We celebrated Heather's birthday of Dec. 11 with a dinner party, serving her favorite - boeuf bourguignon. Viva La France! Here's a picture of Heather wearing her "birthday Princess" tiara, getting ready to open a big stack of birthday gifts.
Later that week I decided to become Mrs. Santa Claus and hand deliver our Christmas gifts to our son Sean, wife Natalie and our granddaughter Hanalei (Princess of Canada). Using my retiree airline passes, I upgraded my sleigh to a 737, taking off for Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. A good move on my part as I was met with over a foot of snow and -26 degrees.
The next day was spent shoveling snow at our son Sean's house on my way to a wonderful lunch with Hanalei, a day of sightseeing and a tour of the old Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg, with its fabulous decorations.
Then it was back to California and our law office Holiday luncheon. This year we celebrated at one of our favorite restaurants, L'Hirondelle, in French "the swallow", which is located across from the Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Although the swallows are supposed to return every year on St. Joseph's Day in March, as in the old song; "When the swallows come back to Capistrano", only a few actually make it. The photo includes me, Heather, Chris Fellows, our dynamite paralegal, and Todd Hazlett, our settlement expeditor and courier extraordinaire. John was our photographer, also extraordinaire.
I have a fast fix for all of us who ate far too much over the holidays. The recipe is for a no-fail spinach soufflé, given to me in 1959 by one of my TWA roommates. Believe me when I say it has been served around the world. Any problems, questions?? Call me at our office phone number of 949-496-7000, ask for me and I'll help you. If I'm not there just leave a message and phone number and I'll call you back. Here's the recipe:
SPINACH SOUFFLE INGREDIENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS:
4 TABLESPOONS OF BUTTER, 4 TABLESPOONS OF WONDRA FLOUR, 4 BEATEN EGGS, 1 PINT (16 OZ) OF SMALL CURD COTTAGE CHEESE, 1 PKG FROZEN CHOPPED SPINACH, (DEFROST BUT DO NOT DRAIN), 8 OZ GRATED CHEESE (EITHER SWISS, CHEDDAR, JACK OR COMBO), DASH OF SALT AND DASH OF TABASCO
MELT THE 4 TABLESPOONS OF BUTTER, POUR THE MELTED BUTTER INTO BOWL, ADD THE 4 TABLESPOONS OF WONDRA FLOUR AND STIR. (MAKES A "PASTE")
STIR IN THE 4 BEATEN EGGS AND THEN JUST STIR IN ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS LISTED ABOVE. (I HAVE ALSO MADE THIS IN A BLENDER USING LOW SPEED.)
SPRAY A QUICHE DISH OR PIE DISH WITH "PAM" AND POUR EVERYTHING INTO IT. THEN JUST BAKE AT 325 TIL GOLDEN BROWN AND TIL THE CENTER IS FIRM TO TOUCH. (SHOULD TAKE ABOUT 50 MIN TO 1 HOUR) ENJOY!

As usual, the story of this month's activities ends with a picture of our granddaughter Hanalei (HL) Burns. This time it is on Christmas morning opening one of her gifts.
We hope that you, your loved ones and friends all had an enjoyable holiday season.
Best Regards,