, Don and I took Christmas to Uncle Rex in Silverdale, WA.  It's always fun to take the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston, and then stop on the way to Silverdale in Poulsbo and visit the Scandinavian bakery there. We loaded up on Christmas goodies, and soon we were on our way to Crista Shores, where Rex lives.

We had a good visit, exchanged our gifts, and headed home in the rainy afternoon.  Merry Christmas, Rex!

My Mother's Sister

My mother is 86 years old, and her sister Thelma is 90 years old.  They do not live very close together, but several times a year, I pick up my mom and drive her to the group home where Thelma lives.  It's good for them to have a couple of hours together to visit and see each other.  They have so much history after leaving North Dakota in the late 1940's and coming to Seattle to work and start new lives.

Last weekend (before Christmas), they had a joyful reunion, and exchanged their Christmas gifts, cookies and all the news they could think of.  It's good to see the love they have for each other.

Coquito

One of my students, Alexis, made us a bottle of coquito, a holiday drink from his native Puerto Rico.  It's made with rum, coconut milk, sweet condensed milk, egg yolks, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  It's a cold, sweet, refreshing drink during the Christmas holidays.  We enjoyed it so much this year!

Don and Susan Christmas Picture

Here is our Christmas 'selfie' just in time for the holidays!

Stollen and Krumkake

Each year, we make stollen (German) and krumkake (Norwegian) bread and cookies for Christmas.  The stollen represents Don's heritage, and the krumkake represents mine.  They both take a while to make, but the wait is always worth it.

Here is this year's batches of each.