'tis the season

Holiday staff party is Monday. 

We drew names 

(via a gift exchange website to make it easy for
remotely located co-workers - 

who thinks of these things?!)

but it's a secret who's got whom until Monday. 

Does this look sufficiently secret-ish?

We were encouraged to 

make something, 

bake something, 

donate a book from our own library,

or otherwise be creative - 

but don't spend more than $15.

And because I like to see what I can do with minimal giftwrap, 

or find something reuseable to stand in for giftwrap, 

this is a wire basket
with metal sculpted branches and leaves for a handle.

99 cents at Goodwill.  

Re-used ribbon.

The tissue paper is new. But recyclable if the giftee opts not to reuse.

My gift is (I can tell you because no one from work reads this - I think)

3 food items that I made in September:

Applesauce

with nothing added. 

(It's pink because the apples are cooked with skins on

before being put through a food mill.)

Dilled eggs (hardboiled eggs pickled with dill, garlic, & jalapenos).

Dilled cauliflower (ditto).

Here are the jars before the pickling liquid was added.

I used ripe (read: red. read: hot!) jalapenos.

Red instead of green
because I thought they would look prettier in the jar.

I told the man at the farm stand what I was buying them for, and he shook his head and asked me about the size of the jars and advised I not use a whole pepper in each jar but cut them in half, since the red, ripe jalapenos are much hotter than the green. 

So I cut them in long quarters. And only put a quarter in each jar.

The eggs are nicely hot.

But the cauliflower - oh my.

Really really hot.

I'm also putting the cards on the chocoladeletters, 

an annual tradition that started the year Gerrit and I were married.  

It's a happy reminder for me of our years together.

The ones for the family have already been mailed, 

and my niece sent this picture of her middle son, ready to chomp his B.

And that makes me happy, too.