Kathy and Annette arrived today for their Christmas visit, and Kari joined us for dinner after her shift at the skating rink.  Kathy and Annette brought unstuffed pepper soup and a salad for the main course, I made a cherry pie for dessert, and Kari brought cookies and candy she and the boys made for the holidays.

Kari and I previously decided we didn’t want so many cookies and so much candy this year.  We agreed that we’d each make a full batch of two specific cookies we enjoy (cherry and chocolate freezer cookies for me; cut-out cookies and scotcheroos for her) and we’d each make a batch of the single candy we most enjoy (bon bons for me; turtles for her). Together, we’d divide the batches to increase our individual variety and to share the bounty with Kathy and Annette.  We didn’t know that Kathy and Annette were also going to make some cookies and candy to share with us.

The pepper soup and the salad were delicious, but they paled in comparison to the desserts we had available after dinner!