Ricki Lee Jones

It's a busy day as we are preparing a fun dinner for a neighbor who just turned 85. She used to run a restaurant in Saint Germain and still can prepare classic brasserie food without missing a beat. Common friends from Halifax, Canada have organized a bunch of Canadian lobster for the party which turned out to be more complicated than expected. Funny how "complicated" and "expensive" turn up when there's a local industry that likes to charge outrageous sums for their own product even though they're in short supply. Either way, should be a fun evening with neighbors.

We had a late night after visiting our friend Jane in the hospital. After months of chemo, she had her surgery this week and is recovering well. We're really looking forward to having her and her family with us on Christmas along with other friends and family. I'm thinking of a few guinea fowl, chestnuts and some farm cheese. What else does anyone really need for Christmas besides being together?

Good luck preparing for the holidays this weekend.