This week was complicated for me and filled with anxiety as I worked on wrapping up work projects before the end of the year. I didn’t have a very “happy” week and hardly took any photos but life is like that sometimes and was glad just to get to the weekend and one step closer to holiday vacation.

December 15 – Day 401

During the day I will get several loads of laundry done and thrown onto the bed to await folding (hopefully before bedtime) while I get work done. One of Pica’s favorite things is to “help” by cuddling up in the warm clean clothes.

December 16 – Day 402

A quick bike ride to the shopping centre in the mist.

December 17 – Day 403

just nope…

December 18 – Day 404

We were having a holiday cookie / ugly sweater party on Saturday and I wanted to get cookies made well beforehand. David was very helpful putting this recipe White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Cookies together. I tried everything I could think of to get them to be fluffy, but no luck. Maybe the temperature of the oven is too high because even being in the fridge to chill, they spread too quickly. Still yummy, but not thick as I hoped. Still need more experimentation - for science! 🤣 - to see what I am doing “wrong”.

December 19 – Day 405

David took to building interesting towers and trying to make it impossible to play Jenga without everything tumbling down.

December 20 – Day 406

So many different cookies as several people brought several types. I wanted to have a fun party in the spirit of my friend Alexis’ “Cookie Smackdown” that she has been running in the Bay Area for 15 years now. This was a pale imitation, but it was so much silly fun and turned into a lovely cookie exchange afterwards because there was no way we could eat all of the yummy goodness. I learned what to improve upon and definitely hope to repeat it the next holiday season.

December 21 – Day 407

We went to see “Home Alone” in the movie theatre and it was so much fun to see it with others who enjoyed it as much as we do. The physical comedy beggars belief and obviously we impress upon David that a lot of these pranks would actually result in extreme injury and even death. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. 😜

We don’t have a fireplace which I feel really makes things cozy and gezellig during the holidays, but I did put on the video of holiday songs with a fire in the background. Somehow it does trick the brain into thinking the TV is warm and cozy.