Last Sunday we went to a Christmas performance in McMinnvilles Gallery Theater. We'd never been there before and were very pleasantly surprised about the whole experience.
It's a quaint small-town theater but the show was very professional, creative, funny and at times very sweet and moving.
Also, due to Covid, only about half of the tickets were available so it was a rather intimate showing.
                                                        

We looked at next year's performances, there will be a different one every 2 months, and for an entrance fee of only $20 pp we will definitely be attending a few.
If this show was anything of a benchmark for what is to come we will be in for a few treats next year!

Back at the ranch we got totally creative ourselves as well! Instead of my traditional baking of gingerbread men around this time, inspired by Hallmark (those sugary movies), I went for a gingerbread house!

Woah! Look at that! Like I'm in '
(To be totally honest I have to disclose that this cute little house not only came as a 'kit' but it was already assembled as well. The only thing left to do was the decorating part ..)

    

Well, let's just say .. the icing started dripping, candies started sagging, the whole place (including ourselves) got sticky and we'll never win a prize in a contest .. but we had fun!

From a distance, in the right spot and under the right light, 

it looks rather perfect for a first try!

OK, what else .. the weather is still pretty lousy, besides a couple of very stormy days it rains every day as well, which caused the orchard around us to get rather soggy at places.
We're very happy we had the foresight to surround the RV with those pallets and the out-door carpet. No mud for us!
The birds are still very happy with the feeders ..

This is a (male) House-finch up above, very pretty in red. His House-'wife' is a dull brown all over ..
And the one below is a Chestnut-backed Chickadee (sorry, not quite sharp):



Our Wednesday night dinner was at Jin's Chinese Restaurant this week.
This restaurant happens to be in Dundee, only a couple minutes down the road from us. We could almost walk there .. if we'd want to .. and if we didn't have to walk on the side of a busy highway ..

   

It's apparently under new ownership and, besides the humongous portions, the food was very good!
Looking back at last week's post, I see that I forgot to mention our venue of that week which was Storrs Smokehouse, so here's a few pics:



It was our second time here and rather than the 'Big Daddy' we had last time, we opted for brisket and ribs this time around, accompanied by a large plate of (very spicy) collards:

James looks like he's not that impressed but the opposite was true .. that brisket was to die for, as well as the collards, and the ribs were not too bad either!
I predict we'll be going back there all the time.

Once again, this post is mainly about food, but topics to wright about are rather slim these days so I milk what I got ..
Like dinner a couple of days ago, after the theater show, when I made cheese fondue!

 

It's been a long time since we had this, which is a shame because it is soooo good!
And fast and easy, as long as you use the handy-dandy, ready-made and store-bought pouch. Some crusty bread, a little brocc, pear (or apple in this case) and even a cut up hot dog.
Like I say, easy peasy, perfect for when you don't feel like cooking .. I like those kind of meals ..

OK. I've run out of pictures so this is it for this time around.  

Only one week 'till Christmas, can you believe it?