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Enjoy, Relax And Be Merry

December 25, 2013 by Sara

It’s almost time to pack up the presents and head over to my mom and dad’s house for a very merry and festive Christmas Day.  And what a perfect Christmas Day it is.  It snowed quite a bit last night so my world is white and fluffy, and even now there are little, weightless snowflakes falling.

We’ll gather for the annual family photo and eat a lunch of pick-up nibbles.  Then on to the present opening that can last hours as we open our gifts one at a time.  I like that tradition because everyone can see what everyone else got.  It’s relaxed rather than a chaotic and almost greedy tearing of colorful wrappings in a span of a few short minutes.  Good things should be savored, and gifts from others are very good things.

The Christmas dinner will be delicious, although never the traditional turkey or ham.  My mom got that right too ~ a make-ahead meal makes so much more sense.  It’s usually Italian and always very savory.

This year I did the Christmas season as close to my dream Christmas season as I ever have.  I wasn’t rushed, gifts given are modest but thoughtful, entertaining went relatively smoothly (although I have a huge burn on my arm from taking a pan out of the oven after having a glass of champagne ~ not paying attention!), and the snowy weather is literally icing on the figurative cake.

A merry day to everyone!

Snow Girl and Stormy, enjoying the season.

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Reflections

December 24, 2013 by Sara

It’s past 1:00 in the morning.  Christmas Eve morning.  In less than eight hours I’ll be drinking mimosas and eating caramel rolls at Charlotte’s annual holiday event she calls the Champagne Jam.  I should be sound asleep but instead I’m basking in the light of the Christmas tree eating a leftover dinner roll with peanut butter.

My hands are dry for all the paper I’ve been handling tonight.  Wrapping paper.  All of the Christmas presents are packaged up and tied with pretty bows.  I made a complete mess of the kitchen where I prepared the gifts, but by now the scraps have been thrown away and the long tub of my collection of papers and the box of ribbons are back in storage until next year.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be loaded with festivities, food and family.  Tonight I relish the silence.  Reflections, lights on the shiny tree ornaments and thoughts in my mind, remind me of how much I have to be grateful for and how treasured this time of year is to me.

Merry Christmas to all.  And to all a good night.

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Silent Night

December 21, 2013 by Sara

It is a silent night for me tonight. The day was spent by attending my great Aunt Margie’s funeral. She was buried on the same date as her brother, my grandpa, who died a few years ago. Seems people in that family like to spend Christmas together. According to someone in the family Aunt Margie said she was ready to go onto the next realm. I hope she’s happy, dancing with her husband and spending the season with the many members of her family who entered that realm before her.

A Distant Memory by The Crooked Camera

When I returned home from the funeral I spend a half hour gathering my thoughts and went on to make preparations for the annual Christmas Cheer party I have for my family. I did some cooking and baking and preparation for the most festive entertainment event I have every year. I’m preparing new recipes and also some tried and true ones, the libations are stocked, and the old victrola is ready to play some of the old 78s that were listened to by generations before me. Christmas is a time of nostalgia, a time to remember Christmases past and to romanticize Christmases before our time.

The house still smells of the buns I baked this evening and I wish they were the buns my grandma used to make. Mine were made from store-bought frozen dough, thawed and baked. Delicious, but not the same as those made from scratch by Grandma Mabel. Some day I’ll make them as well as she did; I have the old recipe complete with instructions out of her head rather than precise measurements and sure-fire techniques. Oh, to have the time to perfect her wonderful buns.

I find myself remembering Christmases of my past on this silent night. Christmas Eve on Jackson Street with the great aunts and uncles on my dad’s side. Christmas mornings at Tug Lake with a roaring fire and presents galore. Grandpa Mike looking out his picture window, telling his grandchildren Santa’s sleigh had been sighted by the weather men at the local TV news station. Grandma Harriet with her glorious Christmas Day meal. Yes, Christmas is all about nostalgia for me. And every year I build upon the nostalgia of future years.

Via Google Images

Great Aunt Margie had a lot of Christmases under her belt. Ninety-five of them. Sharp as a tack until the day she died I wonder what she would think about at Christmas time. Did she reminisce about Christmases she spent as a child on her parents’ farm? Did she miss the years gone by, or did she embrace the holidays as they came?

On this silent night I think about the generations past and the generations to come. I also think about right now. That in a few hours my family will gather at my house for food, drink, and merriment. As we celebrate the season and ourselves we’ll also be creating memories. These are the memories I want when I’m ninety-six years old like my Great Aunt Margie.

Posted in Artists and Shops, Holidays, Nostalgia | Tagged , | 5 Comments »

Cherry Poutons

December 17, 2013 by Sara

Once upon a time I knew a woman who used to love hearing me describe the food I made.  When I would have company I would describe the meals in detail she said it made her mouth water just hearing about it.  I was under the impression she was one of those women who didn’t have much time to cook, what with kids and all their after-school activities and whatnot.  Seriously, her kids were involved in sports and music and any other kind of activity that would keep them occupied nonstop.  I felt kind of sorry for them, the kids, as it didn’t seem like they had any time to just play or hang out, much less eat some decent food.

I remember one year she told me about how she took some time with her youngest child who might have been about ten or twelve years old.  They made some Christmas cookies together.  She was surprised when her son told her that was the best thing about Christmas that year, making cookies.

Tonight I made a batch of cookies that took but an hour to mix, bake, drizzle, and clean up, doing the dishes by hand.  There is no reason to not make cookies, especially at Christmas time.  If you’ve got kids they can join in with the fun.  Or at least lick the bowl.  It takes no time at all.

I never had kids, but I do have Husby.  He stays clear of the kitchen when I’m doing my Christmas baking, but is always available to sample what I’ve made and loves the sweet morsels right out of the oven.  Tonight’s cookies were new.  When he looked at them he announced, “Cherry Poutons!”  The name was a spontaneous labeling of what he saw, no matter that it didn’t mean anything.  Except for the cherry part.  There were actually cherries involved, but neither of us knows where the “pouton” came from.  I don’t even know what the cookies are titled on the recipe, but forever more they’ll be referred to as Cherry Poutons.

Christmas baking makes memories.  Like the boy who will always remember that time he made cookies with his mom.  Like a new favorite that will be known as Cherry Poutons.  I hope the tradition of baking Christmas cookies never dies and that none of us are ever too busy to treat ourselves to the sweetness that comes with the season.

Posted in Food, Holidays | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments »

Butter and Sugar

December 14, 2013 by Sara

Christmas is coming.  Sooner than I think.  But I’m trying to maintain my cool and enjoy the minutes I’m taking in preparation.  Of course there are the gifts.  I’m pretty much decided on what I want to give people, some gifts which are already bought or made, others which are still on the list of things to make/buy.  I don’t have long, and the longer I wait the less options I have in case something goes horribly wrong.  You know, like if I can’t find what I’m looking for.  And that can happen easily with a person who doesn’t like to shop anyway.

Charlotte is all done with her shopping, at least I assume so.  She always seems so with it when it comes to Christmas.  I’m jealous of her organizational skills and every New Year’s Eve I vow to become more like her when it comes to getting things done.  But besides the gifts (of which I have most) my preparations aren’t anything to smirk at.  That is to say, things are moving along quite well.

I spent most of the day baking.  I like the baking part of Christmas.  And even though Husby is the one who does most of the cooking around this house, I’m the baker.  When it comes to entertaining I’m not only the baker, but I’m also the cook.  Every year Charlotte and I have a holiday gathering for our family.  She does hers on Christmas Eve morning every year.  I usually grab a weekend evening that’s available for everyone, which isn’t always easy considering the schedules of the eight of us.

But I digress.  Sugar, butter, and flour were my best friends today.  Christmas cookies are a must at my house.  Husby is always more than willing to sample the cookies, candies, and other delectable treats I make for us and for any entertaining we might do through the season.

I’m happy with what I accomplished today, even though it wasn’t nearly as much as I would have liked to do.  Those pesky household chores get pushed to the back burner when it comes to Christmastime but can’t be ignored completely.  Luckily I multi-tasked and got some laundry done in between cookie batches.

Now I just have to find some time for dusting.  Maybe tomorrow.

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