Indeed

This was an excellent Christmas season for me. In ways that far exceeded the wonderful, thoughtful gifts from wonderful, thoughtful people....

1) My Mom, after a health scare in June, is doing better than I've seen her in 20 years. And that is the best present of all.

2) When I mentioned to my Mom at Thanksgiving that I really missed her holiday baking, she swung into full gear and made everything I remember growing up. When she gave me the present of a three tiered candy-cookie extravaganza, I cried. It made my day.

Our wonderful families gave us

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible (which I will review later this week, even though I'm already done with it)
A tripod (for better garden pictures)
An outdoor stovetop for canning outside during the summer (instead of heating up the house)
Ball Canning Guide (450 pgs+)
A garden cart/seat with a new cultivator and shovel, including mini tools for potted plants, and of course, gloves
Oil paintings I did with my Dad as a child - since we "have no art on our walls" per my sister


Christmas Bounty

Along the lines of gardening...

My BIL received a potted rosemary from his parents, and a great book called Herbs: Growing & Using the Plants of Romance... which I immediately hopped on Amazon.com and bought two copies of (one for us, and one for In-Laws). I shall review that soon as well! Everyone seemed to be really into the gardening theme this year, and my FIL was even interested in our compost bin. One convert at a time, I say.

The other great part was it was a much smaller Christmas than in years past, and I think that made all the difference. It was enough to be around family, as we often get caught up in what to buy whom...