Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and bring on 2015!

I hope everyone is filled with the Holiday Spirit. My baking is winding down with the last project being a Swedish Christmas bread that I haven't made in quite awhile.  As a matter of fact I should be doing that instead of this but I just thought I better post something before the year ends.
There are a few posts half finished that will be finished but not this year. The muse left me for the better of three months. Weather in our little beach town has been spectacular, thanks to the drought, and I can't seem to sit down and write.

For the first time since Steve passed away I put up a live Christmas tree, a little 3 footer. It is perfect and it benefited the local Elementary school's eighth grade trip.

Christmas cards got out in time and so did the cookies. 

Smells soo good!

I lost my sweet Aunt Mernie and wonderful Uncle George within  3 months of each other. One was almost 97 and the other 93. Good long lives both of them and good family memories.

The holiday spirit is definitely in full swing in my beach town. I actually haven't cooked at home in almost a week. Our local restaurant/bar, Schooner's Wharf, had their Christmas party for employees and locals. Fun, fun. Christmas in Cayucos was the previous weekend. The lighting of the town Christmas tree with Santa coming to town was the weekend before. Getting together with friends to dine out and wrapping and packing pretty much filled up the month.

I made this Cranberry Meringue cake from the Food Network's "the Kitchen" show and it was really, really good. I didn't have a nonstick springform pan so I just buttered mine, lined the bottom with parchment paper and floured the sides. The cake came out of the pan perfectly. The baking time is a little vague so check after 30 min. I worried that mine was too brown after 35 min. I used maple syrup instead of Agave syrup for the cranberries. They were addictive btw.
This would be a great New Years Eve cake!

Well if I don't stop now I will once again have a half finished post!
I am thinking of making some changes in 2015 and switching my blog to Word Press. Blogspot is getting very weird as far as uploading photos. I have to load one, post it, load another which won't load so click refresh to erase the first one and reload. Annoying and there isn't a decent help section.
First, finish up the half finished posts and move on!

I hope you all enjoy Christmas with family and friends, my friends! Thanks for  hanging in here with me.