Merry Christmas and Farewell Megan and Rob!

Does anything say early-Christmas-dinner-in-a-crowded-apartment like homemade mincemeat tarts, Sorels stacked in the doorway, and handknits worn goofily to cook in? Read on and see . . .

I didn’t take any pictures of the snowy scenes outside our condo on Saturday, but this photo hints at the weather Yes, the young women all sensibly arrived in their various models of Sorels, well-equipped for any winter storm. Of course, one of them quickly changed into these beauties which, despite my insisting on the photo op, have not been adequately captured on film. They’re by Steve Madden, have a shapely, if vertiginous, heel, and looked fabulous on Kris (she also impressed us with her chocolate cake, but more on that later).
More evidence of the cold and of my poor camera skills (something about the delay when using the flash, a delay I cannot get used to!), here’s my son-in-law, Adam, warmly bundled in a scarf I’d like to steal: And evidence that the cold weather made my knit gifts quite welcome, here’s Megan’s boyfriend, Rob, wearing the Shedir hat I made for him. Again, since I failed to hold the camera steady ’til the shutter actually clicked (!) we have more fuzz than precision, but perhaps you get the idea.
And if you’re still prepared to be patient with poor photos, here’s a happy couple (soon to be unhappy in, respectively, Barbados and then Wolf Island, Ontario — Rob, and Tyax Ski Lodge in the deep interior of BC — Megan) united in their handknit gifts as well, perhaps, as by a certain affection for each other!
Folks were really rocking their handknits, but it wasn’t as cold in the apartment as these photos suggest. Look at dad and chef daughter whipping up their culinary storm; can you tell she likes the scarf she commissioned? (Paul’s hat’s one of a series of experiments with beanies from last winter).

More later on what they’re creating there. First, more pictures of the crowd. Here’s the soon-to-be-parted sweethearts, reminding me so much of just a few years ago (well, decades) when I sat on Paul’s knee during family visits, just like this.Here’s Joey, Zach’s girlfriend, chatting with Bronwen

and here are the guys discussing world affairs, or maybe basketball . . .We missed Rhiannon but took the opportunity to talk about her lots (kidding, Rhi! — love you, sweetie!)

And we ate, oh, did we eat! We started out with a fabulous spread of nibblies — wonderful cheeses (I love the Juliet from Saltspring Island’s David Wood), prosciutto-wrapped melon, some great charcuterie from Meg’s mentor and former boss, Sean Cousins, at So.cial’s butchershop. That’s also where the meal’s centerpiece came from, an amazingly tender standing rib roast, beautifully aged, probably the best roast beef I’ve ever had. Yorkshire pudding, gravy, fab salad, yummy veggies, and ta-da! Look at this cake, made and artfully presented by Ms. Kris (who also made the tarts above — with her homemade mincemeat to boot!)