The Gill house came alive with 10 kids tonight. There hasn't been that much action here in a long time. The trainset came out, the gingerbread went down and a good time was had by all. It was really great to see old friends with their beautiful new families. I am so glad they made the trip. The complete album is here.

Christmas pictures! The complete album is here.

Our flight home got cancelled yesterday. No calls, no email, no notice from Delta. Worse their customer care line was busy all day and all night. I have yet to find an explanation for this, but I am relatively sure it is deliberate. If you have a queuing system the additional calls should just wait in line. As far as I can tell Delta made a calculated decision not to talk to the customers it was canceling flights on. You could argue this is a dramatically cynical conclusion but all the worst travel experiences I've had have been with Delta, including one where the checkin line at JFK was over 2 hours long. By contrast Expedia was great. There was a wait but they helped me get the refund that I would have had no way of getting from Delta.

Mom and Dad came in for a short post thanksgiving visit to see their grandson. They got to check out all the new construction and sample the new luxury shower (pics coming soon [of an empty shower that is]). I got a train set for my birthday and we set it up around the tree so the boy could check it out. He was transfixed and loved it.

The weather in Seattle was beautiful and very cold in the low 20s even dipping to the teens at night. We all we all drove out to North Bend to Mike and Scott's tree farm at the base of Mt. Si to pick out a tree. This has become a tradition with Nina and I and it was really nice to be able to share it with my folks. We decorated the tree on Saturday night and set up the train tracks around it. It was the first time they have seen our tree, with our odd and assorted ornament collection. Going home for the holidays is great, but it always feels rushed and quiet quality time is in short supply. This was the opposite with lots of time to sit and chat and for them to catchup with all the growing their grandson has done. Full album here.

While the floors were being finished we stayed at the Marriot residence Inn in Bellevue, which gave Cooper his first swimming experience. It was nice to be able to walk to work and I won't complain about having a free breakfast buffet everyday, but it was really nice to get back into the house. It was also hard as we were so close to construction being done. But close is not the same thing as done, and 4 months in we are ready for DONE. Full album here.

This recipe started from an email conversation around A-Rod's emergence as both a better human being and a post season force, simultaneously. Coincidence? No! Billy D and I say. If he pulls all the way through like this to the WS then I promised no-doubt the next beer I brew is the "Ale-Rod," credit Bill for the naming. I've trying to explain that there is really a great lesson for humanity here and that the haters were just being bitter people. The lesson is: stop being an loser mental case and post season success will follow. It is the sort of lesson you would teach your kids. Alias, it is going to be hard for some people to let go of...