Scenes From a Winter

It's been a long, cold winter, and here are pictures of some random memories of the '08-'09 winter. Gabe was not willing to let a snowstorm stop him from swinging in our backyard, and lighting sparklers on the driveway seemed a perfect way to end our family Christmas celebration. Since sunshine is rare during our winters, Tobin gets his exposure from the inflatable toy (actually left at our house when Eric and Ang went to sunnier places a few years ago).

The last picture needs a bit of explanation. Eric and Ang hosted a Chinese New Year celebration on January 26 and decided that it would be interesting to have a Jello Party. Everyone was to bring a jello "creation" to go along with Chinese take-out food. I was happy to share recipes from my "Joys of Jello" book, which everyone found "so '70's" (or maybe '60's). We had a great time sampling all the dishes, including the "Crown Jewel Dessert" (on the right) which Ang made.

It was fun reminiscing about the glory days of jello, remembering that it was served even at our wedding reception back in the '60's. Maybe we've started a revival--although it was a lot of sugar at one meal.