DAY 4: BRIGHT AND COLD

A few years ago, it became obvious that I had to adjust our Christmas celebration to fit our new lifestyle. I hated to think of it as scaling back. I realized that I needed something to keep my enthusiasm up – some inspiration to get me through the season. That's when I decided to adopt a "retro" theme for the holidays and now that interest spills over into other areas of life as well.

Of course, my Christmas isn't truly a retro celebration at all. I decorate my pre-lit artificial tree with my growing collection of Hallmark houses and such other ornaments as I choose. The advantage is that the tree goes up quickly and more importantly – it comes down quickly. Nick and Hallie helped me put up our farmhouse tree the day after Thanksgiving and now I'm here to enjoy it with hot gingerbread spice tea and a warm fire. (Okay, I admit it. My feet are cold!) Anyway, I'm not a "retro" authority nor am I a fanatic about it. I still like what I like. I'm just celebrating with less opulence.

When we arrived at the farm at 10:30 a.m. it was 30 degrees. Mike was looking forward to taking Nellie hunting since the ground was frozen. However, it warmed to 38 and the frozen ground turned to mud. So, it is cold. The fire is nice but it's still cold in the corners. I baked a cake this afternoon to add whatever heat I could to the house. I added a cup of pumpkin puree left over from Thanksgiving pies to a spice cake mix along with a cup of water, 3 large eggs, a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, and ½ cup walnuts. Cream cheese frosting will complete it. I'll bake crab casserole for our supper. KW