Merry Christmas

Good morning, my friends, and

I hope all of your Christmas dreams come true today. It's always been our family's tradition to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. And so when the celebration ended last night, Christmas was finished for us. All that's left now is the clean-up.

We had a wonderful family dinner. We were expecting Mae's mother to join us, but then she wasn't feeling well and decided to stay home. And so it was just the five of us at our table. It's been quite a while since we were all together, and that made it very special. Of course, I put out the good china. The plates are from Mike's grandmother's set. Her set has identical plates without the green rim. I've always figured the green ones were for Christmas celebrations.

The silverware belonged to my Great Aunt Marie (Auntie Ree to me). She left it to me in her will. She was a special aunt, and so the silverware is special to me. The pretty wine glasses were a gift from Erik and Mae some years back.

Remember my Burgundy Mushrooms from yesterday morning?

They simmered on the stove top, lidded, for six hours. After six hours, I removed the lid and they simmered for three more hours. By day's end, they'd cooked down to this.

Here's the plate I served myself. Starting at the 12 o'clock position, those are the Balsamic-Glazed Brussels Sprouts. Going clockwise, those are the Burgundy Mushrooms. Contining on, those are the Tart Green Beans with Bacon. Next to those, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and gravy. I use red potatoes and I leave the skin on. Also, I throw in a handful of garlic cloves and mash everything together when it's soft and mashable. Beside that is the prime rib Mike roasted on the Traeger grill. Roasted to perfection, I'd say. Just beside that is some homemade cranberry pepper jelly. Some people like horseradish with prime rib. I like pepper jelly.

We ate like kings and queens, and we laughed...a lot. 

So, with Christmas essentially over at the Three Cats Ranch, I'll spend my day transitioning Christmas quilts to winter-themed quilts. Mainly, I'm going to take the day off, though. There should be plenty of sewing time today. I'll be back tomorrow to join in the Best of 2024 party hosted by Meadow Mist Designs.

This will be Cheryl's tenth year hosting the "Best of" party. It's always a good time. I hope you'll come along. Join in if you like! And Merry Christmas, Everybody!