Happy Holidays!

I don't believe the holidays are here already, where did the time go?

Luckily, Burt showed up to give us a hand with all the preparations.

He always has a lot of holiday spirit and comes prepared to enjoy himself!

 Putting up the tree is always an exciting event.

Looks like Santa's in for a surprise.

This year only half of the decorations were on the tree before it fell over.

Looks like the second time was the charm, so far! What would we do without bungee cords?

After the tree mishap Nick and Burt decided they might have better luck making Sandbakkel cookies.

There's lots of ways to flavor them but Burt loves cardamom, you can see it in his eyes.

Of course Burt takes in every aspect of baking very soberly .

Filling the Polish Tea Cakes or Ciastka Zkoniserwil or Ciastka Do Herbatki before they cool.

They taste great but does anyone know what they're really called?

Nick showing off his technique for rolling out the sugar cookies dough.

Burt did the decorating and timed the baking. Is that a pink reindeer?

The cooking baking results were, let's say varied. Does anyone know how that happened?

   

Burt has a favorite recipe of his own and enjoys getting into character while making them.

(Isn't that eye patch a little bit redundant though?)

Guess it's Yo Ho Ho, along with Ho, Ho, Ho.

Sorry for being absent for so long. Looks like Burt got us back on track just in time for Santa's visit.

At least I think the milk and cookies are for Santa or could Burt be helping him out this year, too?

Best Wishes of the Season and Happy Holidays Everyone!

It's all about the lights!

It's that time of year again, when it's all about the lights.

Natural light is scarce and L'Heure Bleue is not just a perfume.

Hours are spent in freezing temperatures putting them up.

Risking life and limb illuminating the rain gutters. 

To keep up with the neighbors.

Eventually all that skill and perseverance produced a nice display. They can't be seen from space and they don't flash in time to music but there's enough so it looks festive and fits in with the rest of the block. They're energy efficient lights and on a timer to keep the power consumption to a minimum. I do not want to be around when they discover that half of that string across the top front isn't working!

What is it about fairy lights that makes them so endlessly fascinating?

Is it the different colors, shapes and sizes? Burt thinks bigger is always better.

We always end up going with whatever is available and on sale. How about you?

It's easy to get too wrapped up in the whole experience. Please don't try this at home, he's what you call an exBurt. Did you hear Chinese media regulators have banned the use of puns, wonder why?

At the end of the day isn't it just all about seeing things in a new light?

How do you decorate with lights? Do you go all out or keep it simple?