Saint Nicholas came!

And he brought the children the usual gifts of tangerines, nuts and sweets. Gabriel, as usual, was the first up to peek into the schoolroom and look at the bench where the boots, cleaned in hopeful preparation for St. Nick's visit, were lined up. He was soon followed by Una and Sebastian. The littlest ones are still asleep as I write this.
We are especially eager for Adrian to awaken, as Doll must have hitched a ride home with St. Nicholas last night and is out by Adrian's boot sporting a gnome cap and carrying a fishing pole:
The only sad thing is that my St. Nicholas boots couldn't be given to the children. Depite their good looks, my oven did a number on them (I baked them Wednesday) and they were rather burnt on the bottoms and didn't rise properly. Better luck next year, I hope...