greetings all!

i am in that kind of lull-space between thanksgiving and christmas... just after the start of the holiday season. we had a nice thanksgiving here... very quiet. we cooked a big to-do meal, but for a very small gathering, so it was pretty stress-free and quiet. then on saturday, some friends from california stopped over for a night, in between their family visit and their fly-fishing destinations. we had a wonderful visit... hopefully they did as well.

this is a nice time of year for me... not because of the obscenely over-commercialized holiday... but because the rhythm of things changes due to the distractions of the season. and, there is something about realizing that another year is coming to an end that makes me ease up a bit... kind of relax into the end of the year. yes... it is another end-of-the-year, isn't it?

for us, our holiday season extends through early january... of course, there is the new year.. but we also have our 2nd christmas eve and christmas on january 6-7... this is when the orthodox christmas is celebrated. my mother-in-law cooks up a wonderful egyptian meal... with a little help... lately my husband has been helping .... the star of the show is always the stuffed grape leaves with the yogurt/garlic/mint dressing... delicious. another fav of mine are the fried hard-boiled eggs... these are traditional for breaking their fast on christmas eve... the meal starts with the eggs... for good luck, i believe. yes... that's fried hard-boiled eggs... she fries the eggs... whole... in oil... they get a bit of a crispy texture on the outside.... then, i like to eat the eggs with this special white cheese... kind of like feta but milder and a bit creamier... yum! of course, there are usually several kinds of meat, because they have been fasting for many weeks... no animal products whatsoever during the fast... that means eggs, dairy, poultry, lamb, beef, etc.... but i think they eat fish for this one. and, because they have been fasting on veggies and salads... there are virtually none of those... just lots of meat... oh yeah... and rice. where we americans (not that they are not american... they are citizens... hopefully, you know what i mean) love our potatoes... they love their rice. i am not a rice fan, so i just kind of pig-out on the eggs and grape leaves.

for some reason, i seem to be getting a little hungry...

all for now... i have to go dry my hair and let the dogs out... 2 dogs... daisy and misha... i will post pics later.