Ending the Year!

Hi, everyone!
It’s cloudy and snowing right now, but earlier this morning I got a chance to sit in a sunbeam! It was nice to see the sun! The sunrises are late enough now that I’m awake to see them.  We’ve had some pretty ones, even though the trees are in the way in Fairport!

A week before Christmas Eve, we had snow overnight and it was cold in the morning.  Grandma said it was perfect conditions for my snow bath!  She took me outside to find a fresh patch of snow.  I made sure I rolled around enough to get snow all over my fur and mane!

Grandma took me right inside and brushed out the snow before it could melt.  Then she dried me off with the hair dryer and let me snuggle in a towel.  I spent the rest of the day lying in front of the heat register in the living room.  Grandma told me that was a favorite place for my uncles to lie  when they were little!

Two days before Christmas, Grandma baked her usual batch of stollen.  We couldn’t have a drop-in party this year because of the bad virus, so Grandma invited everyone for drive-up delivery.  I was in charge of watching for people to arrive!  Joe-san and Nancy-san brought Tilly and Moose-san to help me!  We made sure the stollen were ready to bake.  Then we helped Nancy-san decorate the baked ones.  Of course, we had to taste-test to make sure they were yummy!  Lots of people told me they were happy they didn’t have to give up their traditional Christmas breakfast treat, just because of the bad virus!

On Christmas Eve, I put the last food item in my reverse Advent calendar box!  Then I helped Grandma make croissant dough!  When the dough had risen twice and then chilled in the refrigerator, I helped bash the butter into a thin layer.  Then I helped roll out the dough, put the butter layer on top, and fold the dough and roll it out again.  That makes lots of layers of dough separated by butter, so the croissants are flaky when baked.  We put seven folds in the dough, for lots and lots of layers!

The Christmas eve candlelight service was on-line, so I could be part of it!  I liked seeing the virtual choir that Grandma organized and lighting a candle to sing Silent Night.

Christmas morning, Grandma and I always get up  to shape the croissant dough first thing.  While the croissants were rising, I wished the Christmas tree a merry day and made sure all the presents were under the tree.

When the croissants had risen, I helped Grandma paint them with egg wash before they went into the oven.  We had fresh-baked croissants for Christmas breakfast and they were yummy!

In the afternoon, we had a Zoom call with Uncle David’s family and Uncle Steven’s family and watched everybody open their presents from each other.  Grandma and Grandpa and I got lots of nice presents.  Many of them were hand-made by family members!  Grandma says those are always her favorite presents.

Yesterday, it was time to deliver my reverse Advent calendar box to the local food shelf.  I made sure everything was neatly packed.  Then I helped Grandma put it in the trunk of the car.  She took it to Aunt Kara, who already was taking James’ and Thomas’ reverse Advent calendar boxes to the town hall collection site.  I hope there were lots of other reverse Advent calendar boxes there, too!

Love,

Lion-san