I’ll be sitting around in my pajamas this morning. My husband and I will dig out the eggnog from the snow bank we made for it and imbibe while working a jigsaw puzzle and counting our blessings.

I don’t want to drink too much eggnog or I’ll end up like Santa here next time I try to go down a chimney.

Merry Christmas!

Cartoon courtesy of Kerry Thompson (published as 'Kerry Millard').

Let the sipping begin!

It’s time for the annual eggnog recipe post.

Photography ©Erica Lea. Used with permission. Please click on image to see Erica's other work.

My brother called me 2 days ago. He told me he had been wondering if he could find our Bert’s Eggnog recipe online. When he looked, darnit if this blog wasn’t the first thing that came up! He had no idea I had been sharing this treasure with my readers for all of these years.

My brother-in-law calls every year to ask where he can find the eggnog recipe. Every year, we give him this blog URL.

The Story of Bert’s Eggnog

This recipe is for neither the faint of heart nor those who aren’t willing to make the effort. It’s a lot of work, but you’ll be rewarded in the end. Even people who think they don’t like eggnog fall in love with this sinfully delicious concoction.

My mother first made Bert’s Eggnog in 1959, the year she and Dad were married. But my Uncle Charlie had been making it for years.

No one knows who Bert is! Mom looked up the original recipe in Aunt Susan’s How-To Cookbook (1951) and it doesn’t give a clue.

This recipe has been a part of my Christmases for at least 25 years. We started making it in Crested Butte, Colorado and always on Christmas Eve.

After the batch was whipped up, we put it out in the snow overnight. The icy snow makes the nog thicken and the flavors are just that much better in the morning. If you don’t have snow or cold weather, I might suggest a few hours in the freezer.

Looks like we’ll have a snow bank for our batch this year.

Christmas morning just isn’t Christmas without Bert’s Eggnog. It’s a nice excuse for an afternoon nap, too!

Download the recipe here.

Confess

Are you a part of the Bert’s Eggnog fan club? Have you made this recipe since I first posted it in 2005?

Leave your name and your story.

Say a word of gratitude to Bert – whoever she/he is.

I have a busy schedule in 2011 and thought I’d better share it with those of you who can get to any of these.

I’d love to meet you!

Durham Workshop

May 20-21, 2011
Early registration for this North Carolina workshop ends tomorrow – April 15. Read the details and join us!

2011 Book Parties

In conjunction with the release of the 2011 updated & expanded edition of I’d Rather Be in the Studio, I conned a few lovely artists and galleries into hosting book parties for me.

Jan Carson hosted my first-ever book party back in 2008 at her Moon-Lily studio/gallery in Fort Collins, Colorado. She made these terrific red silk flowers just for the occasion.

Saturday, May 14 – Columbia, SC
Sunday, May 15 – Spartanburg, SC
Monday, May 16 – Greenville, SC
Tuesday, May 17 – Winston-Salem, SC
Wednesday, May 18 – Hillsboro, NC
Saturday, May 21 – Raleigh, NC
Saturday, June 11 – Grand Junction, CO

I’d love to meet you! Locations, times, and details for these book events.

(Due to scheduled travel, I’m also open to additional book parties in Oklahoma in mid-July and in Billings, MT in early August. Just email me.)

Fall Workshops

October 1-2 – Bohemia, NY (Long Island)
October 15-16 – Golden, CO
October 26-27 – Tulsa, OK
November 5 – Philadelphia, PA

My sweet husband decorated my office for my birthday last year. You can help me celebrate this year!

Today is my birthday.

It’s also the Chinese New Year. Today begins the Year of the Rabbit (year 4078), which happens to be my sign in Chinese astrology. I know this mainly because of the zodiac paper placemats at Chinese restaurants.

Anyway, I’m feeling lucky, lucky, lucky! The Year of the Rabbit falls on my birthday!

Birthdays are big deals in my family.

One of my fondest birthday memories was my surprise 30th birthday party. My parents rented a gallery and invited over 100 of my closest friends. They also installed my art (from throughout my life and art school) in the space! And my dad wrote didactic text for each label–making up stories to go along with the art.

I’d love for you to help me make this birthday even more special.

How You Can Celebrate With Me

I’m asking everyone who reads this to donate to the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, CERF+, which provides aid to artists who have been struck by disaster. CERF+ has helped victims of wildfires, Hurricane Katrina, and other natural disasters, as well as personally devastating events that don’t make the national news.

You don’t have to get dressed up, shop for a gift, send a card, or go anywhere.

Just give. Give what you can to the CERF+ artist relief fund. There are two options, which will take about 3 minutes of your time.

1. Donate via PayPal on the CERF+ site (preferred).

2. Donate here and I’ll hand the money over to CERF+.

Thank you! Thank you for being here and for giving what you can to help fellow artists in need.

Happy birthday to me!

You probably didn’t say eggnog, but I’m giving it to you anyway. Because . . .

It’s that time again!

Time to contribute to your delinquency and, even better, your holiday cheer.

I can think of no better way than to share the annual Bert’s Eggnog recipe with you.

The Story of Bert’s Eggnog

This recipe is for neither the faint of heart nor those who aren’t willing to make the effort. It’s a lot of work, but you’ll be rewarded in the end. Even people who think they don’t like eggnog fall in love with this sinfully delicious concoction.

My mother first made it in 1959, the year she and Dad were married. But my Uncle Charlie had been making it for years. No one knows who Bert is! Mom looked up the recipe in Aunt Susan’s How-To Cookbook (1951) and it doesn’t give a clue.

This recipe has been a part of my Christmases for at least 25 years. We started making it in Crested Butte, Colorado and always on Christmas Eve. After the batch was whipped up, we put it out in the snow overnight. The icy snow makes the nog thicken and the flavors are just that much better in the morning. If you don’t have snow or cold weather, I might suggest a few hours in the freezer.

Christmas morning just isn’t Christmas without Bert’s Eggnog. Makes for a nice excuse for an afternoon nap, too!

Download the recipe here.

Fans Only

Are you a part of the Bert’s Eggnog fan club? Have you made this recipe since I first posted it in 2005?

Leave your name and confess! You’re among good company.

Just received this email from the production company that did Project Runway and Top Chef.  They are casting a new show that will showcase emerging visual artists creating and competing on Bravo.

Full info on how to apply is available at www.BravoTV.com/casting.

Love or hate reality TV, this ought to be interesting. And don't you think it's high time that artists are given their due alongside dancers, musicians, chefs, worm-eaters, and show-all celebrities?

*********************

Magical Elves (Peabody Award-winning Project Runway, Emmy Award-winning Top Chef) and Sarah Jessica Parker (Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-winner) and her production company, Pretty Matches, are teaming up for an hour-long creative competition series among aspiring contemporary artists who will create and compete to conquer the art world!

NEW YORK
White Columns
Saturday, July 18th & Sunday, July 19th
10:00am – 2:00pm

I guess my blog is looking a little wonky in Internet Explorer right now.

Notes:
I am not writing this post in all caps.
My sidebar and posts look quite normal in Firefox and Safari.

We're trying to see why this blog isn't playing nicely with IE. I'll let you know when I find out more.

Thanks for your patience.

Update Saturday, May 16: This issue has been resolved.

One of the bonuses from the recent Big Book Sale was a chance to win an Office Spa Day from Jennifer Hofmann at Inspired Home Office. The only stipulation is that you had to purchase 2 or more books to be entered.

Today was the day for the drawing. And the winners are . . .

Barbara Hawn (New Mexico) and Gael Murakami (Alaska)

Congratulations!

I'm taking the rest of the week off and I hope you are, too! No Deep Thought Thursday, but I trust you'll have your own deep thoughts on Christmas Day.

I'll be thinking of you. Really. You're on my gratitude list every day.

And you can think of me in the snowy, snowy Colorado mountains . . . sipping eggnog and snowshoeing.

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah!