OK, there's been a lot of doom and gloom on the site regarding the farm.  I want to clear the air a bit here.  I find it much easier to tell a funny tail regarding my own personal discomfort than almost anything else.  So I tend to accentuate the negative.

I just got back from a MILE LONG walk that did not leave my property.  OK, it was a MILE.  Half mile out, half mile back.  Me with my dogs in winter wonderland.  I have the nicest 20 acres in York county.  (If you have a nicer 20, you are entitled to your opinion.)  I love this land, the house needs work.

We celebrated our "after Christmas" brunch here yesterday.  We had everyone in the wedding party here, save sister Rachel from California.  Both sets of in-laws, kids out the kazoo.  It was great.

We got the oven fixed (thanks to Emery Mills Energy) and started cooking.  We served a ham that was a Thanksgiving gift from Aqua Line Utility.  Amanda had me grill breakfast sausage on the Webber; it was a genius move as it cooked a lot of sausage fast without greasing up the kitchen, and less greasy sausage with a little smoke flavor.

She baked pies (that I covered in debris from the new light project) and we invented a new recipe for "Salvage Cake" when the oven temp was probably a little high for the poor cakes.  Nobody noticed the little problems and thought "Salvage Cake" was an intentional recipe. It may become a family favorite.

Corey brought us four dozen apiary fresh eggs and honey.  Some of Corey's chickens lay green eggs, so we actually had green eggs and ham.  (The shells are green, not the yokes.)  Fresh eggs (with the chicken's improved diet) just taste so much better.

Mi-house (my mother) brought a potato casserole and my grandmother's recipe baked macaroni and cheese.  She also cleaned half the house after everyone else left, which was a huge help.

Lady (Amanda's mom) baked sweet bread.  I always assumed cakes were sweet bread, but no it's bread that's sweet.  Pretty good in my opinion.

Corey took the boys and Anna out back for some shooting lessons.  We always learned more from informal lessons from Dad than in the confusing and hectic confines of the shooting range.  Corey continues the tradition, raising the next generation of responsible hunters.  They went far enough out back that you could hardly hear them.

So we had 18 folks here, and it was tight, but fun.  I set up the remarkably ugly aluminum Christmas tree.  It revolves and sparkles.  You can't put lights on it, but you shine lights at it.  Amanda hates it, so it's likely the last appearance for a while, but it's so ugly it's cute.

We dished out the gifts we couldn't exchange last week and everyone had a great time.  Lady came up with some antique neck ties.  One actually had Ruffed Grouse on them, not generic game birds, not pheasants or quail.

Amanda did a remarkable job of pulling the house together in time for the party.  It didn't come off perfectly, but nothing ever does.  Everyone had a great time, including us.  Since we were up way past midnight the night before and early in the morning, we both napped after folks left, waking long enough to give the dogs their last business and go to bed.

OK the house is tight, but this is a great place to entertain, particularly those outside of the "whine and cheese" crowd.