A Holiday Party

Last night a good friend from work had a Christmas tree decorating party.  There was plenty of good food, warm beverages, and great conversation.  I got to meet a few of her friends from outside of work -- which was nice because I don't get a chance to meet new people very often.

Oh, the beverages were amazing!

This is a photo of her mulled wine (shot outdoors to show off the steam).  It is from a German recipe and was quite delightful.  After I sampled the wine, I also tried the buttered rum.  I had never had buttered rum before, but I'm pretty sure she nailed that recipe.  I have found a new favorite holiday drink.  It was like Christmas in a glass.

With 7 of us there, it didn't take long to decorate her tree.  She had already done the hard part by getting the tree up and lit (she shared the saga all week at work -- it gave her a fairly hard time).  After all the glass ornaments were on, my friend did the honors of putting the star on top.  I think her tree turned out lovely.

Dad is getting better and should be going home tomorrow from what Mom tells me.  I'm still coughing and dealing with chest congestion, so I didn't go to visit today like I had originally planned.

I must get going on some Christmas shopping.  I haven't done anything at all yet.  Usually I am almost done with buying or making gifts by now.  I am finally feeling the festive spirit so I'll have to kick it into high gear to get everything done in time.