Merry Christmas!

Another festive Christmas was enjoyed here on Mars.

As usual, we began our Christmas decorating by hanging Momma Arave's festive glittery bough:

And Mama O'Brien's stockings:

More holiday doo dads:

AJ's special purple lights:

And our traditional set of winter-themed paper cut outs on the dining room table:

On Christmas Day, our friend Brian came over, bringing his famous homemade cranberry-chocolate rugelach for breakfast:

We went out for a movie, and then returned to Mars for lunch, and started cooking dinner.

Delicious cheese, crackers, pickles, and nuts to tide us over:

For dinner this year, AJ made a crab curry, accompanied by slices of the world famous king of all breads, the Tartine country loaf:

The finished crab, potato, okra, coconut milk curry, complete with crab meat piled on top:

For dessert, AJ once again made a salted honey pie, with homemade crust:

Thank you for all that effort, AJ, and thank you, Brian, for your usual sharp wit, good company, and delicious rugelach!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a very Happy New Year to everyone! Looking forward to seeing what 2017 has in store!

Five Years On Mars!

This week marks five years since we moved into our Martian palace!

Reflecting on the five years of posts here, we're feeling proud and grateful -- proud to have worked hard to make this place our own, and grateful to have had the loving support of our family and friends throughout. Particularly after a terrible rain storm last week, and with nights dropping into the 30s (a rarity here), we are so thankful to have a warm, dry, safe place to call home. Thank you!

We are grateful, just as Pickles is grateful to have happened upon this pile of blankets to rest her head and paws on, in high Princess & The Pea style:

Happy dog, and happy people.

Thanksgiving 2016

This year, instead of having Thanksgiving on Mars, we took on the horrible, arduous task of staying at Jon's gorgeous new getaway home to help him make sure it's ready for guests.

It certainly is.

Here are some photos of this little slice of heaven:

Sorry, we had already ruined the lovely pillow arrangement by the time I took the photo

The above is Pickles going to the giant deck doors to admire this view:

At sunset:

Almost as soon as we got there, Chef AJ got to cookin' her famous apple pie:

Pickles dutifully helped keep the floor clean of any food debris:

Then it was on to crab, greens, and mashed potatoes.

Here is the end result of all her hard work:

It was a wonderful meal, and a relaxing few days in Jon's perfect little cottage. We are thankful for Jon's generosity, thankful that crab season opened this year after not being able to open in 2015, and most of all, thankful for the love of all our friends and family.

Happy Thanksgiving!