TURKEY SOUP

Today I brought the frozen mush of simmered turkey bones and leftovers in from outside on the front porch.
It was frozen solid and I had to thaw it over the kitchen stove in order to separate the stock.
Now it's back out in the cold on the deck to gel to separate the fat from the stock.
I've made a two-step process into a more complicated three-step operation simply because I had to go skiing the other day!
This evening, after I skim off the top layer of fat, I'll add the vegetables and seasonings to complete the soup.

Over the Holidays we took my sister, Lesley, on an adventure from the bottom of the mountain up the three lifts to the Summit Hut for hot chocolate.
After warming up, we then skied back down the mountain to the base lodge for a total of approximately 7,600 vertical feet round trip.
Way to go, Girl - rubber legs and all!

Christmas Day was fun with the kids waking us up at 7:00 a.m., then rushing upstairs to see what Santa had left.
To their delight, there were more gifts than would fit under our little decorated tree.
We had such a great time watching them unwrap the gifts accompanied by exclamations of oohs and ahhs.
I stuffed the twenty-pound turkey and put it in the oven at 11:00 a.m. to let it roast slowly until done.
Dinner was delicious (if I do say so myself) and everyone ate until stuffed - of course!

The kids have spent quite some time, as well, down at the beach skating on the frozen lake.
It's only a two-block walk to the lakeshore and an industrious soul was out there keeping the ice clear with a snow blade on his ATV - I don't know who was having more fun, he or the kids!

There are only two more days of the year 2006.
It has been an eventful year and a bit of a rollercoaster ride from my perspective.

I am hoping that 2007 will be a good one for my loved ones and friends and I wish everyone a year of prosperity - but most of all a year of happiness and contentment!