It's Almost Over

So I finally managed to get a picture of this year's tree, albeit not a very spectacular one. I don't think this shot does our happy tree justice. Nor does it reflect my Snippet in a very flattering light. But she's a little stupefied by the Wii right there so I guess it's understandable.

Now that I look closer, that tree is looking rather bedraggled. It's no wonder, what with the three large dogs trying to crawl beneath it, the Nerf darts being shot into it and the countless hits it has taken from people standing a little too close to it while playing baseball, tennis, or bowling on the Wii. Oh well, it was never meant to be a prissy or fancy tree.

The ultimate comfort food, in my estimation. Once things quieted down around here I was overcome by the need to clean up, sit still and decompress. Shepherd's pie and beer seemed the perfect tools for such a task. They tasted better than anything has in a long time.

That is, until I took my first bite of my friend's Irish grandmother's Bread Pudding. He made this for me last year and I demanded he give me the recipe. I made it for the first time the other night and it was so heavenly! And so quick and easy to make! The perfect follow-up to the shepherd's pie. You can see in the front right corner where I had begun to nibble away at it. I had to test it before I served it, after all!

I think I'm slowly becoming ready for school, work and life as we know it to resume. I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to my sisters and niece, but we need our routine and it's better for us to be sleeping, eating and functioning normally. I'm planning on changing all the bed sheets, giving the bathrooms a good scouring and pounding out some clean laundry in the few hours left before our last night of Festivities tonight. We're having a very small, very informal New Year's Eve party here, our last Hurrah before facing reality once more.

So, we will laugh, play and feast some more before we pack up, clear away, wipe down and reset our calendars and minds. We'll say goodbye to dear ones and the old year now receding into the past and we'll look ahead to the year before us with it's adventures, pains, joys and sorrows.

Have a Happy New Year. May it be a full and fruitful.