We never really have big Christmas plans because we have always had to work the day after Christmas and this year was no exception. That means we have a laid back, easy going holiday. Christmas Eve Donny made steaks. I think the cast iron was a bit too hot and it ended up smoking out the kitchen.

I don’t know if you can see the haze in the picture but it was pretty bad. The steaks were really good though.

After dinner we all went out to the fire pit. The weather has been so warm during the days but it has been cooling off at night.

Jackson and I hung in for as long as we could before giving up and heading for bed, but Donny and Hannah stayed out pretty late.

Before we knew it, it was Christmas morning. The thing about having teenagers is they like to sleep in. They finally roused at about 10:00 so we finally got to open presents. Donny and the kids did so good. Donny actually went to the mall by himself and picked out these super cute pants and overalls. Because Hannah was sick he was sending her pictures to see if she thought I would like them.

He also got me some binoculars. I could lie and say that they are for bird watching. Nope, they are for spying on the feral cat colony and my loud neighbors that live at the end of our street. What can I say, I’m nosy.

My big gift was actually the spoon ring bender that I ordered (yes, Donny knew about it) for myself. That’s actually all I wanted because I cannot wait to start making spoon rings and cuffs. I have a ring I wear every day that is from the 1950’s Jubilee pattern.

We went to Harbor Freight so that I could get my bolt cutters and sanding tool.

We finished off the day with a shrimp boil. It was so good. Gavin came over to watch the new episodes of Stranger Things with Hannah. It was a very good day.

I don’t know about anyone else, but the day after Christmas the tree and decor come down. Once the presents are opened I am ready to pack it all up. So that’s exactly what I did on the 26th. It just feels so good to have our home back in order. I also watched Stranger Things. It’s going to be interesting how the Duffer Brothers tie everything up in the finale on Wednesday.

Tonight I made gumbo. I was very excited because I had found a gluten free all purpose flour. Reddit said that it can be used in a roux. If you have ever made a dark roux you know that it is a labor of love. It’s 40 minutes of stirring, stirring, stirring. Donny had to bring me a stool so I could see into the pot. (I used my big catering pot) I was skeptical because it wasn’t thickening like a normal roux. I finally got it to the chocolate brown color. Y’all, it turned out so good. I did end up adding two cornstarch slurries just so I had the thickness I prefer.

If you read here you know how I thought the TV in our bedroom was just way too big. I wish I could explain why I got Donny a Roku tv for our bedroom IN THE EXACT SAME SIZE. The legs were different so we used the floating shelf from Jackson’s room to set it on.

I’m so annoyed that it never entered my mind that it’s just too big for the space. Oh well, at least it doesn’t show the light bulbs through it like our old one did. I’m sure I’ll get used to it.