Hardly A White Christmas in Connecticut

A White Christmas?

Enjoying Breakfast After Shopping 

It's now 7:00 and I have been up for forty five minutes and nary a peep from children or adults.  Just a dusting of snow last night, enough to barely cover the cars and drive way and much colder than the 60º on Sunday.  It's a clear, dark blue sky at the moment, 18º outside, a good way to start Christmas day. Now it's 7:45 and Marisa is up, getting antsy, as Rami and I sip coffee, talking about the directions technology might take in the next decade.

Ready for Christmas Eve

Despite the fact that we shopped both Saturday, Sunday and Monday, we kicked it up a notch yesterday, determined to make it to the end, that is, Christmas Day (when we can't shop because the stores are closed).  Beth was off to Trader Joe's by 8:00, followed closely by Rami, Evie, and Lettie, who wanted to beat the crowd at King Costco.  And surprisingly, it was fairly empty, perfect for a quick walk/run through.  Everyone was back home by 10:30 except Mitch, who went to breakfast with a couple of buddies up town.  The gang was ravenous so Evie browned a couple of pounds of pea meal bacon, made toast and eggs, and we were all happy once again.  Nothing like a good breakfast to satisfy the morning munchies.

Santa Came

About 11:30, Rami and I went off for another stab at 'finishing the shopping', hitting REI, Bob's, Wilton Sports and most importantly, Top Value wines.  It was an amazing experience to be in this huge wine/liquor store the day before Christmas.  As many people were leaving, carts filled with boxes of wine, as were going in.  The aisles were crowded, so that you had to maneuver carefully lest you aggravate an anxious imbiber.  We brought home three cases of wines, as there were lots of 'deals' though many were sold out.  I am taking home eighty bucks worth, one and a half cases; it should hold us over for the winter or to the next time we visit a Trader Joes.

For lunch, Rami's sister Lettie put together baked tortillas with Mexican sour cream and cheese, along with some dips and chips, just right for a mid afternoon snack.  Rami had to run out and get some aluminum pans for today's dinner and pick up Mitch.  Unfortunately, he forgot his wallet so he had to go back, the last shopping trip before Christmas.

Home Made Fettuccine With Evie

Tyler's Into It

Mitch at Work

We were having vodka sauce with shrimp over home made noodles for dinner.  So, while Beth and Rami wrapped presents, the grandchildren and Lettie helped Evie make the fettuccine noodles, two batches so it took quite awhile.  Everyone helped out, got the knack of making them and once done, we dropped them into two pots of boiling water, and within three minutes they were in the shrimp/vodka sauce, ready to be plated.  It was a good choice, simple but tasty, with French bread, salad and asparagus.  After dinner, we all sat in the sun room, and Rami got out more decorations, so we spent about twenty minutes finishing decorating the tree.  Tyler, as usual overdid his father's passion for decorating a tree until Rami had to come in and take away the bulbs.  We then sat around the living room and talked until about 10:30, when the kids went upstairs, as did Evie and I, and then the fun began for Beth and Rami I assume, as the living room is filled with presents this morning.

Post Dinner Relaxing, Anticipating the Morrow