Christmas + Champagne + Crab + Kids

Again, Christmas Eve consisted of all of the above, some to excess. Also in the mix were chocolate, cookies, cheeses, charcuterie and probably other words starting with the letter "C."  (Church was definitely not in that mix.)  It is my favorite day/evening of the year and once it begins in the mid afternoon, it roars with healthy abandon until after 2:00 the next morning. Lots of small gifts are opened throughout the evening and there is more laughter than bubbles from champagne.

The early morning found Dar and myself driving to Bodega Bay for live crab. Beautiful morning, fog drifting over the hills from Guerneville to the coast, happy people waiting in a short line for crab. Once back to Jenn and Dar's cooking began, bread was baked, bagels and cookies and dips and spreads were made and gifts were still being wrapped. By 3:00 we were all in the house while it poured rain and the power flickered on and off. A fire was lit, the first bottle of champagne was popped and off we went, snacking and talking, drinking and laughing (and crying) until, woozy with food and alcohol, we all called it a night and fell sleeping into our respective beds. 

The next morning, much too soon, coffee and the above mentioned bagels and leftover cake and cookies helped us get our feet on the ground, ibuprofen helped with the headaches and by noon we had all hugged, kissed and moved off down the road towards other Christmas dinners.

There is nothing better than sharing the love (and everything else) during this season.  I hope for all of you a happy holiday season.