Darryl’s birthday up in Russian River

We spent the weekend in a lovely 4 bedroom home in Guerneville (called “Vista Serena”) just over the bridge from downtown. The gray skies didn’t dampen our festive mood: lots of home cooking, watching shows, playing Password and Cranium, the small town Parade of Lights, and plenty walking over and around the river. I baked three test batches of pecan shortbread, Linzer christmas cookies, and Parmesan cheese puffs to boot. Let’s just say it wasn’t a low-calorie weekend. But it’s always nice to get out of the city for a bit. Jax loved the change of scenery and all the extra walking around.

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My test batch of Linzer cookies with cherry preserve filling.

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The whole gang at the R.R. Christmas Parade of Lights.

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Yes, they still have phone booths in Guerneville… the Land That Time Forgot.

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Is the Russian River ever not brown?

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Hard to believe there’s still a market for this kind of stuff, but this is the boonies…

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