Fesitval of Lights

We went into the Cat House first - Lia LOVES cats. This meerkat was very active, as were a lot of the cats.
From a distance Lia liked Rudolph, but not up close. Guess who didn't sit on Santa's lap this year?
Very cool, there was a lady walking around with a barn owl on her arm. Lia also loves owls, and loves signing owl so this was especially neat for her!
Group shot, minus Jim. What were we thinking? We should have asked someone to take a photo of all of us.

Some cool lights.

Waiting in line at the train.

On the train!

We loved all of the lights and loved the new entrance/exit with these chasing lights in the tunnel.

Christmas with the Grimes's

Lia got a great animal book for Xmas from Jim, Jess, Alex & Marissa.
Signing cat - one of her favorites. Probably also saying "meeem meeem".
Jess couldn't make it b/c she had to work. :(
These girls - SUCH texters!!! This is what kids their ago DO a lot. They just happened to look up in time to smile for the picture.

Our Lia's face

We love this picture of Lia that Patti took in January 2009. I ordered 2 custom frames for this picture, 1 a gift for Frank to hang at his shop and 1 for us to hang in our home. What a beauty!

Delcious meal

A delicious salad accompanies Seared Ahi Tuna & Cheesey Baked Penne with Cauliflower and Creme Fraiche (Jeanne made and froze this when she harvested our cauliflower this summer).

Christmas Decor

I have really enjoyed our Dining Room this year and how the cards look so pretty taped up to our mirror. Also pictured here is the Eskimo girl with a lit snowglobe that Frank got for Lia. Our tree - even without presents underneath - is still so nice!
The santa I painted years ago with Jessi and her Mom, along with antique Santa salt & pepper shakers Frank got for me for Christmas.

Chrismas Evening at Connie & Chris's

LOVE is right.
Connie and Lia spent a lot of time together, Lia was loving on her Aunt Connie - reading books, cooking, being silly!
Connie cooked a fabulous meal which included 2 delcious appetizers and a seafood lasagne & salad and Jeanne brought a home made pecan pie (with ice cream). It was a delicious meal!!!

Family photo op. What a happy group!

Lia could not resist Connie's invitation to get in and do some "cooking" = tossing (stirring) the left over salad after dinner. I think they did this for 10 + minutes. Thanks Connie for keeping our Lia happy and entertained (and cooking) which she knows her Mommy does all the time. :) What a big girl!

Ground Lamb Pancakes (more like crepes) with Herb Sauce

Here are the pancakes (which we both think tasted and the texture was way more like a crepe) filled with the lamb before the herb cream sauce. I got the lamb from Gorman Heritage Farm. The pancake/crepe batter was only flour, egg & beer!!! No wonder Frank fell in love with them.
Oh my these were soooo yummy. The herb sauce had fresh parsley, rosemary & thyme in it. Absolutely delicious.

Cotes de Porc a l’Auvergnate

...translates to Pork Chops baked with Cabbage. First seared, below. This is an AMAZING pork dish made with local pork chops. Debo first served it to me this summer and I got the recipe to make at home. My twist was to serve it with Camembert Mashed Potatoes, so it was a pretty French meal. YUM!!! Lia loves it too, even the cabbage when I serve it to her with the mashed potatoes. I also served a side of roasted carrots with it which totally completed this delicious meal.

Christmas at the Castle

This is our Christmas photo. Megan, Jeanne's friend Karen's daughter, babysat tonight and took some pictures of us before we went to the Haussler's Christmas party.
This home is amazing. Here's a shot Jeanne took before we entered the party.

Farfalle with Carbonara and Spring Peas

So simple, so delicious! What could be better than pasta with a pound of (local pastured)
BACON, peas, heavy cream and some mint?! Oh yeah, a new favorite even for Frank who isn't big on peas. Lia likes it too!

Grimes's Thanksgiving 1967

I just found this photo and wanted to share. Here's me, my Mom & Jim at Thanksgiving in 1967. Look at the spread Mom has out - and with her china too (which is now mine thanks Mom!)!!! LOVE the turkey table cloth! :)
MAKE SURE you DOUBLE CLICK on the photo for a close up! What a great old picture!!! Mom you look amazing!

Ruth's Birthday Celebration - Ruth turned 88!!

Here are some photos of the Stantons, including many from ROC who we don't see often. We went out to dinner to celebrate Ruth's 88th birthday, these shots are all from her birthday dinner.

Mike, Frank's nephew & Frank

Frankie & me

Ruth with all her children: Johnny, Frank, Jimmy & MaryJim & JanLia with her Uncle JohnnyHappy 88th Birthday Ruth!

Thanksgiving dinner at Ruth's - Frank's Mom

Frank carving, or almost eating ? the turkey (leg) - his FAVORITE!!!
Patiently waiting for turkey dinner!

The Stanton family.

Ruth and Frank - she cooked a beautiful turkey!

Rochester for Thanksgiving

This was our first day in Rochester, and we went down to Charlotte Beach where we fed seagulls & geese. Also we walked the beautiful beach. What a great beginning to our trip!

Duck for Dinner!

Karla, the lady I get our eggs from, gave me a couple boneless, skinless duck breasts that she raised herself. Here's a picture of about 1/2 of one breast that I grilled. This was leftovers, I forgot to get a picture of it on the first night I served it, so it's not a beautiful presentation, and it's missing the grilled asparagus on the plate. The pasta is Jessica's Northern Italian family Alfredo recipe (with the addition of shitakes) - delicious! I am posting this because it is my first time cooking duck, and because we were amazed, especially Frank, at how much the look, texture and taste was like a fine steak. Doesn't it look like red meat to you? It did to us. We absolutely loved it and now Frank is considering becoming a hunter to bring home some more duck! (I am NOT kidding).