And just like that … another Christmas has come and gone .. how I wish time would slow down a bit!
We had no plans to go anywhere or do anything and spent the whole day just relaxing, lounging around in the cozy RV, eating too much and watching some sappy TV.

                                     

The RV always looks so festive, cozy and peaceful around this time, especially at night, with all the soft twinkling lights ... I just love our little home.

I simplified the food, and especially the making of it, even more so than last year and went for easy, ready-made (store-bought) stuff like a fudge chocolate cake for coffee (to which I added some cherries and cream), some easy snacks like smoked lox, deviled eggs (a must in this household) olives, dates and nuts, than pizza for dinner followed by chocolate mousse for dessert. 
It was perfect!

 

And now we're in that strange limbo, the 'Twixmas' period between Christmas and the New Year's, that time that is mostly a quiet, relaxing period in which pretty much nothing is being accomplished, before Old/New Year's comes around.
We usually spent it going over some paperwork like taxes and/or finances, cleaning up some stuff in cabinets or cupboards that has piled up or can be thrown out, and thinking about the next year and what we want to do or see, change or achieve ..

It finally stopped raining the day after Christmas, although we still have some short showers occasionally, but at least I was able to get some walks in.

On my walk yesterday I found this clump of Snowdrops, still dripping water from all the rain we've had.

                                                     

Two days before Christmas we had a storm going through the area as well, which downed down quite some trees in the county, blocking roads and bringing down power-lines, but fortunately only a few smaller trees closest to us, like these on the logging path where I take my walks .. 

                        

Yesterday evening we drove around Willamina to see the Christmas lights. The town had put up a contest:

And a map toured you by the houses that had entered ..

This was the winner, with Santa in a sleigh on the roof, the Abominable Snowman, quite amiable, next to Rudolf and lots of other reindeer and elves in the yard (they had Christmas music going as well):

       

Besides the 14 on the map there were many more houses decorated .. here's a few:




We liked this one, very festive all in green and red:

Of course the town put up some lights as well:

                                


Well, that was about it for this Christmas-week I think. I'm going to watch some speed-skating .. 
I know, it's not something you hear a lot about here in the States but in Holland we take our skating very serious and at the moment the qualifications for the winter Olympics are being held so ... lots of anticipation and excitement!

We don't have any sports channels in our TV-package but I finally found a way to see it live on my computer, without having to sign up for anything. Cool!

And hey, apparently the official Christmas season (Christmastide) actually runs until January 6th (Epiphany), so the festivities aren't technically over yet! 
I guess the focus shifts towards ringing in the new year .. during which we're usually in our warm bed, snoring the night away. 

OK, here's some fun cartoons that I came across, just for fun ...

  

                                                        

                

It's the winter-solstice today!
I looked it up and tomorrow will be 1 whole second longer than today! Yoohoo! What to do what all that extra time ...
It's kind of interesting that we're celebrating the return of the light on the same day Winter, which is pretty much the darkest season of all, is officially starting?

Any-who, I'll be lighting my Yule-altar/wreath tonight but I'm secretly hoping that's it's the start of a long and 'real' winter with lots of frost and snow ... something like this:

                                                  

Another atmospheric-river-event last week, on top of the rain we already had, raised the Yamhill river almost 15 feet unto what they call minor flood-level.
Fortunately we are about 30 feet above river-level so it's unlikely we'll ever flood but the ponds rose to almost overflowing again.
This usual peaceful little creek at the end of our road changed into a roaring one ..

     

The combination of saturated soil and high winds on Wednesday-night brought one of the smaller trees on the other side of the pond down. 

  

It hit the dead tree in front of it, onto which I had hung my bat-house, but fortunately it stayed upright ... although it has a little bit of a lean to it now.
(the box is that small square thing there, halfway up the tree)
That dead tree probably has to come down, so one of these days, if it ever gets dry, I'll try to retrieve the bat-house.

I managed to get a few shots of the Kingfisher I've been hearing, and finally as of a few days ago, seeing:

    

 

I had to use the full zoom of my camera, which makes the pictures a little blurry when I blow them up, but they're not bad ...

 

                                                           

  

He's a busy guy, always on the lookout for food ... which in this case I'm pretty sure are the newts that live in the pond, since there are no fish in it whatsoever.        

I come across the tiniest little mushrooms lately, they're so cute!
You almost expect little fairies flying around them ...

       

I've done most of my Holiday-cookie baking this week ... and in addition to some store bought macarons, these hopefully will last us until Christmas! 

     

From top left and clockwise: snowball-cookies, peach rugelach, gingerbread-men and raspberry crumble-bars.

 

I wasn't going to bake those gingerbread-men this year ... yeah, famous last words. 

It's just not Christmas without them!

                                         

Only 4 days until Christmas! Time to listen to some Christmas music and watch a few Christmas movies.
I think it has been a few years since we've seen 'It's a wonderful life' and knowing James I presume it's on the docket!

These definitely are 'de donkere dagen voor Kerst" as we say in Holland, or 'the dark days before Christmas', it's dark, gloomy and, as we also say in Holland, 'water-cold'.

Typically referring to the literal shortest, darkest days of winter they of course are leading up to the December 21st Winter Solstice, the period of longest night.

                      

We got all that rain they predicted last week and than some! Our rain-gauge showed 6.5 inches (16 centimeters) in just 2 days! Holy smoke!

                                                                        

The (3) ponds are full to overflowing but fortunately the large culverts in each one have funneled enough down the hill to keep us from flooding.
Here're some pics of how the pond in front of us (the highest on the hill) filled up:

That small 'peninsula' in the front is gone and the blackberry bushes in front of the RV are standing almost in the water.
Looking towards the back here, that dark tree-stump in the middle is now under water ..

                    

  

 

      

We've seen the first little diving-duck in the pond, but we spooked it before I could take a shot, and I've heard the distinct call of a Kingfisher .. cool!

When out walking in between the rain-showers, I noticed these tiny little mushrooms growing in the hollow of a dead tree. It looks like a secret little world in there ...

     

On Sunday we drove to Mcminnville to see a play in the theater, the last one of the year.
Appropriate for the season it was called 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' ...

 
This play refers to a beloved children's book by Barbara Robinson and its popular adaptations, where the unruly Herdman kids hijack the church play, leading to chaos that ultimately reveals the true, heartwarming meaning of Christmas through their authentic, unexpected performances.

It was a touching, funny, and memorable performance, the youngest of the Herdman family stealing the show with for sure being the loudest 'angel of the Lord' we've ever heard.
There were a lot of children in the audience which might have been why (or because) it was a fairly short show of only an hour and 15 minutes, without an intermission.

The local newspaper called it 'best ever' indeed. We had a great time!

                                        

I'm still not overly in the Christmas spirit somehow. 
Living rural doesn't expose you to all of the Christmas hectic and going-on you see much more of when you live in a town or city, and I'm happy about that most of the time, but you have to work a little bit harder to 'feel it' I'd say.

So, when James had to go to Sherwood where he had an appraisal to do, I went with and he dropped me off at the shops there. 
After 3 hours of Christmas music, screaming children and seeing the buying-craziness that goes with the season first-hand, I was more than happy to go back home. 
Back to my peaceful little house, to sit next to my cute little tree in my cozy jogging pants and fluffy slippers and watch a sappy (Christmas) Hallmark movie .. 

Or write some old-fashioned Christmas-cards. 
Yup, still doing that, although only to a select few. We don't even get many back but I just like to go through the ritual of actual writing them. 
To my concern I've noticed that my writing is not that fluent anymore as it once was, having learned the cursive as a child ...
 
Handwriting is a motor skill that requires consistent use to maintain muscle memory and dexterity and the decline in handwriting fluency is primarily caused by a simple lack of practice. 
It used to become more of a problem mainly when aging would cause a stiffening of hands etc., but in this day and age where typing has largely replaced pen-and-paper writing in daily life, it affects all ages, probably especially the young, who don't even learn it anymore. Penmanship is a dying art which is too sad ..

                                            

I started some holiday baking, although these raspberry bars are not really for this season alone of course. 
But raspberry seems to be often used in Christmas baking somehow .. maybe their bright red color is instantly festive of course and it pairs very well with chocolate!

I want to try making some rugelach this year and either chocolate crinkles or Mexican wedding cookies. 
I better hurry though .. this season is over before you know it!

  

I finished another puzzle. Which is good, since it's high time to start a Christmas one!

 

Another pretty sunrise .. one of the few we had this week because we've woken up to a lot of rain as well.
But on those clearer days the warm light just comes softly from below and creeps slowly onto the fields we look out over ..

                                    

                                        

.. ending up setting the trees on the other side of the pond in an orange glow ...                                                                                           

                                   

But as I said, not too many of those mornings lately.
Look at this forecast:




Monday and Tuesday especially we're going to have more than 4 inches in those two days alone and the rest of the week doesn't look a whole lot better!
Flood warnings are out for many counties around us. 
Fortunately we're sitting high enough above the river to not have to worry but the towns on either side of us have their main streets in the flood-zone.

By the time I'm writing this the dutch feast of 'Sinterklaas' has already come and gone. 
A little googling had me smile about these funny pictures:

Sinterklaas (St. Nicolas) of course traditionally rides a white horse but in a country as The Netherlands he's often seen on a bicycle as well! (True!)

I vaguely remembered a picture I had of myself when I was still very young and our house was visited by two 'zwarte Pieten' ('black Peets' aka the Sint's helpers) on the feast of 'Sinterklaasavond' and I found it in my old photo album ...

                                                  

I was 2.5 years old there and one of those Pieten was my aunt. Of course I didn't recognize her .. ah, to be that young and innocent again ...

I did, as I do each year, bake some speculaas, the traditional spiced shortcrust biscuits eaten around this time.
 
 

Some traditions I will never let go off, especially when they involve food!

And besides the outside lights, the Christmas tree is up as well:

                               

Garlands on the frames around the slide-outs and a (fake) poinsettia in the lampshade ... everything looks cozy and festive once again!

                     

Here's a few fun photo-puzzles ... find the bird!

                                     

No? OK, Let's get a little closer:

                                     

Still not? OK, I'll blow him up:

                                     

A heron in a tree, now that's not something you see every day!

How about this deer?



No? She's really there, just slightly left from the middle .. see?

There were two more .. standing absolutely stock-still, so I wouldn't spot them, but somehow my eyes caught them while I walked by on the path ..

  

Talking about 'blending in'. Nature .. she keeps amazing me .. almost on a daily base.

Of course there was another 'daily bread' ... that I now bake about every other week. 

It's hard to remember how I struggled in the beginning to bake a decent loaf.
I've found out that the secret definitely is in the starter. 
If you have a nice, active starter baking a good sourdough bread is as easy as pie .. or bread in this case!