It was a good, if long weekend. I had to be up early on Saturday to bring my stand mixer, cookie sheets, rolling pin, sifter, and racks to my parents since I own basically all of the baking hardware and mom has very little, plus I had wrapped the last gift I had delivered last week and was bringing those down as well as my suitcase with jams for cookies and clothes for an overnight stay. Basically I was bringing down twice what I brought back, and once I arrived I was the organizer/chief baker to make sure we were chilling one dough while mixing another to maximize our time and get to 3 batches in about 4 hours. 

My aunt used to fulfill that role, minus the stand mixer, so it used to take longer since cookie doughs get very stiff compared to cake batters, and we were often kneading the last bit of flour in by hand once the spoon wouldn't go through it anymore, but with the mixer it cuts that time in half. One of the best buys I ever made, it was $60 at Lidl and has lasted four years so far with nary a glitch. Never underestimate German engineering, even if made in China.

From there it was off to holiday karaoke since my dad has a great voice and had promised to sing with a 90 year old woman in their retirement community. My mom has no interest since she knows her voice isn't great, so it was no problem, but I was tired from a full week of work and then being on my feet baking all day. Luckily in a retirement community leaving at 7:30 is acceptable and I was in bed by 9. Even sleeping on the fold out couch didn't interrupt my sleep.

Today we went to a beautiful restaurant near where I live to celebrate my Dad's birthday which was the past Wednesday and their 54th anniversary which was the past Friday, and we really had a good time just hanging out with each other. If you're ever in the area, Scarborough Fair isn't cheap, but the food is fantastic, the place is so picturesque and decorated for every holiday, and it's a perfect place to celebrate small special occasions! Overall a busy weekend, but worth it in every way.

I have Wednesday and Friday off, so we're doing Christmas Eve down the shore then going north to pick up my aunt and do Christmas dinner out. I'm not sure how many days to spend there since I'll be on the couch, but I'll probably stay at least until Saturday. So more family time coming up, but no major rifts in the family now, so I hope it stays that way! Merry Christmas!