Christmas comes in many parts... part 1

I know I'm going backwards in time, but please forgive me, there is just so many things to catch up on before I can close the 2008 chapter and move into 2009 with a clear mind!! In the next few days I will probably be sprinkling the blog with a bit of 'things I meant to blog about and didn't' but we'll get to that later.

Before the trip to NYC, before the hundepension, but shortly after the packing of the cats, we had our own little Christmas at home. Oh sure, we could've waited to open our packages from the DK side of the family until we got back from the US - but what fun is that! We couldn't take the packages with us, it just wasn't practical to do so and besides - there were a few big boxes that were simply calling my name, begging to be opened!!

I hate to write wish lists because I can simply never remember the things I've seen that I would like to have but didn't buy at the time, etc. But this year, I put a little google gadget on my homepage and attempted to add things to it as I thought of them. It was pretty empty, however, when family started asking for the list but I did the best that I could to fill it out a bit and alas, the wish list was a success. :)

My in-laws, Anny and Bruno (don't you love that name, Bruno??, it just demands to be said with gusto!), gave me electric salt and pepper grinders, a new pair of gloves, and one other item that I decided a few weeks ago that I had to have...

In DK, most homes have one of these...



Now I don't really understand the popularity of this type of toaster, nor can I see any practical reason for it, unless perhaps you have a desire to have just one side of your bread toasted. I'm more of a toast both sides kind of girl. I also tend to be a bit of a wreck in the kitchen unless I'm really focusing on the task at hand (Thanksgiving, for example). We do own something similar to the model shown above and we also own a toaster oven, however.. said toaster oven now has a bit of discoloration around the door and from each vent as I managed to make black hockey pucks out of 2 pieces of bread a few weeks ago. It wasn't my fault - really! - the timer didn't go off, I was working at the other end of the house, and by the time I managed to remember I had put some bread in the oven, there was smoke pouring out of every crevice of the pretty white toaster oven - all because it didn't go "DING" when it should have and therefore, didn't shut itself off. Apparently you're supposed to turn it past 5 and then back or something for the timer to activate properly - whatever! I decided then and there that I had use for a toast both sides, pop-up when done, shut itself off, kind of toaster, and yes, I got one for Christmas - yippee!!!

Some girls hate getting kitchen stuff for Christmas - I'm the opposite, I hate the kitchen itself, but I LOVE kitchen gadgets and I love getting new gadgets for Christmas. I think somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind, I am convinced that if I finally find just the right magical kitchen gadget, I will suddenly be the world's most amazing chef, without actually doing any work. Hey - it's a goal!

So, on that note, Ole got me a breadmaker and while it can't solve all my kitchen woahs, it does magically turn a few carefully measured scoops of stuff into a magically delicious loaf of bread in just 3 hours and I didn't have to lift a spoon. :)