Christmas 2025

Christmas was a mixed bag.  Weatherwise, that is.  As I posted before, I woke up to the sun peering through the trees at dawn.  There were blue skies for the most part as I took the little girl out for a nice walk. 

Few other people up and out at that time.  I love the peace of mornings like that.  Conrad and Van were in bed a goodly while Christmas morning, so I brought Olive home then set out on a walk of my own

for a little over four miles.  The rain and wind of the day before had left something of a mark in the neighbourhoods,

but for the most part, it wasn't too bad.  A clear, mostly sunny morning for a walk. I called my sister, and as I strolled, she and I chatted away.

It took a while for everyone to get up on Christmas morning, but we had no urgency.  Dinner was all to be reheated - we'd picked it up from Julienne the day before -  so I didn't need to worry about getting home and into the kitchen.  So I spent a lot of the morning messaging friends with Christmas greetings, and after the guys were up and we'd all showered and dressed, we headed to Starbucks and then came back to Van's where he got in the kitchen

and made us eggs, bacon, and flapjacks. 

On a sidenote, I'd looked all over for Saskatoon berry products when we did our BC trip this summer, and found none.  Boo.  But I found Saskatoon berry syrup online and ordered us some, and it's become a favourite for us with our flapjacks.  Good stuff!  I may need to order more.

Anyway, breakfast done - and it was past noon at that point - we finally opened presents to see what Santa brought. 

We didn't have a lot of tangible things this year, at least not until Conrad and Van got to their stockings later, because we're now doing experiences for the most part.  So there are trips ahead for the three of us and for me with each of them separately.  That should be nice.

Conrad and I got home by around 2 in the afternoon and had time to relax and even nap.  Van and Olive came over later on for dinner.  Cocktails to start, shrimp cocktail and veggies with dip and some potato chips, and then I set the ham dinner out on the table for us all. 

It was tasty, and it was easy!  We had leftovers on Boxing Day and that didn't even take care of all the ham or beans!  Ah well.  I opened a bottle of a nice NZ Pinot Noir

that Conrad had brought back from his trip this past August, and we toasted

and enjoyed that.  After dinner came the stockings at last, and of course the little girl had her own. 

Look at her! 

You know she ended up on Santa's nice list this past year.

Van and Olive headed home a while after that, and I sent Conrad, who was yawning a lot, upstairs to bed while I did all the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.  It was nice to get up on Boxing Day to a clean kitchen!  That work took me until about 11:30, at which point I felt a little too alert to head to bed.  I read downstairs, listening to Christmas music, until about 1:30 at which point I finally felt like I was tired.  And I was.  I was out like a light, putting an end to a lovely, relaxed Christmas Day. 

Christmas dinner

I'm starting this just before midnight, but I think it may be Boxing Day when I finish and post.  Dishes are done, Van and Olive have gone home, Conrad is in bed.  That leaves me.  Contented.

Lots to blog in days ahead once again, but let me close Christmas with our dinner.  A nice table set for the three of us. 

I made a mustard sauce for the ham, but our dinner was otherwise courtesy of Julienne. 

All reheated, nice and simple.  Van and Olive came over, and we had light bites and cocktails before moving to the table.  Our wine was a lovely New Zealand wine

Conrad brought back from his trip this past August.  And the food was good.

So cheers to Christmas, cheers to Boxing Day. 

We've had a truly delightful, relaxing celebration, if that's possible.  And I shall blog more soon! 

Manuela

While Conrad was out of town, Van

and I took advantage of some gift cards he had on hand and got ourselves to DTLA for dinner at Manuela, a place I've been a few times now.  And you know, I think it was a better experience this time than last time.  So, let's jump back to a week ago yesterday and talk a little about that meal.

Our waiter, whose name I've forgotten now (sorry!) was great.  Maybe a little extra, but certainly attentive enough and helpful with advice on the food and drinks.  That was one big point in favour of the place.  It was on to cocktails from there,

with me opting for the I'm Your Huckleberry (it went down nice and easy) and Van for the Florida Man. 

I also had a glass of a British wine, a rose, with my dinner, but no photo.  Ah well.  Cheers to us.  We sipped and awaited food.

The food?  Terrific.  A delightful salad to share,

a nice piece of halibut for my main. 

The okra side dish was very good, too.  But really, what do we go to Manuela for?  The biscuits and ham. 

The last time I was at Manuela, I thought the biscuits were lacking.  This time?  So good.  I'd still rank them below Everson Royce Bar, but I cheerily, greedily, shoveled back my share of them.

We did get a dessert as well, but no photo of it.  Fig leaf gelato, and it was really superb, but it was also too much food at that point.  Bellies full, we brought date night downtown to a close and headed home.  Yep, we'll be back! 

Little Beast

The air quality in Pasadena is much improved today, happily.  Even yesterday, it was better than it had been.  That said, the smell of smoke was still in the air.  The three of us were of a mind to go out for dinner, and we decided it would be a treat to get out of our fair city and get out of the field of the worst air pollution.  West we went, over to Eagle Rock.  Destination:  Little Beast.

Little Beast is a nice little place housed in what looks like was once someone's home on Colorado Boulevard.  Van had been there in the past, and recalled that the burgers were good.  Conrad and I had never been, so we were up for trying some place new.

The first thing we liked was that we could hear each other.  I don't comment (much) on this, but Conrad has had some hearing loss over the years and finally started wearing hearing aids.  The good thing about hearing aids is that they amplify for him the sounds he wants to hear (conversation, television or movies).  The bad thing is that they amplify other sounds as well.  In many restaurants now, there is quick negotiation when we are shown to our table as to where to seat him so that he isn't suffering from whatever music is blasting and the nearby conversations that are necessarily loud to be heard over the music.  It makes me wish that reservation sites had a "look for quiet dining" option, and I will sometimes add a note to reservations that we have a person with hearing loss so could we please have a quiet part of the dining room if such a thing exists.  So, kudos to Little Beast, which had music playing in the enclosed outdoor space at a level where we could all talk normally and easily.

The second thing I liked was my mocktail.  Y

es, dry January continues for me (and Van, but not for Conrad).  I had an elderflower drink that was pretty tasty.  One was enough.  Man, am I drinking a lot of water these days!

The third thing I liked was my burger. 

Excellent burger - good patty and bun and toppings.  The fries were terrific as well - hot out of the fryer, crisp and lightly salty on the outside, fluffy inside.

I thought the biscuits and ham were fine but only just fine. 

I have had better biscuits, and I've certainly had bigger ones!  Not much biscuit for the amount of stuff to go with the biscuits.  I also thought the little gems wedge salad was fine - tasty but a little over dressed.

We skipped dessert - what we had was enough - and came back to Pasadena.  When we got out of the car, the smell of smoke hit us again.  Ah well.  It was nice to get away from it for one evening!  And it has been much better today - we could see the mountains this morning!

scenes from Christmas breakfast

Happy Christmas, one and all!  It’s coming up on 11AM, and we’re finishing off a breakfast of pan de jamón from Amara and panettone.  All is calm, all is bright.

Photos for you to enjoy.  When I get on the laptop again, I’ll post a little more.  For now, happy holidays!

pre-birthday at San Laurel

Ah, birthday week.  Love it!

No, I'm not really one for making a fuss over my birthday, and this is not at all a milestone birthday year.  Still, a little fuss is nice.  So then, thank you to Van for dinner out at San Laurel

at the Conrad Hotel (ha!)

with our friends Mitch and Ted. 

It was a lovely evening.

If there is a small complaint (and not my complaint) it's that we had requested a patio table, but we were relegated to inside but right at the open doors to the outside.  I was fine with that, truly.  We arrived several minutes early, time enough for me and Conrad to talk gins with a bartender and get his recommendation for a martini-like cocktail made with a Spanish gin and wine. 

Toasts all around and then into the food.  Shared appetizers including jamon,

roasted eggplant,

stracciatella and peaches,

and grilled gem lettuce.  My main was the duck breast. 

Our desserts included an excellent Basque cheesecake, a pistachio cake that was fine,

and a flan that had a candle.  Ugh, no fuss, please!

Ah, but it was all lovely.  A fine evening, and from where I sat there were great views of the Disney Hall. 

So good to chat travel and more with Mitch and Ted.  And, of course, there were my two lovely guys.  A few days until I am 54 (!!!!), but what a way to usher it in.