Merry Christmas All
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The Leg of Lamb is in the Sous Vide, all seasoned and waiting for many hours later tonight when Daughter #3 and her partner will grace us with their presence.
Daughter #1 has been here since yesterday around noon. We commenced with our annual tradition of Xmas Eve shopping and had a wonderful time. Daughter #2 is in Philly this year having just moved there a couple of months ago now. Her fiancée (Yes! He popped the question about a month ago before he had to go to Oklahoma for advanced radar training for his new position as an Air Traffic Controller at the Philly airport. He has been gone for a month and only returned two days ago. He deserves to relax at home and not make a long trip this year as is their usual. So we will miss her this year but know that they are where they need to be be right now.
The big hit this year was a vintage Selmer Signet Alto Saxophone I bought for Daughter #1.
While flute was her primary instrument, she played alto sax in the jazz and pep bands. The sax we had at the time was a vintage Conn student model that my oldest sister had played in school in the 1970s. It is known as the family sax which has been passed down first to my daughters then to their young cousin who has it now.
Daughter #1 recently mentioned that she wanted to play the sax again so, of course I went shopping.
Our local instrument repair shop is right across the street from us and I paid a visit to them on Monday and they had this gorgeous Selmer Signet alto sax that has been completely restored with new pads, etc. it’s from the 1960s and was kept in stunning condition. Small signs of use wear in all the normal areas but the majority of the finish is just stellar with a nice aged patina but no finish checking that I can see.
She was so surprised! It brought tears to my eyes to see her reaction. A reaction that was so common on Christmas morning when they were young children. It was awesome to have that feeling once again.
I also got her a Lego F1 car modeled after the recent McLaren car. Again opened with the excitement of when she was little.
It is so nice to have at last one of my children here for Christmas morning.
Merry Christmas to all!
What a great gift!
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I am making lasagna. It’s so time consuming, I hardly ever make it. It should be ready soon. Then we’ll have cake after dinner
@ShiroKuro I made a lasagna brunch for some friends a few weeks ago. Trick is to make the sauce the night before, then it's just a matter of assembly on the day, before popping it in the oven.
The industrial revolution cheapened everything.
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The Leg of Lamb is in the Sous Vide, all seasoned and waiting for many hours later tonight when Daughter #3 and her partner will grace us with their presence.
Daughter #1 has been here since yesterday around noon. We commenced with our annual tradition of Xmas Eve shopping and had a wonderful time. Daughter #2 is in Philly this year having just moved there a couple of months ago now. Her fiancée (Yes! He popped the question about a month ago before he had to go to Oklahoma for advanced radar training for his new position as an Air Traffic Controller at the Philly airport. He has been gone for a month and only returned two days ago. He deserves to relax at home and not make a long trip this year as is their usual. So we will miss her this year but know that they are where they need to be be right now.
The big hit this year was a vintage Selmer Signet Alto Saxophone I bought for Daughter #1.
While flute was her primary instrument, she played alto sax in the jazz and pep bands. The sax we had at the time was a vintage Conn student model that my oldest sister had played in school in the 1970s. It is known as the family sax which has been passed down first to my daughters then to their young cousin who has it now.
Daughter #1 recently mentioned that she wanted to play the sax again so, of course I went shopping.
Our local instrument repair shop is right across the street from us and I paid a visit to them on Monday and they had this gorgeous Selmer Signet alto sax that has been completely restored with new pads, etc. it’s from the 1960s and was kept in stunning condition. Small signs of use wear in all the normal areas but the majority of the finish is just stellar with a nice aged patina but no finish checking that I can see.
She was so surprised! It brought tears to my eyes to see her reaction. A reaction that was so common on Christmas morning when they were young children. It was awesome to have that feeling once again.
I also got her a Lego F1 car modeled after the recent McLaren car. Again opened with the excitement of when she was little.
It is so nice to have at last one of my children here for Christmas morning.
Merry Christmas to all!
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A few photos from tonight’s celebration:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/00f9AzSOjM09rZzbE8vL2wOeA
The last vestige of Miller family Christmas. That’s herring in cream sauce and black olives. I couldn’t get anyone else to as much as taste it. Time has passed me by, and Ohio people do things differently. Those plate are Sharon’s mother’s - I get kind of goofy with sentiment at Christmas. The serving dishes were my mother’s.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/01ax-YnIBvUfuu_xcaeuZB-dw
Roast pork tenderloin with spiced apricot glaze. Sharon absolutely nailed this one - best I’ve ever had. I was afraid it might be too spicy for the toddlers but they ate every bit of it.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0efTD1lwl5i5G8FLq5_MR0Nuw
The spread. I had little to do with any of this as Sharon gets nervous when I’m in her kitchen. Everything was great!
https://share.icloud.com/photos/04b0wJhsXiQ7025CJ7iCR86SA
Dinner! Plates are Johnson Bros. transferware, some inherited, some new. I love that stuff. Whisky is the prizewinning stuff stuff I learned about on this forum. I bought a case and gave bottles as gifts. It’s very good!
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0aeTquiCc853HtsyR8iyXxLxA
Best gift of the year. It sticks to the wall by way of a big fan. Big hit with the grands!
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I’m not sure you can access these photos. My New Year’s resolution is to figure out how to post photos on this forum.
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@ShiroKuro I made a lasagna brunch for some friends a few weeks ago. Trick is to make the sauce the night before, then it's just a matter of assembly on the day, before popping it in the oven.
-
A few photos from tonight’s celebration:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/00f9AzSOjM09rZzbE8vL2wOeA
The last vestige of Miller family Christmas. That’s herring in cream sauce and black olives. I couldn’t get anyone else to as much as taste it. Time has passed me by, and Ohio people do things differently. Those plate are Sharon’s mother’s - I get kind of goofy with sentiment at Christmas. The serving dishes were my mother’s.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/01ax-YnIBvUfuu_xcaeuZB-dw
Roast pork tenderloin with spiced apricot glaze. Sharon absolutely nailed this one - best I’ve ever had. I was afraid it might be too spicy for the toddlers but they ate every bit of it.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0efTD1lwl5i5G8FLq5_MR0Nuw
The spread. I had little to do with any of this as Sharon gets nervous when I’m in her kitchen. Everything was great!
https://share.icloud.com/photos/04b0wJhsXiQ7025CJ7iCR86SA
Dinner! Plates are Johnson Bros. transferware, some inherited, some new. I love that stuff. Whisky is the prizewinning stuff stuff I learned about on this forum. I bought a case and gave bottles as gifts. It’s very good!
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0aeTquiCc853HtsyR8iyXxLxA
Best gift of the year. It sticks to the wall by way of a big fan. Big hit with the grands!
@Steve-Miller The food looks scrumptious! I love herring in cream sauce. I used to have a set of Johnson Bros. "Friendly Village", gave it away. I miss it sometimes, but how many sets does a person need?
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We gave away a ton of china when we moved but kept a set of Friendly Village. My parents set was mostly “Frozen up” but Friendly village was more common and that’s what we focused on.
Ditched the Sterling silverware years ago but I kind of miss it. Ditto the Waterford. No one wants that stuff anymore and no one entertains that way anymore.
Pity, that. It was fun.
