Monday, December 23 Santa Fe, NM
Getting ready for Christmas
Today was a family preparation day. Chris made her Spritz cookies having brought her cookie press from Minnesota. Jude made a pecan coffee cake that we can not enjoy until tomorrow. She also made dinner, salmon with a cucumber topping. For dessert she made baked apples. Yum! Plus, it was topped with Tillamook ice cream, a great brand we discovered when we went to Oregon in 2010. I made my third batch of Russian tea cakes, there should be a few left for Joyce.
Jude’s baked apple and Tillamook ice cream
We are not gifting major presents but are doing small stocking stuffer gifts so people were busy finishing off the shopping, wrapping gifts, and identifying the Christmas stockings Jude purchased for each of us.
Bernie and Ed on La Tierra trail, off Calabasas trailhead
Bernie, Chris and Ed found some time in the afternoon for an hour walk in the La Tierra trails west of Santa Fe. It was a path Chris and I had taken once before. This time it was partially snow-covered but earlier users made the trail readily identifiable. The fresh air and blue sky with the mountain backdrop made for a pleasant experience. As we pulled up to Jude’s house, we saw a coyote. Unfortunately I was not quick enough with my camera.
Cooperative cooking
Ed and Chris Dec. 23 10 pm
Chris Klejbuk and Ed Heimel travel adventure 
Yeah! Russian tea cakes!!!