Originally published December 2013
The 2013 Christmas tree, a Fraser fir, was named Duckie, after Woody the wood duck and all the ducks I've been privileged to watch all year. The tree is very, very tall, which makes me very grateful for an 11 foot ceiling.
Duckie has taken over the living room of the hovel, and with all the ornaments and tinsel, welcomes me with fragrance and joy each time I enter the apartment.
As has become a tradition, I visited Macy's Holiday Lane once the ornaments were on sale, and was so happy to get some nice new ones.
My theory is, there can never be too many ornaments or too much tinsel.
This year also meant baking cookies again, and they were particularly scrumptious. I made the famous pecan Snowball Cookies (if you scroll through the Previous Posts section below, you'll find a link to the recipe).
The other cookies were cranberry oatmeal. I use the Quaker Oats vanishing oatmeal cookies recipe, but substitute dried cranberries for raisins.
Duckie now stars in his own video, A Duckie Little Christmas, which you can watch below.
The walks continue in Central Park, and I have enjoyed taking photographs and making sure Woody and the mallards (and even a coot!) get lots of peanuts. After the New Year (and I really hope yours is extremely happy and satisfying), I will post more pictures from the amazing park that sits right in the middle of the greatest city in the world.
