[Viking2002]

Here, too, but it's 48, rainy, and raw. But, the house is decorated very nicely (I got a big string of C-9 bulbs around the garage door to match the entry doors this year), electric candles in every window, four trees of the 2'-9' height are up and decorated, a fire is going, and a rosemary-reasoned beef roast with potatoes and button mushrooms is ready to serve in the slow cooker as soon as the stupid bread rises. Trying to knock out the rest of my over-winter seed planting: 20 red dwarf apples, about 30 dwarf Mandarin orange, ten rainbow grape vines, two California palm and five Canary Island date palms, and several dozen coffee (allegedly Kona variety) trees. We'll see what's sprouting in a few weeks (or, in the case of the palms, months).

[Vision]

I’m surprised you can grow all that down there. You’ll be able to harvest coffee and dates?

[WXRGina]

It sounds beautiful and delicious, Viking! We have our usual lights out front on the azalea bushes (the little, incandescent multi-colored ones) and “creamy” multi-colored C-9 bulbs around our big picture window with our once-live, cut tree. I still have big BLUE bulbs—bigger than C-9s, because they’re round—on a small, live Christmas tree shaped cedar tree to honor the police. That one’s been up for a long time now. It’s all lovely.

I just browned some chicken thighs in oil and have put them in the oven to finish, just salt-pepper-garlic powder. And I have some big portobello mushroom caps I’m going to pan sauté in the chicken pan drippings. I may serve some of that wonderful leftover corn pudding on the side, too.