![Grouping of white and gold candles of different heights and thicknesses, with two lit and two unlit.](/images/600w/First_candle.jpg)
2007: Memories
When the web started, some wonderful Advent calendars appeared. Web designer Leslie Harpold made the best calendar: every day, she wrote a memory, added a special treat like her own flash animation or recipe, and linked to an outside web side. This year, I'm using the same format.
2008: Disasters
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ...
And that means trying new recipes, and new recipes mean opportunities for disaster, hopefully of the "we'll look back on this and laugh ... someday" variety.
2009: Confessions
I love to eat. I love to bake. If I didn't hate spending $30 for dinner more than I hate cooking, we'd eat a lot of take-out.
2010: Baking tips
All my baking wisdom in one ... er ... twenty-four places!
![Close up of green applse with a red blush in front of a handwritten sign saying 'Smokehouse crisp and tart'.](/images/600w/SmokehouseApples.jpg)
2012: Christmas books
My favorite books about Christmas, from cookbooks to sociology and history to my own childhood favorites.
![Pre-teen throwing snowballs at the window the viewer is standing behind.](/images/800w/SnowballCard.jpg)
2013: Cookbooks
The two dozen cookbooks I go back to year after year.
2014: Inheritance
In 2014, my mother died very unexpectedly in mid-June. In December, I wrote about the amazing person who most shaped the person I am today.
2015: Cocktails
With a little help from my friends, we move to a lighter and tastier subject.
![Photo collage of different cocktails](/images/advent2015/Advent2015.jpg)
2017: Cocktails 2
2015 was so much fun, we did it again in 2017.
![Photo collage of winter scenes](/images/800w/Advent2019.jpg)
2019: Reminiscing
More delightful stories of Christmases past.
![Two black cats, one lying on luggage trunk, the other sitting on the floor, looking at each other, with Christmas decorations in the background.](/images/600w/JetAndOnyx.jpg)
![Photo collage of my favorite things](/images/600w/Advent2021.jpg)
2021: Favorite things
Just a few of my favorite things, like books, cats, and Philadelphia.