'Tis the Season

We're actually getting ready to head East to help pack up Scott's mom's house. It will be a challenging trip. We are driving our truck so we can bring stuff back. We hope it doesn't snow until we're home again. We will be missing Scott's mom a lot. There is a lot of work to do. We will be missing a lot of holiday events at home.

So, we are gettin' our holly-jolly on a little early this year.

We chose our Heifer Project gift (an annual family tradition).

Our tree is up. It gets decorated this weekend.

My creches are out. I didn't photograph them all. The hardware one is my very favorite. Made for me by Scott a year when we had NO money at Christmas time.

The stockings are hung.


And truffles are made (round one, anyway).

Evie gets to participate in Truffle Mania with her aunt this year ( a major benefit of our trip East)! She experimented this week with ginger truffles. She carefully organized 4 experimental batches with different techniques etc. We got to be the taste-testers (yes!).

Somehow that led to looking online at various culinary programs. She has already pretty much maxed out the possibilities at our community college by just living her life. Programs at the CIA and Johnson and Wales really caught her attention. As did a pastry program in Chicago. I have to admit that the CIA program looked spectacular--a bachelor's degree in baking and pastry arts with paid externships, travel abroad, a residential program, business classes. I wonder if she'll go that direction or just start her bakery and run with it. It seems to me that after a long run of La Fortuna work, 4 years at a residential cooking school would be a nice break!