Slightly jet-lagged, I felt like I was in another world at the Holiday Inn in St. Louis last week. The smell of chlorine and humid air trapped by the ceiling added to my overall displacement. I secretly wished my room faced this indoor playroom, but you can’t have it all. (I’m not exactly sure why I typed the title of this entry in french, but I suspect its because piscine is one of my favorite words ever.)

As with a lot of families, there are foods that stick around year after year for better or for worse… eggnog, fruitcake, jello salad, holiday wreath cake, pickled cream herring, my uncle’s special scrambled eggs, etc. I was just reading an article about the English history and tradition of Christmas pudding. While it never really caught on in America, another tradition that originally came from France through the English was pumpkin pie. From France?? Anyway, while my own cooking goes in and out of style, I always try and make a batch of bourbon balls to celebrate the season (from a recipe my friend Melina gave me almost a decade ago).

Mom needed a photo of her and her cat Callie to put on this year’s holiday stationary. I was happy to oblige.