Christmas Roundup

I am recovering.  We had nine people in the house for Christmas and the 4th and 5th nights of Chanukah.  My two favorite were my grandchildren, who kept me laughing the whole time.  They left this morning to go to my daughter's in Greensboro, but will be back on Wednesday before they leave for home in Philadelphia. 

Grandpa Dan and Sasha

 

Talia and Uncle David

We had a gingerbread house disaster.  I used to make the real thing when the kids were little, but I've gotten lazy and the kits they make are really cute.  Diana and Talia (mostly Diana) put this one together.  The only help from Sasha was his offer to eat most of it.  This one looked great for about 10 minutes,then the icing started to melt. 

Dan to the rescue.  Using tooth picks he managed to bring it back.  (He always wanted to be an architect).

On Christmas Day Diana decided we should have a family picture taken, so we all went down to the dock and stood in the wind.  It will be a family picture with lots of hair blowing around.  My brother and his family came over later in the day and we exchanged gifts.  We often give joke presents to each other.  This is what he brought me.  There is a story behind that bottle of Boone's Farm.  A few years ago I gave it to him with a horse wine holder.  The horse was lying on its back and appeared to be drinking the wine.  I did this because he has horses.  I do not have a hippo and do not plan on getting one, so I'm a little concerned that he may think I'm getting too fat.

I'm going to work all year thinking about what to give him when I give him the bottle of Boone's Farm back.

The other news is the drawing for the little quilt.  I didn't do it until Christmas Eve, but the winner is Lisa Cox and I've written to her and gotten her address.  Congratulations, Lisa, hope you enjoy the quilt.

All of the great photos above are by my daughter, Diana, who is a great photographer.  You can see more of her work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dianabowen