Great nephew, Landon, insisted that he saw a man dressed in a Santa suit in the backyard when they arrived at Maw-Maw's on the Sunday before Christmas. He was right. Landon was not intimidated by the "man dressed in the Santa suit" at all and he talked his ear off, telling him what he wanted for Christmas and what he had already received, and commenting on upcoming sporting events and North Korea's nuclear ambitions.






Little brother, Grant, (the G-Man) didn't mind having a sit-on-Santa, either.......

...and neither did the Tiny Terrierist, Bonnie the Barbarian

Merry Christmas Blog Readers! We, like most of you, have been busy with holiday visiting and merry-making. I ended up ringing the Salvation Army Bell on Christmas Eve, in fact, I was the last ringer of the season. The store was crowded and people were generous. I chased one man outside because his milk had fallen off the bottom of his cart and he gave me a hug right there in the parking lot. Anyway, I was having a good time and didn't even want to stop, but Skip came to pick up the bucket and close up shop, so I went home and baked dog cookies for The Amazing Barking Dog and The Barbarian, and they seemed to really like them. More Christmas info to come......

I rang the Salvation Army Bell with Santa this afternoon at Wal-mart. Mercy me, was it cold and windy outside. Bell-ringing volunteers who have little kids with them always rake in a lot of dough. I don't have any small children to help me, so I thought the next best thing might be to ring with Santa. We also gave out Tootsie Roll Pops to the kiddos. It was cold, but it was fun, and Santa got some hugs

This is the "quiet bell" I made last year, so I wouldn't irritate anybody inside the store. I used it this afternoon to push the folding money down into the kettle, and to occasionally smack Santa on the behind.

Here are a couple of photos from Thanksgiving.

The table, set and ready...

...The guests at the table, Brent, Lindsey, Rob, Bobalicious, Jeff, Lori, Baleigh, and Maw-Maw. We ate, we played cards, we Black-Friday shopped.

Recipe of the Week:

Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 medium Spanish onion (I used a plain yellow onion - did not see any onions from sunny Spain)

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour

7 cups chicken brother, homemade or low-sodium canned

3 sprigs parsley

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

2 & 3/4 cup chopped chicken

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 & 1/2 teaspoons dry sherry

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, covered, stirring occasionally until soft, about 12 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes more.

Pour in the broth and and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay leaf together with kitchen twine and add to the soup. Lower the heat ans simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir in the chicken and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Whisk the heavy cream, sherry, and salt into the soup and season with pepper to taste. Remove and discard the herb bundle. Divide in bowls and sprinkle the top of each with the flat-leaf parsley.

Here's an interesting tidbit, dear blog readers: About three weeks ago, a producer from the Oprah Winfrey Show called one of the Book Babes (Megan, who had written her a funny letter back in August) and asked for information about our book group. She wanted us to send a photo, a group biography and individual ones, as well. She also asked if any of us had read the book, Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen. Well, we sent everything they asked for and then we ran out and bought that book and started reading it, but....we haven't heard anything back from them. They discuss the book on the December 6th show, so.....I guess the Book Babes won't be on that day.

We meet on Thursday night to discuss our scheduled book, The Glass Castle, and probably the book, Freedom, and also, most likely, reasons why Oprah has not gotten back to us.