More Partying

Ed and Julie hosted a family get together/Christmas party today. It was an occasion for sharing lots of love and fun and games--and of course, lots of food. Ed found a neat recipe for turkey breast coated with mayonnaise. We will add to the testimony of lots of other cooks that this method results in moist, delicious turkey, without any need for basting.

Everyone contributed special dishes to the menu. John and Nancy brought a spiral sliced ham. Nancy made a veggie casserole using a recipe from "The" cookbook (a Shaffer family tradition). The special ingredient was a crunchy topping of crushed Cheez-Its.Terri baked an apple and a pumpkin pie (my favorite). Emily made a chocolate cake with a layer of cream cheese and coconut inside. Julie made a special roasted red pepper and garbanzo bean dip for veggies. I made pecan streusel topped sweet potato casserole. Everything was very yummy.

[photos later]

Today was also Terri and Blake's eighteenth anniversary, another cause for celebration. A spontaneous chorus of "Happy Anniversary" broke out. We had a discussion of the cradle robbing tradition in the family, since Terri is over four years older than Blake.. Ed is the champion in that field, being nearly ten years older than Julie.

Visiting, watching the football game on TV, playing games, taking photos, watching old WNBA ads on You Tube, and just in general having lots of fun made this a great day. We had so much dessert that Ed invited the neighbors across the street to come in a take some plates home, so the joy overflowed.


I walked by myself today and listened to the radio on my Droid. Doing that must have really used up battery time, because when I picked up my phone later to call Ken, it had shut down. I plugged it back in just in time for him to call. I'm thinking that this battery is on its last legs. Fortunately, I have a spare battery at home. Meanwhile, Ed reminds me that his phone contract is up March 12, 2012. He'll get a new phone then, and I'll get his Droid Incredible, much smaller and lighter than the original Droid, which I have always thought was pretty clunky. Not that it isn't a smart phone--in contrast with Terri's, which is of only average intelligence!