No! I'm resisting it. No tree, no wreath, no poinsettias, no red bows. We are a Christmas-free zone. Did send out two dozen cards (above).
There's been some dicey health news from family and close friends over the past couple of weeks, the kind where you wait for results of further tests and try to practice positive, sensible thinking. I'm not very good at that.
And then on Saturday I helped a friend interview realtors to sell her house, because she has health problems that mean she must sell and move across the country. On Sunday morning, I went to Stockton for the funeral of a friend's mother, who was born in China; the family members wore torn strips of black fabric as armbands, which was very moving.
All of this got me down a bit.
On Sunday night I went to my quilt group's annual Christmas Party, which was a definite lift. I'm very sorry for you if you're not a member because a) the food is outstanding, and b) the group is all-accepting, and you can be as tart-tongued and cranky as you want. (You cannot be racist, homophobic, or semi-automatic gun-toting, however.)
Pictures:
A quilt in the entryway of our hostess, Alice.
The table set for 13
Standing around in the kitchen. Three members have moved away (Inverness, Mendocino, and Seattle/Angel's Camp), but everyone's on deck for this party.
Making The Best Scalloped Potatoes in the World, which include whole milk, heavy cream, Swiss cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Deliciously decadent.
Acorn squash about to be doused with chili-lime vinaigrette and roasted
Two desserts: Chocolate "Mint Melissa" cake from Masse's Bakery, Berkeley. And a selection of cookies, including gingerbread.
Box of See's candy, custom-packed with all our favorites. (Do you see any California Brittle? No, because Mabry and I ate it all before dinner.)
Mabry's latest project: Crocheting 100 different snowflakes, stiffened with glue to make ornaments. We each got some as gifts.
The No Problem Quilters, 2012
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