It was another hectic Christmas for us, now winding down.  It started Sunday.  I was running around getting holiday groceries after getting off work that morning.  And I went to our post office and noticed the mail box out front was broken into.  I ended up calling the sheriff and reporting it.

On Monday, the cooking began.  I made homemade marshmallows.

Then I made venison mincemeat.

That evening we watched Charlie Brown Christmas.

If you watched the Saturday Night Live, they did a skit with a great rendition of this dance scene.

Monday night there was another windstorm.  And Tuesday morning one of our shelters had been tore apart.  At first it was unclear to me what happened.

But when I got closer one wall and roof had blow to the next field over including the 2 x 8 boards and posts.  Pretty impressive wind.

 

 

 

It had also blown some of the roofing off of the feed shed,  So Tom got up on a ladder and fixed that.

Then it was back to cooking.  I made a Mary Berry Christmas Pudding.

And a tossed salad.  This is the salad before I put the lettuce in.

We finished wrapping the presents.

And we brought the pudding, salad, some gifts and ourselves to my aunt’s house in Renton for our family’s Christmas Eve dinner.  Here is her prime rib roast.

And the family gathered together, minus my uncle who is taking the photo.

We got home late last night, so this morning I got up early to start the Christmas breakfast preparations.  Here are the venison mincemeat pest after baking.

I made a wheat and dairy free Sausage Wreath (that didn’t quite turn out like the photos).

I filled the stockings rather last second.

And then did the animal chores while Tom cooked up the eggs, bacon and potatoes.  Here is Roscoe enjoying his breakfast.

The cows enjoyed their hay.  I put it next to the fence so it wouldn’t blow away as easily.

Usually I feed Olivia her wetted feed outside away from Marty, but she did not want to be in wind and rain.  So they had to share.

The geese were the only animals choosing to be outside.

I managed to persuade the younger sheep to go outside to eat briefly.

This is so I could feed the alpaca its special food.

The peafowl were definitely staying inside.

The goats pretty much always stay inside.

I am getting Jemima to eat bread out of my hand sometimes now.  She is getting quite old and arthritic.

The turkey were inside as well.

When I got back to the house, Wally desperately wanted to be let in.

The wind was really making the chimes go crazy.

I got the baked goods onto the table just in time.

And I made myself a hot cocoa with a candy cane stirring stick in my abominable snowman cup.

The homemade marshmallows are inside.

The family had all arrived, and we had breakfast.

Ryeleigh and Wally were a little disturbed by the sudden influx.

This included Pip, the grandkids’ puppy.

William handed out the presents, and Piper was inundated.

She enjoyed the book and the wooden puzzle I got her.

William got new boots.

Piper got a book of stickers.

William got new riding pants which fit great.

Piper really enjoyed the wrapping paper fights.

 

Thomas and Diana enjoyed themselves, and Bell liked the lap.

Steve came into the mix as well.

It was quite the messy scene.

Piper and I then headed to the barn to give the animals some special Christmas cookies and donuts.

Everyone left, and we quickly tried to organize the mess.  Here are my wonderful presents.

I quickly made a green bean casserole, and we headed to Tom’s brother’s house for Christmas dinner.  He also made a prime rib roast.

Here’s the start of the line for the food.

And here’s the dinner table after the meal was over.  I learned that this table has been in the family for over 50 years and has had many memorable family gatherings at it.

Now we are back home, further cleaning and organizing.  It was a great Christmas.  I hope you all had a great Christmas as well, from our family to yours.