Have a happy happy happy happy Hanukkah!

Our friend Cara had us over for a joint Hanukkah / Gingerbread house decorating party last Sunday. It was the 7th night of Hanukkah, which meant there were just enough candles for each of us to light one. She gave us a quick refresher on the Hanukkah story, and we made a valiant attempt at repeating the Hebrew prayer that went with the lighting of each candle. For dinner, Cara served Potato Latkes with sour cream and applesauce, which were crispy and delicious. They are a traditional Hanukkah food because they are made with lots of oil, which pays homage to the tiny oil lamp that burned for 8 days during the holiday.









After dinner, we all played dreidel for Hershey-kiss prizes. Tom and I lost pretty early, but there was a good matchup between Cara and her roommate Karen for the top prize. Tom even made his dreidel spin upside down like the pros do.

We also built and decorated Gingerbread houses in the Ebel family tradition. We baked them 2/3 scale this year so they wouldn't be quite as daunting. Tom and I decided to do a pirate theme on our house/boat this year. Tom made some very impressive sails complete with rigging and a "bowsprit" for the front of the boat. He also amputated the leg off of a gummi bear in order to make a swarthy peg-legged captain. For my contribution, I created a gingerbread island complete with candy-cane coconut palm and an overflowing treasure chest on a red "x-marks-the-spot". I also added some sea creatures including a couple circling sharks, a very angry octopus who is attacking our boat, and a little yellow duck. Yum!