The brownie chocolate chip cheesecake turned out great.  I let it cool overnight then just had to have a tiny wedge for breakfast this morning.

After tending to the bird feeders we opened a few gifts and are spending a leisurely day around the house.  Our only obligation is to deliver our traditional home-baked Christmas cookies to the neighbors. Trisha is charging up her new Nook Color e-reader and I may try out my new bread machine.  Dinner is a reprise of the Mediterranean turkey with yams that we had on Thanksgiving.  Tomorrow, we’re off for a few days retreat at Cannon Beach, Oregon, where we plan to take in the spa, watch the ocean, read, sit in the hot tub, see a movie or two, and read.

This critter is a little Texas steer, a gift from Trisha’s sister, Lisa.

Trisha and I spent a calm final 48 hours of 2009. On Wednesday, we stopped by the Bellevue Square Mall to get a new toaster, had lunch at Cheesecake Factory, then saw Avatar in 3D. The movie was visually stunning; I especially enjoyed the creative, colorful flora. New Year’s Eve was equally exciting. We began with an easy workout at the gym, had a light lunch then watched the Sherlock Holmes film. I didn’t think much of this incarnation of the famous sleuth but there was lots of action and the popcorn and Twix bar kept me alert. My favorite Holmes is still Jeremy Brett’s portrayal for British television. We finished off the day with a home-made pizza and a couple of hours of the Dog Whisperer.

Trisha was up early as always to feed the birds and by 8:00 we were in front of the tree opening gifts. Taking advantage of the luscious weather we walked a ways up a nearby logging road that we haven’t visited much since we’ve been without dogs. It was a wonderful reminder of how beautiful the forest is and the soothing effect of the waterfalls. Later it was back to the Snoqualmie Casino buffet for an early Christmas dinner. It’s so decadent. I sampled a wide range of the offerings: turkey with stuffing, French toast, smoked bacon, crab legs, carrot cake. The day ended with a typical North Bend wind storm and we lost power around 7:00 so it was a quiet evening reading by candlelight until bed time.