Beef Wellington and Beatle's 45s More or Less

After 5 hours in the kitchen,

 we were treated to Beef Wellington,

Potatoes Anna, a grapefruit-orange-feta salad,

 and brussel sprouts roasted with bacon. 

That man loves to cook.

I fell asleep on the couch 

while they were doing the "En Croute" 

part of the Wellington

and no one took any pictures...damn..

I hear the process was hilarious.

There were five vintage rolling pins

out on the counter when I went to clean up?

Whenever the kids are here and they are 

cooking, playing a game, or just visiting,

the sound of their voices is like a lullaby to me and

zzzzzzzzzz I'm off to dreamland.

They made fun of me snoring I hear, and 

were amazed I slept through it all 

as they were quite loud, and I was a mere

5 feet from all the action.

These few shots were taken by 

DD on her phone.

Ben had already cut into it so you miss the "presentation"

So beef tenderloin encrusted with a shallot mushroom 

mustard paste wrapped in phyllo and roasted.

Oh my, it was incredibly delicious.

The real Wellington calls for a layer

of Foie Gras. 

That was voted out.

 First Christmas dinner in over 40 years

 I have not prepared.

We ate at a simple setting family style,

turning the little used turntable

that came with my dining table, and doing self serve.

No elaborate dishes, crystal, or silver were needed this year,

AND we ate Christmas Eve not Christmas Day...

and ya know what

it was delightfully stress free and easy..

well easy for me anyway.

I think we have a new tradition.

I received the cutest little turn table for Christmas

and we had a blast playing my old 45 Beatles records

and Fogelberg, Moody Blues, Carole King,

Loggins, The Big Chill Soundtrack and more all

Christmas morning. 

Hannah had never placed a needle

on a record before and had to be taught the difference

between a 45 and a 33.

What a Hoot!

Ben and Anam headed back to LA today.

Hannah is still here until Her Beau Blake returns 

from Memphis.

We have some sewing plans and she'll be going

to work with me a few days to help with 

inventory.

I decorated far less

 Shopped far less

Spent far less

Left the house far less

Cooked FAR less

Cleaned far less

Visited far more

Laughed far more

Relaxed far more

Slept far more

Enjoyed far more

Lessons learned

Hope your holiday was merry 

and still going strong...

Happy New Year to all

May Peace finds it's way to 

the hearts of man.

Z