Sunday the 4th of December was the day set for our annual Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas dinner. This year Kathy and her hubby hosted us in their newly renovated home. The sad thing was that Dear was sicker than a dog so I grabbed my passport and drove myself up to Canada and back. I got to Scot and Kathy’s before the rest of the crew and was able to snap some photos .

As the rest of the girls and their hubbies arrived the platters of appetizers took over Kathy’s beautiful new island.

Not only did appetizers appear as the girls arrived but Lovella’s Showstopper dessert came through the door and all cameras were poised to capture it. Lovella made a single gluten free serving for Julie, too.

We all sat down at the table and started the meal with Bev’s Spinach Salad. Scot cooked an amazing pork tenderloin on his Green Egg, paired with Kathy’s delicious Blackberry Balsamic sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans. We all enjoyed this delicious meal. The recipe for Kathy’s Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Balsamic Sauce can be found in our Celebrations Cookbook on page 222.

Judy and me enjoying being color coordinated and collar coordinated! Thanks Marg for sharing your photo.

We took a break from the table to do a gift exchange amongst the girls before we moved on to dessert. We each brought one tea towel wrapped or in a gift bag and then played a guessing game to determine the order of choosing the package to open and see what variety of tea towel we would take home. There were a few towels that changed owners over the course of this game.

We switched places with the guys to enjoy our dessert and some “business” together at the table.

Marg, Judy, Bev, and Kathy.

Lovella, Anneliese and Julie. We were all thrilled that Julie could join us for a few hours. She is spending many hours with her mother who is living her last days in Hospice. Thank you dear Kathy and Scot for your wonderful hospitality!

My drive home from British Columbia was a varied mix of driving conditions and hazards. My border crossings were both quick and as usual for me an enjoyable exchange with the Border agents. I had clear skies and great road conditions until I hit Burlington where a deluge of hail had hit the roadway with a thick layer of slush on the road. Things slowed way down and my car didn’t want to keep on track. After that steering wheel gripping experience (I did not dare to touch my brakes) it was clear sailing ahead for a few miles and then a warning of flashing lights so I slowed way down before I hit another very slushy icy part of the interstate. Hallelujah’s were exclaimed when I got through that stretch and things sailed along nicely for more miles before there was a freeway warning sign of a collision ahead with the southbound freeway stopped completely and suggestions to take alternate routes. Thankfully I was in the right lane and there was an exit that looked somewhat familiar in Everett. I took it and avoided sitting on the freeway until the collision was cleared. Once through Everett I was able to get back on the freeway and continue home on relatively empty interstates. I thanked the Lord as I took my exit off the freeway and then I thanked the Lord again as I drove into my garage, safe and sound.

Today I’m enjoying sitting in my robe doing nothing but relaxing and writing this post, remembering all the fun moments last night and watching some occasional snowflakes fall, melting as they hit the ground. (Hope I got my commas correct in that long sentence). I write all these details for myself to document what happened and to keep different events from getting mixed up in my head.

Linking up to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life. Thank you Maggie!