Doo Wop White Christmas

Frankly, I think people who yearn for a white Christmas are nuts, and I've always thought the sentiments expressed in Mr. Berlin's famous song are drivel, but this arrangement is one I can truly wrap my head around. I think Birdie (a fellow blogger who has some very emphatic ideas about everything connected with the concept of a white Christmas) might even like this.
Enjoy!!

Holiday Care Package

Here's our annual holiday gift from Us to Us, from the good Camaldolese monks of New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur.


The main attraction is a 3-pound fruitcake, so drenched in brandy it makes your eyes water every time you open the package. It's coated with honey, and sticks to everything - the foil it came in, your plate, your fork, your fingers, the roof of your mouth... it's heaven!! So rich, a half-inch slice is entirely sufficient for one serving! Now, I know there's no middle of the road regarding fruitcake - you either love it or (like most people) hate it. I happen to totally love the stuff, and don't care how many other folks don't... the more people who hate it means the more there is for me!!


Truffles should be one of the five major food groups as far as I'm concerned. Here, we have a box of six truffles that weighs almost half a pound! Dark chocolate on the outside, and dark chocolate, or milk chocolate, or maple, or cherry, or raspberry or amaretto on the inside! There are no words in my vocabulary, or, for all I know, in the English language, to adequately describe these lumps of chocolate gold!


Fudge... Imagine the creamiest, richest, most buttery, most chocolaty, most decadent fudge you can think of... that's what this stuff is. Sigh...


And the Holy Granola... so crunchy, chewy and spicy... sprinkle some over your Greek yogurt, add a couple of spritzes of honey, and listen to that yogurt sing the Hallellujah Chorus!!

Willie

Here's the newest addition to our family... Willie. Named after the rough and tumble Willie Nelson, our Willie was a scruffy street boy before our neighbor, Sandy, managed to connect with him. He spent about a year on her enormous back patio, always happy to accept her food offerings, but always wary and hiding when any of us tried to approach him. Finally, the cold weather got to him, and we were able to get him into a carrier and took him to the vet for a physical and a fixin'. After a week or so of adjusting the routine at our house, we were able to bring him here to his "forever" home. After a few more weeks, he's socializing quite well, with only a few hisses and scuffles from some of the more cantankerous, older members of the family. For our part, we adore him... he quickly learned his name, and has turned out to be the world's biggest snuggle bug, and will give you as much lap time as you want, whenever you want. Though he enjoys sitting on window sills and looking outside, he runs away whenever a door opens, so I'm pretty sure he's quite happy being an indoor boy! We're happy too!






With Alessandro...