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The holly-daze were a whirl. We ate out a few times. The Mommy soups were in rotation. I made fancy-ish dinners on the holidays. Shrimp salad and rissoto with scallops. Pork loin with sweet potatoes, apple sauce and brussel sprouts. Chicken and gravy.

I made myself a little crazy trying to have a variety of cookies for everyone. I thought I was going to have a little more help than I did and I wore myself out baking. So I didn't document.

I did enjoy it all. I make a few special things for Mom every year. Cherry blintzes, cinnamon rolls, ginger bread. I love the look on her face when I walk out of the kitchen with a plate full of something she loves. This year I made an apricot upside down cake. Huge hit.

I didn't know that Mom's favorite birthday cake was apricot upside down cake. I don't have any strong memories of them. But last summer I had an idea to make a plum upside down cake with almonds in the cake. I was making things for a neighbor who was a bit house bound. When I told Mom she talked about her birthday cakes.

I'd never made an upside down cake. They confuse me. They look like they're burning to me. The apricot was my second upside down experiment and I feel like I'm still learning. They both tasted good and they looked OK. I'm not even sure what I think should be better but I never feel confident when I'm making them. I use this recipe but I make a few changes.

We're back to soup and salad dinners because we like them. Mom requested spinach soup. I sauteed some onion, added a lot of chicken stock and then lots and lots of spinach. A bit of Grana at the end. Another hit with the Mommy. We still have a few cookies to eat. One day we were recounting what we had eaten in a day and it was largely fruit and vegetables.

Mom has a lifelong diet habit. Most days are a combination of indulgence and regret. She can eat way more sugar than I can. I find myself worried that she's going to get a stomach ache. Sort of a Freaky Friday thing.