I Like Thursday: End of the Year

I always have a bunch of posts at the end of the year with finished Christmas projects, my blogiversary and year-in-review.  Whew!  It's hard to find the time to write them all; I never think to do them earlier.  So the last week of the year is always chockablock full of happy things.  I have plenty to share with LeeAnna's I Like Thursday.

Even with all the rain on Friday we had a white Christmas.  Our sump filled from all the rain runoff, froze, then was covered with sparkly snow.  It was really quite pretty, and I liked the patterns around the edges (the water level must have gone down as it froze).

My Christmas celebration turned out to be a two-day event.  We hosted the family Christmas day with a fondue dinner, gift exchange and dessert.  The house smelled of fried food for days afterward.  We deep fried chicken, shrimp, scallops, mushrooms and tortellini.  Yum!  I made Indian pudding (the first time in years) and Mom brought a dense chocolate tart.  There were lots of cookies, too.

I had asked Rob to prep the mushrooms for the fondue.  I wanted to use only half the container, preferably the smallest ones.  He refused to make the final decision; instead he lined them all up from largest to smallest and let me pick where the dividing line would be.  How silly.
 

My nephew fences and wanted a chance to show off some fencing moves with my dad's sword.  He was fun to watch.  We had to clear out the dining room to give him room!

He was impressed with the kobold ornament I made him and the glass case I got for his new (old) pocket watch.  (Etsy has some lovely stuff!)

I received practical gifts:  a seat cushion and a rolling carrier both for my kayak.  I am all set to explore new places next summer!

My mom, sister and I went skiing on Boxing Day.  An excellent way to work off some of that Christmas dinner.  My sister had suggested last week that my mother bring her cross country skis.  What a great idea.  Friday's storm cleared off most of the little snow we had, but Notchview boasted of 7" of powder on a frozen base by Christmas day.

Somehow I've been living out here for three winters and not visited Notchview before.  This was a treat!

Notchview asked that people stayed off the trails until they could get out to groom on Monday morning.  It was cold with a slight breeze - perfect for skiing in the woods.

We arrived late morning and had much of the freshly groomed easy trails to ourselves.  There were blue skies and bright white snow.  Simply lovely.

It was amazing how much snow there was up there compared to at home.  I need to remember this when I'm unable to ski or snowshoe out my door.   

 

I like that I I shipped off my latest quilt yesterday (show and tell soon!).  Ooh - I may have time on New Year's day to start my next quilt!

A new year - what am I looking forward to?  No big plans for 2023.  I fell off the yoga-wagon last summer and would like to get back on.  Is it too much to hope for an end to the pandemic?  I would love to be able to see my partner's face while dancing.  Otherwise - I'm looking forward to more gardening, quilting, dancing, kayaking and hiking with friends.  Maybe there will be enough snow this winter for some more skiing and snowshoeing?  It seems like such mundane things, but they all make me happy.

I hope you are enjoying your holidays.  Happy New Year!