Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Wow! December 18th and I am done with the Christmas Letter, cards stuffed and mailed. I asked Tom to cut down the card list this year, so he did. The list went from 70 to 69! And I think he did that by somehow meshing two people together. The house is in a constant state of decoration.
Here is a shot of the mailbox after I redid it. All the outdoor decorations got creamed in the storm last week

Atticus wants you all to see the fireplace and to know he has his very own stocking. It is the one just to the right of his Dad's Red Sox stocking. He's not too sure what this is all about but he knows something up there smells very good! Atticus Beauragard Cocker of the Tennessee Cockers, is settling in to the life at Seagull Cottage quite well. He has started to play with Yaar and the sight of the two of them wrestling through the living-room or the yard is a sight to behold. Yaar has never played with any dog the way she plays with Atticus. Health-wise he is doing very well. He has put a little bit of weight on and looks a whole lot better. His presence here in the house has Sir Albert Paddy-Paws quite perplexed. For the the past 4 1/2 years Al"s life has included being chased and tormented by Kayto. Kayto knew Al was placed here purely for his enjoyment. But Atticus is a lover not a chaser and I am confident the day will come when I find him and Al curled up together.

There are boxes coming from Washington for Josh. I have to catch the mailman as I have to wrap some of the gifts. I have instructions as to where each item is to go. Either under the tree or in the stocking. It's nice having Josh here this year. I just wish for the Christmas when the whole family can be together, just one more time.

We will be having the traditional Lithuanian meal on Christmas Eve. It is called Kucios (pronounced KUCHA) and consists of twelve meatless dishes representing the twelve Apostles or twelve months of the year. The tradition of the supper can be traced back to pre-Christian times and connected with remembrance of the souls of deceased ancestors. Tom's youngest brother, Jonas, will be doing the cooking at Mom's house this year. Auntie Amelia usually hosts the dinner, but this year, because of her elbow, she has had to relinquish the preparation to Jonas. Jonas is very proud of his heritage and spends as much time in Lithuania as his schedule permits. I am sure we will have some dishes we have not had before. I just know Tom and I are in charge of purchasing the white fish and smelts and getting them to Lawrence.

I stopped at the Italian bakery a few weeks ago and got a dozen of the ground walnut cookies coated in powered sugar. $11.00 for a dozen cookies! So I gave a try at making them myself. I was sure I could make a lot more cookies for a lot less money! I did. I found a great recipe on a blog from here in Boston.( TheHungryMouse.com )Take a look. it's a cute blog. The cookies came out very good. I tried a batch with cake flour and one with regular flour and discovered the regular worked best. I left the tray of cookies on the table and when Tom got up in the morning he discovered Yaar in the middle of the table, helping herself to the tea cookies. She has a sweet tooth! Lesson learned: Cookies will not be left out on the table. There is a reason I have cookie jars. I will use them going forward.

Well I should have reviewed the blog before I baked Chocolate Kiss Macaroons yesterday. My kitchen is about the size of a small powder room, so when I bake I have to get very creative. I put the cooling racks on the dining room table and tipped the chairs back to avoid any problems. I just didn't do all this fast enough. In the time it took me to turn around , set the baking sheet down and return to tip the chair the cookie count had gone from 14 to 12 and there wasn't a dog in sight. Later in the baking the trays were too close to the edge of the table and she snagged another one without spilling any on the floor. She's smart. And she did not share any with Atticus because he was asleep in the kitchen all the time. Today's Chocolate Dipped Oreos are in the cookie jar!

So that's it folks. Still a lot of Christmas stuff to do, but the most important is to wish you all

Merry Christmas

Happy Chanukah

&

A Terrific New Year!