dome central xmas

it all started on saturday when Chris, Alex and Zylie (75% of the northern branch of the clan) arrived to have an early celebration with us.  Kate needed to stay at home to get some
dyeing done and the grandkids really wanted to be at their own house for xmas, so they left on monday and made it back home in plenty of time to put cookies out for santa.  it really made my heart sing to have them hanging out here for a couple of days.  we did some present opening... and Z amazed and delighted me with the stunning feathery pink flamingo tree ornament.  love it totally.  it will, of course, not be packed away with the tree ornaments, but will join the others in my homage to the pink flamingo guest bathroom decor.

it was a quieter the usual xmas morning here at dome central.  for the past few years Chris, Kate and the gkids have been here, usually coming down xmas eve and santa finds them here because he is magical and clever.

another thing that made a BIG difference was that rather than being the roaster of the turkey, and since i'd just done it at thanksgiving, i asked my bro and sis if they'd bring a honey-baked ham from that famous store... and they did!!  so, i was able to use my oven to bake a peach crumble dessert (Jim's fave and about the only dessert that i make from scratch ), and to roast a big pan of vegetables Greek-style... which means with a lot of olive oil and Greek seasonings.  i really like this arrangement and wonder why it took me so long to figure it out.  so, many of the tribe, plus a few neighbors, arrived mid afternoon and we feasted and enjoyed for hours!  Jim even had a few brave souls who joined in on the after-dinner raki drinking... OPA!

i didn't take a lot of photos... but did get some of my beautiful nieces and their daughters, who are going up much too fast!

i think that part of the reason for Jen's happy smile is that she did not have to leave early (as she usually does) to go to work on her night shift at Providence.

Jordan!!

                                      Maggie and Maisy.  she was really rockin' that hat!!

Maisy, Maggie, Jen and Judy

did someone say "cookies"???  Jim gave the doggies new scarves and the best way to get them to sit still for 30 seconds for a photo is to say the magic word.

it's a sweet little tree.  but not quite as short and little as it looks from this angle.  and we managed to get it up and decorated before the kids arrived on saturday.

it was a good xmas and i'm grateful!