February 1st – where did that last month go? We have been so busy here at Hidden Valley B&B that I have not had a chance to upload the images from our wonderful Christmas dinner and celebrations – until today.
This year our celebration consisted of 37 people, all either family or close friends. We had three tables. Everybody pitched in with food. I did the 31 pound turkey, dressing, potatoes and stuffing. Mark, Carmen and our daughter Brenda did soup as always. Our two bachelor friends, Graham and Mark, did roasted winter root vegetables and Brussels sprouts with almond crust, and our daughter-in-law Joanna did a marvellous chocolate/wild cranberry tart with a crushed nut crust. Our niece Michelle, did her wonderful fresh green salad. Everyone else chipped in with bread, butter, wine and condiments. The grand-children set up all of the tables. The men in the family cleared the dishes and washed them up. We always have a great time. We then gathered in the living-room and opened the gifts under the tree.
Roasting vegetables
More Christmas dinner prep
Making pierogies
Slicing & dicing
Soups On!
Testing the turkey
Apple Struedel
A bevy of Christmas beauties
Enjoying Christmas
We were very busy over Christmas with guests at the Bed and Breakfast. Many of them were from Japan, and were here in the hopes of viewing The Aurora. Some were successful, and some weren’t, but either way they really enjoyed spending Christmas Day with the family.
We also had a celebration on New Year’s Day. We had the entire extended family over and a few family friends…..many with small children. We had a big toboggan party. There were about 40 of us gathered at the top of the hill. We had a big bon fire burning, and we had hot chocolate and homemade eggnog. Our oldest granddaughter Morgane and her husband Matt made enough spaghetti and meat sauce to feed the entire Russian Army!! We added hot garlic bread and a giant green salad to the mix, accompanied by big trays of sweets. Our guests from Japan really enjoyed the day…. especially the tobogganing!!
It was still dark around the 25th of Dec. with the Winter Solstice only four days gone. Now, a little over a month has gone by, and the increase in light has been dramatic. A month ago, it didn’t become light until 10 o’clock in the morning. Now it is light by 9:15 AM. We’re still very busy here at the bed and breakfast with avid viewers of The Northern Lights.
Eva