A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS (VEGAN STYLE)!

As our family grows in size, we seem to also scatter in far-flung directions. Our married daughter and son-in-law have lived in Durham, NC for a few years, but will be moving to Indianapolis, IN in January. Only our son lives nearby, as does one of my brothers and his family. So family get-togethers are rare. Yet - most of the family traveled over the river and through the woods to Grammy and Papa's house in Ohio this year for a wonderful family Christmas. We traveled from Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, California, and Ohio to be together. Even though the weather was less than ideal, everyone made the trip unscathed. Eating and drinking (of course), game playing, and catching up on everyone's news made for a memorable time.

VEGAN COOKING - IT CAN BE DONE!!!
Since like most families these holidays center on food, of course we had much delicious food. Even our vegan daughter had plenty to eat. At one meal, we had make your own pizzas, with lots of vegetable choices and soy cheese (with meat and regular cheese choices for the carnivores). At the Christmas meal, vegan highlights were brussel sprouts sauteed with apricots and almonds, fresh pineapple and pomegranate seeds (beautiful and tasty), and a sweet potato and apple bake. Delicious!

Invictus Movie Review

Though it dragged in certain parts, this was a wonderful film. Morgan Freeman was the highlight -- his portrayal of Nelson Mandela was masterful. You love Mandela in the story. He was a modern-day Lincoln, wisely working to bring rival factions together through the sport of rugby. The grueling sport of rugby is vividly portrayed by Matt Damon and the other team members. What a brutal sport! Basically, it is football without any padding or protection! While some story elements could have been trimmed, the overall story was educational and inspiring.