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The Bigs FINALLY picked up on my hints. I started with some subtle ones in November. ‘Remember the fisherman sweater I had when I was in the Big Seed room? It was nice’. That did not work. It must have sunk in when I told Mom ‘I really want another fisherman sweater’.

It was Great Grandma Marie’s birthday this week. We made a gingerbread cake with lemon glaze to celebrate the big day. Happy birthday, GGMarie!

The Bigs went skiing without me again. Guess the karma lesson from last week didn’t make the impact I hoped for.

Check it out. I got a microscope.

Whoa.

Something is not right.

All better. I can’t believe I was using my microscope without my lab coat!

Take the ornaments off the tree. Take off all your clothes. Why not?

Hadley came over. We did some cooking.

We did not make lentil stew

or Dolsot bibimbap.

Mainly we just made a mess, but we had fun and that’s what counts, right?

We did more skiing this weekend. That was fun too.

Guess who?

A few weeks ago Mom tried to explain karma. More on that in a minute.

On Thursday, The Bigs went skiing without me. It was a powder day. I was not impressed. They sat in an hour of traffic and got two runs in over the course of two hours due to wind closures of lifts and large crowds.

That’s karma, right Mom?

This week we had Indian fried rice

and lemon brussel sprout pasta.

For New Years we did not have our usual posole. Instead we had pizza. The Bigs had mushroom and cashew ricotta. I had PEPPERONI.

We did have our usual margaritas, though.

And for dessert, we had chocolate avocado pie.

The next morning we had gallo pinto (Costa Rican rice and beans) for breakfast

and then hit the slopes.

For dinner we had watercress and chickpea soup with rose water and ras el hanout

and avocado toast with coconut bacon for breakfast the next day.

I ‘helped’ out in the afternoon.

Most people cook wearing an apron, long johns, and knee socks, right?

This is why helped was in quotes,

but you’ll clean it up won’t you, Mom?

Was the mess worth it? Yes, we were making Grandma Marie’s Greek cookies (yes, we know there are supposed to be candied cherries on top. They taste good anyway!):

Today we ALMOST made the rainbow chair. So close!

That’s right. NO green circles needed for this guy.

Good-bye 2020. We will never forget you.

How will you challenge yourself this year?

We wish you a VERY Happy New Year.

What? The Bigs had a Christmas guest? Hahaha, this is The Bigs we are talking about, people. It’s just me. Like my disguise?

While it may look like it, this is not a disguise. This is just what I wore on Wednesday.

Time to prepare tapas for Christmas Eve. Cooking chickpeas for hummus:

I let Dad make the bread and baba ganoush:

Time to open presents!

Silly Bigs, there is no such thing as too many gifts.

Seriously, stop grumbling.

Check it out. A superhero apron with a pocket. SO COOL.

New track suit and fire boots:

Christmas breakfast. Coffee cake and Christmas smoothies.

Christmas ski. Santa brought some powder to the mountain.

We worked up a hunger. Christmas dinner time. Tomatoes roasted

for hot charred cherry tomatoes with cold yogurt:

We also made Uncle Jim’s recipe for individual beef croustades:

and a Pan co’ Santi:

We also had a couscous with a pear, walnut, and arugula pesto. I chose the sides. I don’t actually like the tomatoes. The Bigs think my choices were driven by a desire to have a red and green theme.

For dessert we had yule log:

You may be thinking, boy, they eat a lot. I wonder if they are getting chubby. Nope!

Back to the slopes on Boxing Day. Mom took these pictures on the ride up to the mountain. Don’t worry, Dad was driving.

I was in a rush to get there. I was meeting Riley (or as I like to call her, Ri Ri).

We had more fresh powder. The Bigs eventually had to tell me we had to leave.

It was a tiring day. Good thing I have my new husband for lounging…

I didn’t lounge for long though. I had a dinner date with Meera. Her dad made dal. I was in heaven.

Our Christmas Sing-A-Long was this week. The teachers told us to wear a fancy outfit. I chose this:

Plaid and plaid don’t go, Mom? Whahahaha

Dad and I know better.

Skiing in the Pacific Northwest. Saturday = powder.

Sunday = rain.

I thought skiing in the rain was fun. You just need to bring a dry change of clothes and a warm hat.

Something not fun we did this week was buy a new refrigerator. Ours died. Due to the pandemic and the Bend building boom, there were no choices unless you wanted to wait until April, no delivery, and some really grumpy Bigs. I took charge and got that fridge installed.

While we waited for the new fridge, we kept our food in the garage. It was about 40 degrees in there, so almost cold enough. We had some good food despite the issues. Tortilla soup:

Truffle salt pasta with spinach, tomatoes, and SHRIMP:

Roasted eggplant and tomato soup:

Tuna, mango, veg bowls:

And we made our own ‘nutella’:

We’ve been cross-country skiing since before Thanksgiving, but Mount Bachelor finally opened, so we get to go ‘pine skiing now! On the Rainbow lift:

Making gingerbread cookies:

and decorating them:

Ready to go on the tree:

This lady found a home near our 3-D-printed snowflake:

In addition to skiing and baking, I also do floral arranging. My latest centerpiece creation:

We only tried one new recipe this week, vegetable quinoa stew:

We need snow. Here I am taking matters into my own hands:

Crane building:

Mom’s birthday:

These party hats make me feel like doing unicorn pose:

Birthday cheesecake. This four candle is getting a workout. It started its life at Ryan’s fourth birthday…

I’ll cut the cake with my light saber (thanks for that great idea Uncle Chris):

Look at this slice, perfect:

Christmas tree hunting:

Supervising the installation of our tree:

‘Helping’ with the lights:

Done:

I made up another recipe:

Turkey, potatoes, gravy, lettuce, truffle salt, and pepper salad:

Remember the pumpkin Becky and I carved my name into?

It made a delicious curried pumpkin soup:

We also had a sour apple slaw and five-spice tofu bite bowl this week:

Lots of skiing and turkey this week. On Thanksgiving day, we went exploring in the woods near Swampy.

I spent most of the time making the Bigs follow my zig-zaggy tracks and finding things to jump off. Sometimes over and over again.

After skiing, it was time to get cooking. Here I am making the mushroom soup for my world-famous green bean casserole (yes, The Bigs made me make mushroom soup and french onions from scratch. Don’t they know they sell these things in the store?):

The finished product:

We also had a spatchcocked heritage breed turkey, cooked on the grill. Hey, who you callin’ turkey?

We also had truffle mashed potatoes and white wine giblet gravy:

And, cranberry walnut bread:

I provided the table decorations:

I was happy:

and so was my belly:

Desert was pumpkin cashew ‘cheese’cake:

Lots more skiing this weekend:

And, lots more snacking:

Sometimes, I even get to go downhill:

And, occasionally, I hitch a ride back up (and Pop was worried about Dad getting enough exercise now that he doesn’t have to pull the Chariot!):

A video of a tow ride:

Looking sharp for my after-ski mini-van lunch:

In addition to being Ski Man, I am also Long-John Man. I have worn my long johns and my buff for four straight days now. The Bigs said I have to wear regular clothes to school tomorrow. On top of all that, I am also Christmas Man. We decorated our house the day after Thanksgiving:

Christmas Man’s room:

Yes, it is much too bright to sleep, but Christmas Man does not care. Christmas Man wrote his list for Santa:

I will send it with this letter:

We did some more cross country skiing this weekend.

Okay, enough with the pictures already. Let’s go ski.

Nothing like an ice cold beer after a hard ski.

I made dinner again this week. The Bigs didn’t like what I made, so I had to make them a special meal. I don’t understand why they can’t eat pasta without mushrooms. What are they? Five?

Some of the things we ate. Burrito bowls:

and pad thai:

Dad made bread:

because Mom made soup. Curried cauliflower:

and Turkish tomato, bulgur, and red pepper.

No meal is complete without dessert. Like purple turkey-shaped butter cookies:

and French apple tart.

Is it live or is it Memorex?

Helping with the fall yard clean up:

Another big LEGO week. Uncle Chris sent me a cool Star Wars Lego kit:

and Mom borrowed a simple machines kit – so I built a race car with a working transmission.

Dad built a box for the minivan. Why?

For us to sit in the car and have lunch after a hard ski (no COVID lodges for us, thank you).

Good thing he finished it. I worked up a big hunger this weekend. Look at all this snow!

There has been lots of moaning about aches and pains from The Bigs. I guess working from home without proper office chairs (among other things) has hurt them. Getting old must be rough. Anyway, I solved the problem. Here I am assembling their new office chairs.

I am so much more productive now!

Despite doing almost all the work around the house and solving The Bigs problems, I still had time to create. This is art.

You saw some of the prep for a few of this week’s meals last weekend. Here are the finished products. Tofu noodle soup:

and Indian mulligatwany stew:

I also made

broccoli and cheese risotto and pan-seared tempeh steaks with a chimichurri sauce

And Dad made a multigrain bread

and a super greens soup with lemon tarragon cream.

Guess who I am. Not sure? Some hints. 1. That’s a mustache. 2. Börk börk börk. Give up? The Swedish Chef, of course.

I volunteered to make dinner on Friday. Perhaps so we would have something I like…

I made truffle salt shrimp pasta, of course.

This week, I gave The Bigs a shopping list.

They ACTUALLY bought the stuff. I used those apples, potatoes, butter, salt, and raisins to make a salad – I made up the recipe.

It was, much to The Bigs’ surprise, quite good. How could they doubt me?

I also prepped several meals for the coming week. I got a broth started for tofu noodle soup,

made an Indian mulligatawny soup,

and prepared the topping for an apple cranberry crisp.

I still had time to do multiple costume changes and some light cleaning.

I’m never tired, but when The Bigs make me go to bed, at least I have cool new Peanuts sheets – just like Ryan. Thanks Nan and Pop!

On Saturday we went on a hike at Paulina Lake. It was 26 degrees out.

I AM FREEZING. WHERE ARE THE HOT SPRINGS?!?!

Ahhhhhhh.