And We Are...Back!

After a rather long hiatus, I am back! Thank you to the readers who expressed concern that I’d injured my typing fingers. My digits were, are, and always have been functioning, it was simply I who was not. But now my holiday in America has ended. After two snowstorms, two holidays, thirty hours of flights, and a dreadful seven hour layover in Bangkok, I am back in KL and ready to regale with tales of my trip.

After leaving the wind and rain of California behind, I arrived in DC to a much colder wind and impending snowstorms. Loppy Lou had just ditched her DC digs and moved to Alexandria with her fiancée Tex. They live in a Christmas Condo!

After a week of getting acclimated to the new living situation, they were ready to welcome their first houseguest. Me!

My first evening in DC fell on Loppy Lou’s annual cookie exchange with several girlfriends. I had never participated in a "cookie exchange" and I admit I was but an onlooker at this one.

Basically girls bake several batches of a single type of cookie. You then gather together and trade with each other, hopefully claiming cookies that are more difficult to make and more delicious than your own. This way you round out your holiday cookie selection without exhausting yourself kneading dough for oatmeal raisin AND candy cane cutouts. Clever. Loppy Lou invited me along to this hand off of baked goods. I was excited to meet her Lady Baker friends.

where are the cookies?

Along with cookies, they also exchange gifts. Everyone was so excited to open their gifts.

And they were so pleased with what they received.

After the giving, receiving, and several bottles of wine were finished, we walked over to Filomenia Ristorante in Georgetown.

The Lady Bakers become quite rowdy when they get a few drinks in them. And, I'm the first to admit, we indulged in a few more than a few.

By the end of the night all the boys were looking good to the Lady Bakers.
What did I learn? Cookie exchanges = a drunken good time.