Baking for Christmas!

This past weekend, Deb and I set aside a bit of time to bake a few Pumpkin/Cranberry/Nut breads. What a great bread to give away as a holiday gift or as a hostess gift....they smell heavenly and they taste even better!!! I always make a few and put them in the freezer while the fresh cranberries are in season and readily available in the stores. I also throw a bag or two in the freezer for use later in the spring when I am craving this bread and cranberries are no where to be found! They freeze really well!

The breads turned out great even if you do get talking/distracted and you start to wonder: "Did I add the orange juice already".....and "I think I added the ground cloves to this batch, didn't I"?.....
I can't think of doing anything better than spending time with a dear friend AND baking!!! Food and friends....a clear match made in heaven!

Preparing for a Christmas in Vermont - 2010

It's getting to look a lot like Christmas (and Winter!!) in Colchester! I'm sure it has a lot to do with my age, however, the days, weeks and months are flying by - it seems like yesterday that we were decorating and preparing for Christmas 2009. Thanksgiving 2010 was just thought about and prepared for..and now we are well into the Christmas season. It would be lovely if we could somehow slow it all down! Isn't this what we always seem to wish for......


Below are pictures of the first two ornaments that went on our Christmas tree for 2010! First of all an ornament to commemorate Ed's exciting and highly rewarding experiences at Harvard this Fall.



And secondly, this ornament is a replica of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas cruise ship .... the very ship that we sailed this past June to the Bahamas, St. Maartan and St. Thomas. What a wonderful family trip - filled with so many cherished memories - celebrating Bryan's 21st birthday!


Our beautiful tree....all lit and decorated for the season.....


We are really enjoying this holiday season and are all quite busy with Christmas events. Cookie exchanges, Christmas concerts, holiday dinners with friends, the shopping frenzy, work parties, ornament exchanges, Secret Santas, baking with friends ..... it's all about the traditions and the time spent with family and friends.

Speaking about tradition and time spent with family and friends....this is our 20th year of attending our annual Christmas dinner/ornament exchange with our very dearest friends. Hosted by Ken and Monica...every year we, (all 14 of us!), gather to enjoy a lovely dinner and celebrate the season and our friendship. After dinner we participate in a rousing ornament exchange, that at times can get a bit "heated"....depending on the ornament!! ;-) The caroling that occurs after dinner always puts us all back into the true spirit of Christmas... although, some of us do have better singing voices than others!! :-)


Everyone gathered at Ken and Monica's dining room table!


Ken and Monica....the chefs of the evening and our fabulous host and hostess!


The lovely meal of the evening! It was absolutely delicious.....as usual!



Ed, John and Dale.....


Sue and Ellen.....


Ken, Monica, Paul and Linda......


Relaxing after dinner with our caroling and ornament exchange....such fun! :-)


Nothing like a good old fashioned round of Yankee Swap....with ornaments. Each year we come up with a different way to decide who gets their first pick of ornaments! This year the order was determined by the first letter of your middle name, although we would work the alphabet backwards! It's Mark's turn....he's opening his package.....and then......


....marveling at his chosen ornament. Don't get too attached Mark!!!! Someone just may steal it from you....Monica is looking very interested....!


"Silent Night....Holy Night..." Caroling the night away!





The MOST perfect way to end a brilliant evening....with a bit of perfection!! Yum...




With less than one week before Christmas Day, we do hope you all are enjoying the Season as well! We want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and our warmest, love-filled wishes for a happy, healthy, joyful and blessed New Year.

Holiday Cookie Exchange

December 9 marked our annual cousins' dinner and cookie exchange - a day in December that we all look forward to, and for me, kicks off the holiday season with a bang!

This year we gathered at Judy's lovely home in Fairfax and enjoyed a fabulous meal - her delicious lasagna....remember Judy, I would LOVE the recipe! The selection of cookies this year was outstanding - as always...such a talented group of bakers. Lori began a new tradition to our annual event this year. Everyone brought a wrapped, favorite kitchen item, and we participated in a good old fashioned Yankee swap. It was fun, entertaining, and everyone loved their gifts! Eddie and I have been enjoying the beautiful, very red, snowflake coffee mugs each morning - filled to the brim with fabulous Green Mountain Coffee Roasters coffee....thank you Deb!

I always enjoy spending time with my cousins. On every occasion that we gather, whether it is a monthly luncheon, a dinner, a King family reunion, or at our annual cookie exchange, we always have fun and enjoy our time spent together. We have a lasting connection to one another - our parents are brothers and sister, and I know they are as happy as we are, that we have maintained our close family tie to one another.

Cheers to our holiday gathering of 2010.....Merry Christmas Judy, Sandy, Lori, Deb and Kerry. I love you all!


Judy and Lori....getting ready for the Yankee swap! ;-)



Our lovely dinner table at Judy's home. Great lasagna!!



Judy was the first to pick a gift.....however, it quickly left her possession....never get too attached to what you open during a Yankee swap!


Silly me..... I thought I would go home with those fabulous red spatulas! Hmmm....just was not meant to be, right Sandy??? Stolen...right from under my nose...she only looks sweet and innocent.... ;-)



Sandy relaxing after that fabulous lasagna dinner that she prepared! (Those red spatulas never ventured too far away from her view.....)


Our wonderful assortment of cookies to exchange....


Here are those lovely red mugs that we are so enjoying!

Forever Friends......

We share a history....a past and present life...memories made and shared....a bond, a sisterhood....college suite-mates.....

Every few months we carve out time to get together and share our lives. We reminisce about our youth - days gone by - and talk about our families....our children....our jobs....our current pursuits. We support, we encourage, we advise, and we laugh...a lot! When we gather it's like time has stood still and we're sitting around in our dorm room talking about our classes....the latest party....an adorable St. Michael's guy that we met downtown that evening.....our next exam....plans for the coming weekend....the latest and greatest frat party.....

Time has marched on (thirty years!) and our lives are more involved, however, our concern and love for one another has remained as it always has been....our friendship is a treasure to cherish.

We share a history.....


Forever friends.....MJ and Laurie


Laurie surveying that huge piece of mud pie...."Do I even want to attempt it?"