Candy!

I continued my Christmas tradition this weekend, heading up to grandma's house to make Christmas candy by the boatload. Every year, Grandma grumbles over the amount of sugar we use (but she wont let me bring any), the amount that we make (yet she eats it all), and the mess we leave (but we clean it up!). Honestly, for all her grumbling, I think she loves it and would be crushed if I stayed home and did it like I used to in my little kitchen. Grandma time!

Do you like how I look so angelic here? With the russian icon halo behind my head?
I brought our Czech student Bara up as well, to get her out of her obsessive work zone, as well as to force her to see some of the beauty of California. The poor girl is working so hard, and hasn't even been to San Francisco, much less seen the sierras. A bit of a kidnap, but I do believe she enjoyed herself thoroughly.
I even put her to work making candy! When we became totally overwhelmed by the smell of sugar, we escaped toBig Trees State Park, so that Bara could at least see the beautiful giants.

Here she is in front of one of the trees that was cut down to prove to the skeptics around the world that the trees were indeed that big. They didnt seem to care about the fact that they killed the thing to do this, but alas... that's the american way for you.Lovely, no?