Merry Christmas 2018!

 December has been a very busy month for my family, for many reasons, and I realized I should have taken a blog break this month, as I have had hardly any time to sit by my computer.  Hopefully, if you keep in touch with me by Instagram, facebook, or twitter, you have seen why my blog has been quiet these past few weeks. 

We began December by traveling to Colorado Springs, where we stayed overnight at the beautiful Broadmoor Resort and Hotel.  I've blogged about this very special hotel more extensively on this post--click here--where we celebrated an anniversary a few years ago.

It was beautifully decorated for the Christmas season, with many different Christmas trees in all of its buildings.

We stayed overnight at the hotel with friends, as we were all in Colorado Springs to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra in concert. What a spectacular show they put on! The lights, special effects, narrated Christmas story and music was all fabulous!

On our way home the next day we drove through the Garden of the Gods--click here--to read my post about this natural red rock park in Colorado Springs--where we saw this wonderful view of Pikes Peak. There was a little bit of snow at its 14,114-foot elevation. So far late autumn has not brought the front range of Colorado much cold or snow, but the higher elevations and ski resort areas have gotten a nice amount.

Although my husband and I were nursing colds and sore backs, we were able to put up and decorate our Christmas tree and decorate the rest of the house outside and in. All of the ornaments on our tree have a special meaning to me, as I have collected them from different places and occasions over the years. It is like visiting old friends when I take them out of their boxes every season. As you can see I have a soft spot for Santa Claus.

December brought a Christmas dance recital for our youngest granddaughter, a guitar recital for our oldest grandson, and Santa Claus visits for all four grandchildren. All very sweet moments!

December also brought my oldest grandson's 10th birthday! To celebrate we went to a Benihana Restuarant where our meal was cooked in front of us all as the chef wield his knives expertly and we watched in fascination.

While I plan on making Christmas cookies this week, my granddaughter and I did make our annual Gingerbread house together...

...and my husband and I made our traditional savory zeppoles today.  These are not the usual sweet Italian Neopolitan, donut-like zeppoles that many of you may be familiar with,  but Calabrian savory potato and semolina dough style with an anchovy in the middle. They are a once a year treat for us! If you'd like the recipe I described the entire process of how to make them on this post. On Christmas Eve I prepare an Italian style "Feast of the Seven Fishes," and one of my most popular recipes is the Mixed Seafood Salad-click here-for that recipe.

So this last week before Christmas Eve will continue to be a busy time for me, but I am loving every minute of it. Of course, the most important part of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May His message of love for all people, especially those that need our love the most, be in our hearts and in our actions in 2019.

Merry Christmas to all!

See you in 2019!