Daily Archives: December 28, 2011

It was just what I needed to pick the last of the kale and put my garden to bed. Something I thought I would not get to before cold winter temperatures struck.  I had also procrastinated about planting my garlic, and darned if I didn’t get a chance to do that too! Temperatures tomorrow are supposed to be in the 20°’s and very windy. I think I just squeaked by on this one!

Temperatures dropped to low teens overnight, creating “sea smoke”  a.k.a. “vapor” or “vapah” on the water on Christmas Eve morning.

Inside the cabin of the mailboat, all packages stayed dry, and Ashley Bryan took a moment to write a Christmas card to my mother. Bruce and I were on our way over there to open her presents and make a lunch of crab claws, salad with lots of avocado, and popovers fresh out of the oven. She really liked it.

We arrived at Fritz and Meg’s apartment in Portland around 4:30. Robin and Stephanie were already there. We just hung out for a while before going to our hotel to change for dinner at Cinque Terre. Good food and good times, but no photos alas.

On Christmas morning, Bruce and I were looking out our window at Standard Bakery, which is below the back end of Fore Street, the restaurant where Fritz works. We noticed a few policemen standing around as if waiting for something. Then we realized we were looking down at a crime scene.

The top arrow shows where a break in occurred, in a window close to the sidewalk. Moving clockwise, the next arrow shows where our car is parked, only because we decided to use the $15/night valet parking service. Had we taken the suggestion to park in the empty parking lot behind the bakery (next to our hotel) we might have had to go in  for questioning, or at least had the car towed. The next arrow indicates where we might have parked near the dumpsters. The last arrow indicates the police and the owner of the bakery.

Crime scene unit arrives.

Evidence is collected.

Then we didn’t hear any more about it.

Had a great brunch with Fritz and Meg, Robin and Stephanie, and Kelly and Al. Again too busy to take many photos. We took a long walk, then everyone split up for a bit before gathering back at Kelly and Al’s for Christmas dinner.

My kind of tree.

AJ hanging in the kitchen.

Fritz adding his own magical ingredients to Al’s flavorful beans.

Everything came together to make an amazing delicious Cassoulet.

Great food and great family made for a wonderful holiday. As we stopped by to eat some leftovers and say goodbye on Monday morning, I rallied the gang for a family photo. I don’t know why I can’t remember to do this before we all feel so tired from preparations and celebrating. It seems to be the last thing I do before we head out the door to drive north.

False start with the timer.

The third try was the best of the group.

Now everyone is back home, safe and sound, and back to work. Hope you had a Merry Christmas too!