Christmas Shopping List

I was wandering around on Amazon looking for Christmas inspiration, and stumbled across Fifty Shades of Chicken: A Parody in a Cookbook. It sounds like one of those quickie parody books that jump on a trend, and it is, but it's also a real cookbook - read the rave reviews! Now I'm trying to decide who needs a copy for Christmas. I only know one person who admitted to loving the 50 Shades books, but a parody of them with real recipes? That has a much broader potential audience. (A similar book, 50 Shades of Bacon, not by the same author, apparently IS a quickie parody book, so I'd pass on that one.)

Grandma always buys a book or two for Christmas, and I was so happy to find this one: The Spirit of Christmas.. Gorgeous illustration and rave reviews, and I've ordered it to bring to Asheville with me. We have a very full weekend planned: Thanksgiving dinner with the huge extended family and friends, getting the Christmas tree, and celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. (Yes, they are doing Thanksgivukkah AND putting up the Christmas tree in the same weekend. What can I say? The Asheville family has an eclectic religious tradition, and I LOVE it!

I'm off to Target today, they have a Melissa and Doug puzzle I'd been considering on sale. Miss D is a puzzle junkie, and I keep a few on hand at my house for visits. They also have Christmas decor on sale, and I'm in the mood to go all-out this year. I need some new decorations; mine are old and tattered, and not in a sweet, nostalgic way. My new floor and new kitchen deserve a few new Christmas decorations to class the place up. I'm excited about Christmas this year; I wish I could spend it with both granddaughters, but spending Thanksgiving and putting up the tree with Senior GD is a fair substitute.

Next weekend is Baking Weekend. I plan to crank out four apple pies - one for my daughter's house, one each for the in-laws, and one for my office. I'm making "my" apple pie recipe, which obviously isn't really mine, but I have messed with it a tad. My tweak to the recipe? Use Granny Smith apples. The tartness and the sugar and the caramel and the crunch = nirvana. I also don't really measure the pecans and caramel that carefully, but just top it until it looks pretty. I may whip up a batch or two of banana nut bread and chocolate pumpkin loaf while I'm at it.

Oh, and the AKC National Championship is in Orlando again this year, and I want to take Miss D. She went to her first show as an infant, we took her last year, and this year she'll be big enough to really enjoy it.


Yes, I"m going all Christmas Crazy this year!