Belated Christmas dinner photos

Nothing like doing a Christmas-related post a month late. Just thought I'd recap this past year's crazy meal:

APPETIZERS & DRINKS: baked brie w/apples and caramelized onions, wensleydale cheese, Maine pumpkin bread, honey corn bread muffins, pasta salad, rice krispy treats, sparkling apple cider, sangria

VEGGIES: Willy's stir-fried cabbage special, green & yellow beans w/mushrooms, corn niblets, Caesar salad

SIDES: homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn chowder

ENTREES: roast, turkey, ham, phyllo-wrapped salmon, Vietnamese cold noodles

DESSERTS: apple pie a la mode, ricotta cheese pie w/chocolate sauce, mini cheesecakes, mini brownies, chocolate pots

I know I'm forgetting some stuff, but you get the jist :)

My First Knitting Swatch

LOL, I finally got around to learning how to knit and this is what I created after watching a few minutes of a video I borrowed from the library. Aww, my first stockinette stitch :P

Two observations about knitting:

(1) It's super confusing that a stitch itself is called a knit stitch or a purl stitch (and as far as I can tell those are really the only two "stitches" in knitting and every pattern is based on these two basics--kinda fascinating in itself to this newbie), but the product of creating these stitches in succession is also called a "stitch," i.e. garter stitch is repeating knit or purl stitches over and over again across multiple rows and stockinette stitch is what results when you alternate rows of knit stitches with rows of purl stitches. What the heck?

(2) Knitting is more complicated to learn than crochet, IMHO. It's harder to fix mistakes, more manipulation of the yarn is required, and it's not as fast as crocheting. All that said, I'm enjoying adding it to my crafting arsenal because the final products often have a more orderly look to them than crochet and it's just cool to learn something new.

Congrats to Mommy Sabrina and Daddy Ryan!

I am so excited for my friends Sabrina & Ryan! Their baby boy Elliot arrived today, a day before his scheduled C-section, and mama, daddy, and baby are all doing well. I'm a tad bit jealous that Willy gets to meet Elliot tonight and I'm stuck in rainy (albeit 50+ degree) Boston, but I did have a chance to chat with the thrilled parents, which was nice.

I've been trying to get out to both NorCal and SoCal for months to visit with friends and their babies. Hopefully that won't be put off for too much longer.

Welcome to the world, Elliot!