It all started when my daughter was in grade school. We made bonbons for her teachers every year. And then for family members. And then... suddenly it was getting harder to find the ingredients we needed. And those Bonbons were really labor intensive. Soooo, we switched to Andes Mint cookies. (You can find the recipe on the recipe page.) Still a little labor intensive but nothing like those Bonbons! Well, now my daughter has daughters and we're still baking Andes mint cookies at Christmas. The work crew has just grown by two. What a fun holiday tradition. I love getting to hand out with the girls and do this. And I'm hoping someday my daughter will be doing it with her granddaughters. What's your holiday tradition?

Sooo, I just happened to mention a favorite painter, Stewart Moskowitz in my novel BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE, and, lo and behold, one day I got a nice email from him, thanking me for the mention. He also offered to send me a copy of his adorable children's book, TOO-LOOSE THE CHOCOLATE MOOSE. How cool is that?
I was not only delighted with this thoughtful gift but really thrilled to hear from someone whose work I admire.
So, what's the purpose of this little anecdote (besides to share something fun that happened to me)? Well, I'm not sure, except to say that I think a great life isn't necessarily composed of huge, earth-shaking events, but small blessings and kindnesses, moments to smile, moments to laugh. Mr. Moskowitz has given me a lot of smiles, first with the print of one of his paintings that hangs in my hall, and second with taking time to write me. The book was icing on the cake. Hope I can do some small thing to make someone smile today. How about you?
By the way, you can find the 30th anniversary edition of Stewart's book on Amazon. If you're interested, here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Too-Loose-Chocolate-Moose-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0985146710/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356110617&sr=8-1&keywords=Too+Loose+the+Chocolate+Moose

I'm sure by now that many of you have seen the music video we made to go along with my Christmas novel "Merry Ex-mas". If you haven't, hop on over to Youtube and check out "Merry Christmas, Mama."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MssZlpob0os&feature=g-all
I've got to say, filming that was one of the most fun things I've done in ages. The Tracyton Public House in Bremerton let us take over for several hours on a Sunday last spring. As you can see, we decorated the place for the holidays. And ourselves, too!  We were all dressed in our winter clothes but that afternoon was a scorcher with record high temps. The regulars were in t-shirts and shorts and we were all roasting like so many Christmas geese on the spit.
    I can see why it takes so long to make a movie. We spent hours filming just for this short video. So many people volunteered to be part of the fun. And let me tell you, there were a lot of people snapping pics of Santa napping at the bar!
    The video is based on one of the story lines in the book, so please don't go thinkin' that I hate mothers-in-law. I had a great mother-in-law and I am one. I always tell people that no mothers-in-law were harmed in the filming of this music video. Santa, however, got a hernia.