Merry Christmas 2017

Today will be busy.  It's three days before the party and the refrigerators are filling up with items for the event.  Today I can prepare and add three more and mark as ready.  I have a long hair appointment at 3:00 and David and his dog are on the way from Florida and if I know him, and I do, he will drive straight through. This dog rodeo will be harrowing, but we will survive, we have done it before. (There will be four dogs and 22 people at last count.) 

Mike, Beth and Brooks leave tomorrow and Nate is in Hawaii, yet the list grows here at Many Branches.  The leaves, the leaves, good grief, I have never seen so many.  Matt is supposed to come next week, when he can to get rid of some of them; otherwise we will have to put up with them until spring.

For the first meal, around 2:30 on the 23rd I am trying several of Trader Joe's hors d' oeuvres.  I like to try his new things and he has many new and different offering for Christmas.  I'll let you know how they go. There will be a cheese board and cheeseballs, and dried fruit, nuts, and grapes nestled in place. There are four crock pots lined up and ready for duty to hold, seafood chowder, beef and noodles, beef and vegetable soup, and bean and ham soup. (Make that five, Nancy is bringing her special soup.) I am trying a new cranberry salad that I am eager to report about its acceptance to you after the holidays.

Dinner will be a ham and a beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, that good corn recipe that I have given to you before, squash/sweet potato dish with the caramels and marshmallows from Ky., three salads, brussel sprouts, trifle and orange cake for dessert...I am sure I am forgetting something; oh, Nancy and Danny are bringing chicken enchilada soup, buckeyes, and the orange cake.  AND, they are coming a day early to help me out.  I am sure I am leaving out something, but there you go.

Merry Christmas to all of you out there.  You never know what is in the future, so enjoy every minute (even if you have four spoiled dogs nipping at your feet every minute of every day for a week.)