Christmas Eve 2018

This year all our sons and their families joined us.  It made for a lively, fun-filled  time.

Gwen baking her no-yeast, soughdough, naturally rising bread.  It was delicious.

Marja mummu and our newest grandchild.  You can  tell that this guy has been home at mealtimes.

David scraped off an oval on our pond and it was off to the races....

Daniel getting ready for a lap.

Three kids in one sleigh was actually quite a load.

One at a time was much easier and faster.

Jonathan and Alina arrived from Finland just after midnight, but we put them to work right away cutting carrots and beats for rosoli.  Jonathan was surprised to learn that in Finland you can buy all the traditional Christmas dishes from the store - perunalaatikkoa, porkkanalaatikkoa, rosolia, jne.

We follow the Finnish tradition of eating the celebratory meal on Christmas eve.  This includes a tossed salad, ham with Finnish mustard, potato casserole, rice-carrot casserole, a beat-carrot-apple salad topped with whipped cream, bread, pickled herring, applesauce, etc.  This and our Thanksgiving dinner are the two most elaborate, labor-intensive, big-deal meals we eat in a year.  Needless to say, this can occasion a a bit of anxiety in the chief cook, so it is best to jump in and help out wherever needed.

By the time you get to the end of the line your plate is quite full.

Our regular kitchen table is not big enough so we move our old trestle table from the old kitchen into the living room.

Everyone has a place at the table.

Sam had just recovered from the stomach flu and I was amazed that he dared load his plate full.  Happily he had no ill after effects.

This little girl was under the weather with mild fever for several days and one of Sam's daughters had a touch of the flu as well.  This is the time of year when bugs are easily spread, but fortunately the rest of us stayed healthy.

The plates are getting empty and the children have been fed.

It is time to start cleaning the table and put on the coffee.