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| Our tradition is to open gifts leisurely, over several hours - so friendly and relaxing. Emily's dog, Cohen, had to get into the act. |
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| Our dog, Dora's, formal Christmas portrait. Pretty girl! |
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| Emily and Matt, home from Austin Texas for the holidays, with me and Scott. So great to have them here! I gave them both quilts but somehow did not get pictures of them opening their gifts! I will post on that later. |
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| Genevieve and me. |
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| Hannah and her new blouse, and Danny. Merry Christmas! |
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| Doppa - a traditional Swedish meal, held at noon on Christmas Eve. Doppa means dipping - you cook beef and pork roasts in water, then combine the rich broths, and dip bread into it, to enjoy with the meats. We have no extended family here in Illinois, so we have included our friends for years. Here is friend Andrew, with our daughter Genevieve. |
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| Our friend, Bill, with me. Fun day! |
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| Our lovely daughters - Hannah, Genevieve, and Emily. So great to have them all home together! |
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| Matt's dad, Joe, with our daughter, Hannah. Two cuties! |
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| Dear friend, Diane (right) and her daughter, Kelly! |
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| Friend Cindy (married to Andrew) and Scott. |
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| Daughter Emily with a plate full of pie! A doppa tradition is - everyone who attends, brings a pie! We cut the pies into small pieces, so we can sample many varieties. Emily seems to be regretting her choices! (I think she finished it all however!) Hannah in the background. |
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| Hannah whipping the cream for the pies! |
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| Cute photo - friend Lucas, daughter Hannah, and Genevieve's bf Nick. |
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| Scott and Emily, preparing the doppa meal. God Jul! |
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| As is our tradition, Scott and I headed up to the northwest side of Chicago to Tre Kronor. It's a charming little restaurant, Swedish but with a gourmet twist, kitschy decor but the best food! We went on St. Lucia Day, Dec. 13, for an early breakfast - got there at 6:15 a.m.! Quite early, plus it took us 45 minutes to get there...you do the math. Crazy? Not at all - totally worth it. |
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| Tre Kronor is all decorated for the season, and the small room was illumined with only the Christmas tree, and candles on the tables. It was magical. |
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| Did I mention, they have the best food? |
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| And a highlight is when several girls, with long white gowns, and one with a crown of candles, sing Christmas carols in Swedish. Pass the Kleenex! So nostalgic! |
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| Such a treat to see all of the happy, expectant faces around the room - families sharing this wonderful tradition with each other. It was a special day! Merry Christmas to all! God Jul! |
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| I have been plugging away at an old UFO, which has been languishing in my quilting studio - aka, land of unfinished projects. The pieced letters, while a great graphic for the quilt, are difficult for me. Give me a pattern, or even a picture, and I can sew most anything. But I am just making up the letters as I go along...let's just say, my seam ripper and I are good buddies these days. |
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| This one "G" look a long time until it looked the way I wanted it to, and in the correct size. I have also been re-making several of the letters, as the some of the black fabric is of a poor quality. See my previous post on about this black fabric here. |
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| Fun wonky stars, also in the UFO box for this quilt - but I'm not loving all that green print. Think that seam ripper will get used on this part of the quilt, too! So - it's still a UFO, but I'm making progress. Think I'll have it done in time for Christmas gifting? |
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| Can't compete with the colors of nature, especially in the fall that we've been experiencing here in the Midwest. Our bird ornament looks smashing next to the oakleaf hydrangea, no? |
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| Yellow mum, nobby orange pumpkin, rustic bench - my fall display. |
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| Dora let us dress her up for her 4th birthday party. She is truly the most beautiful lab - people stop us when we go for walks all the time. And she is just as sweet as she is pretty. |
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| Buddy came to the party, so of course he needed a hat, too. Note his black bow tie for the occasion. :) |
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| On another visit, he came all ready for trick or treating. He sat like a good boy, but was not happy wearing the costume! |
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| I made this "pink month" mug rug for a co-worker. She is a survivor, and just about to turn 40. She got cancer when she was in her 20's, and had 2 small children. She inspires me every day with her cheerful demeanor and positive outlook. |
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| This is an OLD project, called a bulls-eye quilt, I think. You can judge the age by all of those plaids and stripes that were popular many moons ago. I do love this quilt, even though it is somewhat dated. But something Sujata said - about how all of your quilts, made over the years, are all a part of you...I really love that, and it is so true. I was looking for another hand quilting project, and was going to make some kind of new, small project - in my spare time...but then I remembered this quilt top. Sometimes what you are looking for is right in your own backyard, right Dorothy? (Wizard of Oz reference) I am quilting in a hoop, with very few pins for basting, as Tim does. I am using a wool batt, perle cotton #8, and a Big Stitch needle. |
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| Another Tim was keeping me company while I quilted - Tim Gunn from Project Runway. Anyone else out there a fan? |
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| One block finished in less than an evening! I am loving this! |
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| Just tried a new recipe (found in the Chicago Tribune) - Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Apples - and all I can say is wow, you must try this! If you had this at a restaurant, you would go back! |
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| As you can see, Scott and devoured half of one the tenderloins for lunch today!
SPICED
PORK TENDERLOIN WITH ROASTED APPLES
3 T. olive oil 3 cloves garlic, finely minced 3/4 t. ground cinnamon 1/2 t. nutmeg 1/2 t. ginger 1/4 t. allspice 1 1/2 t. salt 1 T. maple syrup 2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each ( bought one package, about 2-3/4 pounds, and it had 2 tenderloins inside)
4 tart apples (I used 3
large Gala apples))
1/4 c. white wine 1 cup chicken broth 2 T. butter, cut into small pieces
1.
Oven to 425. Combine olive oil, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg,
ginger, allspice, salt and maple syrup in a large bowl. Add tenderloins and
toss to coat.
2. Heat large oven proof skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add enough oil to just coat the surface; then brown tenderloins on all sides. 3. Meanwhile, toss apples in the bowl with any remaining spice coat. When meat is seared, remove pan from heat. Scatter apples around tenderloins. 4. Put pan in oven; roast 20-25 minutes or until desired doneness. 5. Remove pan from oven and transfer meat and apples to platter or cutting board to rest. Place pan on stove over medium heat. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to dislodge any browned bits. Stir in chicken broth and simmer until reduced by about 2/3 and slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Removed pan from heat; stir in butter bits to further thicken sauce and add a nice sheen. 6. Gently toss apples with sauce to coat; place apples on platter. Slice tenderloins; arrange with apples.
NOTE:
I doubled all of the spices because, after I mixed them in the bowl, it didn’t look
like enough. The result was great!
Also: I omitted the salt, because of my
dietary limitations, and I did not miss it. Scott added a bit of salt to his plate at
the table.
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Happy new year! Here's hoping for peace in our world! A quote that I carry around with me is from my hometown pastor, from years ago -...
