It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

It truly is for me. I love Christmas for several many reasons.

I begin decorating the inside of our home the weekend of Thanksgiving, while my husband is decorating the outside. We have a very festive home in and out, and I love waking every morning and turning on the tree. My Santa collection always gives me a happy, holiday feeling. The Poinsettias are on the tables and the holiday stuffed animals are scattered throughout. It is fun!

I make lists and lots of them. There are several lists of menus I will cook while the family is together. Then there is the grocery lists – I have several, shopping lists, cleanings list. Checking things off my lists shows me I am accomplishing goals as we move closer to the main event.

My shopping is finished and all the packages that need to be mailed have arrived at their destinations. Yea! That is a big relief.

This year, right now, our daughter and her family, which includes a granddaughter, are on their way here for the holidays. It will be a long, eleven hour drive for them, but hey, they are young. Last year we made the drive and we are not nearly as young as we used to be.

Our son and his family live here, and that includes a granddaughter, so the whole family will be together and that is my most favorite time ever. I absolutely love it when we have the whole family together.

The Christmas meal will include my mom who is 91, my older sister (no need to mention her age) my nephew and his family which includes a great-niece and our whole family. Does it get any better than that? Well, yes, we are missing my other two siblings, including Tricia and Devin and my brother and his two girls.

I like listening to the Christmas carols. They play in the house and in the car. Some make me feel happy – like Burl Ives and “Holly, Jolly Christmas”. Some make me feel nostalgic, like “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire”, and some give me a feeling of thankfulness and can bring a tear to my eyes, like “O Holy Night”.

I am a spiritual person. Realizing that the Christ was not really born this time of year, and He would not be impressed with the way we have totally forgotten the real reason for his birth, I still try to keep the remembrance of Him separate from the Christmas hype. “O Holy Night” brings me back and makes me think again about how awesome the occasion was and how awestruck I should be when thinking about that sweet baby, born in a manger, just for me.

So, I guess you could say I love the pagan part of the holiday and the religious part of the holiday. As I said at first, I love Christmas for several reasons.

The holiday began last night with family coming over for some white chili and the best cornbread ever (a recipe from the Baldpate Inn near Estes Park, CO) and the holiday overeating will continue through next Saturday. There is enough food and goodies to last us for weeks. So, it will be leftovers for Dale and I after everyone has gone home.

It is the most wonderful time of the year – enjoy!

Dec092014

China and “Gotcha Day.”

17 Years ago I was in China with my sister. Tricia was adopting a precious one-year-old baby girl and we went to bring her home.

Oh, she was so adorable! All the children were just precious. We were in a group of several parents, and we all traveled together, so we got to know each other pretty well. Wonderful parents, wonderful babies. Of course, ours was the cutest.

We spent several days traveling around and doing some sightseeing while all the paperwork was being handled, and it was an unforgettable experience. The Chinese people are so friendly. They would come up and admire our babies and try to show us how happy they were we were there despite the language barrier. Another interesting thing about the Chinese women is they feel very strongly about having hats on those babies. We had one woman stop us and smile and gesture that Devin needed her hat on.

We were not in the metropolitan areas, we were more urban. I was hesitant to go to China because I am not a very adventurous eater and I was not so sure what there was that I would like. Turns out, nothing. My sister had a different experience with the food and came home and incorporated a lot of the menu into her and Devin’s eating habits. I lost eight pounds in two weeks while there. Something about the whole chicken – and I mean after it was cooked – just left me wanting. Not all their food was bad, but in my opinion, most of it was. I subsided on roasted sweet potatoes, instant oatmeal I brought from home and M&Ms.

That little one-year-old is soon to be 18. Tricia and I met Devin for the first time on December 8. We call that “Gotcha Day.” So, instead of her birthday, I always give her a gift on “Gotcha Day.” It is something only I do as I was the only other family member in China at that time. It is special to Devin and I, and I am so thankful we have that between us. Her mom frets every year that I might forget and she says Devin looks so forward to my card. But, I would never forget such a special day as December 8.

“Gotcha Day.” It is a very special day.

Dec022014

Christmas Traditions

I read a book years ago when my daughter was very young about building family traditions. I really liked the idea of many of them because it was a way of building memories. The book had 60 different traditions, most of them just about every day life. A few examples are:

1) Dad makes pancakes every Sunday morning,

2) the red plate tradition where a family member gets dinner on a special (red) plate because they have accomplished something important, gotten a good grade on something they worked hard on, had a really tough day, anything that deserves attention at the dinner table,

3) Wednesday night game night, Friday night pizza.

What a great way of building family memories through creative, easy to manage traditions. I wish I had incorporated more of them into our lives, but it is never too late, right? I mean my daughter is only just about to turn 18… We still have many years left to design traditions that work for our family and I can get a jump start on some traditions I can introduce my grandchildren to; once and if I ever get any. We travelled a lot for holidays, so that made some traditions difficult to manage. However, this year I think I will start a tradition of a special Christmas Eve meal; Chestnut soup has always intrigued me.. But even as I write that, I remember that we usually go to early evening services and then to a good friend’s house who’s birthday is Christmas Eve…..so I may have to come up with something else.

When there are only 2 of you, it is harder to develop some traditions. I am the only one coming up with them and my daughter is the only one experiencing them. Game night can be very interesting with only 2. You have to adjust some games to accommodate only 2 players. So far, she is not that into anything Christmas. I usually have to force her to decorate the tree with me even as we pull out all of the ornaments I worked so hard on collecting to commemorate our travels, her annual ornament, etc. I don’t know if this is something that will become important to her later or not….I trudge on anyway.

I am curious about peoples’ favorite Holiday traditions. If you have any, please share.

Nov292014

The Day After

So the big meal is over. We had a great time with our friends and one of the best meals I can remember having in a few years. Someone brought sweet potato casserole very much like the one my family makes, so I was very happy. My second batch of dinner rolls turned out beautifully. I think I am done trying Parker House Rolls; they just never turn out as awesome as they look like they should. The classic dinner rolls came out much better. I came home with a little turkey and sweet potatoes, so today I think I will make a turkey/sweet potato dumpling. Egg roll wrappers make this so easy. A little cranberry sauce mixed with some soy sauce and we have the Thanksgiving version of a Chinese dumpling. Now the work begins…

Decorating for Christmas. I have pulled out the storage bins and am looking through the decorations to see what I want to use this year. I’m trying to get away from the traditionally kitschy decorating and move to more stylish, low key decorations. I am not creative in this area, but I can steal ideas from HGTV. I should take this opportunity to purge my bins of decorations I will probably never use again. December trips to a Goodwill donation center are doubly good; you get rid of stuff, de-clutter your house and get a tax donation just in time to make the most of it.

I have decided to show the Dicken’s Village this year. I love the Dicken’s VIllage, but with so many built-ins and the rooms being small to begin with, there is never an optimal spot to display the village. The cats also love the village. Alice in particular loves to knock down the trees and village folk and spends a lot of time just sitting in the middle looking like a cat giant.

The Devin/Santa photos from all the various years are on the mantle. Devin says she will allow one last photo with Santa on her 18th birthday. (There have been no Santa photos since she was about 7, so don’t think we are one of those odd families…) The Christmas playlist is loaded on the Ipod and the Christmas books are out. Tomorrow we head up Berthoud Pass to cut a tree down in the Winter Park area. All the most important ornaments will go on the tree and then we will use others to decorate a garland or maybe place in a glass vase of some sort. With a little greenery here and there, I think I will be done.

I will then look through every thing else in the Christmas boxes and start filling the donation box so we can make a trip to Goodwill in the next week or so. I am behind on gift shopping….I am usually done by Thanksgiving, so I will be out and about which I do not look forward to, but at least I can shop in the middle of the day in the middle of the week, which makes it a little easier. We have a few more food items to make as gifts and I really enjoy that part. So the season is here. One good month and then 2015 is making an entrance. I am hoping for smooth entrance of the new year and just 3 and 1/2 months of no major issues. Just no repeat of early 2014. Thanks in advance universe for allowing me that.

Nov222014

My Favorite Santa

Laura and I both have Santa Collections, though different. Years ago I decided to try and decorate a tree with only Santa Ornaments because my Mom gave me my favorite ornament from when I was a child.

I was so pleased to get this little guy and he is always the first ornament I hang on the tree every year. You can’t tell that much from this photo, but he is worn in places and definitely looks old. I love that part.

So I started collecting Santa ornaments and with collections sometimes, I ended up with some Santas that I did not like that much. Then my daughter came along and, at first, I tried to continue the Santa theme with her annual ornament.

Nantucket 1998

NYC 2000 something

But as she got older, I wanted ornaments that reminded us of the year that was just passing, so the Santa theme sort of came to an end so I could get ornaments that would allow us to remember years passed.

Trip to China in 2007

4th Grade sailing Trip

Years of Karate

Trip to Italy 2004

I still like my Santa ornaments, but I love pulling out the ornaments every year and re-living the memories they are meant to inspire. I love anything the refreshes memories. I love the ornaments, I love my photographs, I love the antiques and other items in my house that are from my childhood. I know that my daughter will probably not have the same warm feelings about all of these items that I have kept, but I hope she keeps some of them and that they bring back good memories of her childhood.

They are all getting ready to be pulled out of storage and put on the tree again this year. I think this year we will go to Winter Park and cut down a Charlie Brown tree with a permit. I love the Charlie Brown trees because the limbs are so far apart, your ornaments really show, plus it is a fun day of driving to Winter Park, traipsing through the woods to find a tree and then having a pizza lunch at Hernandos. Another memory in the making….

Nov222014

The Favorite Santa

In 1981 my sister-in-law gave me my first Santa.

The following year my daughter, who was seven years old at the time, wanted to add to my collection – if you can call one Santa a collection. In November, 1982, we went to her elementary school holiday craft sale. She found the perfect Santa, that was in her budget and proudly purchased it.

At Christmas that year I opened my gift from her which was a very special Santa for a couple of reasons. I found out after I opened the gift that she had indeed purchased the Santa that day, but promptly dropped and broke it. She was heartbroken and headed back to the artist to tell her sad story. The creator of the Santa was in the holiday spirit and sold her the second Santa for half price. Now, however, she is over her budget because of the extra expense of the second Santa. The above photo is my Santa.

My collection has grown over the years with some very nice and sometimes expensive Santas, but the Santa bought at the elementary school holiday craft sale by my seven-year-old daughter is my favorite and always will be. Seeing the excitement on her face when I opened that special Santa, that she had to sacrifice extra money for, is forever in my memory.

I am still adding to my collection, but nothing will replace this Santa given from the heart from my precious daughter.

And then there is my son. He decided to begin a collection of holiday treasures that poop candy. Now, he has given me many nice Santas over the years, but he is especially proud of the plastic ones that make obnoxious noises and then poop candy. Isn’t that special?!

Nov122014

Weather, it is a changin…

OK, so in the 60s this weekend and today, Tuesday, it is 14 degrees. If it is possible, it feels even colder than that.

This photo is steam coming off the Smith Lake at Wash Park Boat House.

I came home yesterday and made a quick batch of chili…so good on a chili evening. Complete with cheese, sour cream, avocado and fritos….yummy!!

I do love that I live in a place where we get all 4 seasons and all of them have their best sides, but it does take me awhile to get used to late fall and winter here in CO. I hate that it gets dark at 4:45pm. The day just feels over on the ride home from work. I have one window that is not stormed because it has our cats’ patio attached to it. It is not energy efficient in the winter and it happens to be in my bedroom. I hate seeing it form ice on really cold days.

So I guess I need to officially put the summer stuff away, get the winter stuff out and hang the coats, scarves and gloves by the door. I found my base layer stuff this morning, wore it and was still cold if outside for more than a few minutes. The gas fireplace is on high, the tea kettle has water ready to go, the heated mattress pads are on the beds. We are warm and cozy at home, blessed, grateful and aware of it.

Nov082014

Speaking of Sisters and Brothers

My sister is on the road today to get to where my brother lives because he had quintiple by-pass surgery on Wednesday. That’s what sisters are for…. John lives in Alabama and does not have family close, so Laura is making a 2 day drive in order to be there when he will get released from the hospital. He then has to spend a week at home. Laura did not want him to be alone when he got home or for those recovery days. She is going to keep him company and make some meals for now and later.

The surgery went well and he is expected to fully recover, but the doctor said the blockage in his arteries was so bad that had he had a heart attack, he would not have lived to hit the pavement. Thank God he paid attention to the little signs his body gave him and took himself to the clinic which then turned into a trip to the emergency room which then turned into his being admitted on that day for surgery on Wednesday.

Genetically, we are all not so blessed with terrible cholesterol, so even with good diets, we would still be susceptible to plaque and blocked arteries. So most of us are now working on getting stress tests to see where we stand on the health of our arteries. John’s heart itself is healthy so its was a blessing that this condition was discovered and will be surgically corrected. I want to be here when my daughter starts a career, starts a family. I want to know my grandchildren, should I get any, so I will now pay attention to this and find out how my arteries look.

We are a close family, not without our issues and differences, but in the end, we are close and we love each other. We stay in frequent contact and we see each other at least once a year if not more often. It always surprises me when I hear about siblings who have not seen each other in years and elderly parents who do not have children that visit often. We are aware of how awesome our family is and are even close with most of our aunts, uncles and cousins. Laura has to miss my cousin’s son’s wedding in Dallas to be with John. Sorry about that Sharon and Brenden…… It is good to have family. Safe travels Laura, thinking of you John.

Nov062014

Daughters and Chicken Noodle Soup: Two really awesome joys.

I sit here at the computer while my 17 year old makes homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch without a recipe. Life is good.

I did not really start cooking until she was about 8 and I realized that if I continued that way we were going, she would only know how to warm stuff up. She would not really know how to cook, with recipes or without, because I mostly just put stuff together that needed to be warmed up. So I started watching foodnetwork and realized that I loved to cook. When Devin was 10, I made her responsible for one meal a week. She could take the easy route of prepared food like canned soup every once and awhile, but I let her know I wanted her to learn to cook. I got a couple of cookbooks specific for children and off she went. She made pad thai as one of her first attempts. From there she took off and I am so proud that she makes stuff up, cooks without a recipe and trusts her ability to combine ingredients. She makes all kinds of meals now and rarely follows a recipe.

She is really great at asian sauces. Over time, we have tried all kinds of recipes that we find in magazines, cookbooks or from watching America’s Test Kitchen. I am working on a cookbook complete with photos of the preparation and final dish so I can print and bind it as a reminder of our favorite “family” recipes.

it just does not take that much effort to build family traditions, empower your kids to be self-sufficient while building their confidence. A little thought, a little planning, a little creativity…..I cannot say how much I have enjoyed cooking for and with her these past 9 years. I am proud and thrilled to know that she will grow up to be a skilled, creative and accomplished cook.

Oct172014

The Beauty of Sisters

I smile because you’re my sister, I laugh because you can’t do anything about it. The journey of having and being a sister is a complicated and complex path. There are ups and downs, trials and tribulations, but a sister relationship is one of the great treasures of life. We have a shared history. We don’t have to love each other, we don’t have to be friends, but the true blessing is when both of those things occur because we choose to love each other as family and treasure each other as friends. Someone who knows the best and the worst of you and still loves, stands by, supports and encourages you is a gift you give yourself by letting them in, sharing your life, your struggles, and constantly building a bridge between you that lasts a lifetime. My sister is the first one I go to to tell my bad news, my good news, to ask for help and to share my day, my thoughts, my hobbies. Sisters encourage each other to be more, laugh more, learn more. The sister thread is a recurring, critical and intrinsic theme in the fabric of my life and who I am.

We are fortunate that we share the same interests and have found a way to participate with each other in our hobbies even though we do not live in the same state. This blog is a way that we will share our love of photography and travel, cooking and gardening, raising kids and grandkids and illustrate our life as sisters who are connected and committed to each other.

There is a beauty to sisters. I’m the one on the far left, she is the one on the far right. 9 years apart in age, 750 miles apart in distance and standing side-by-side in life.

The Beauty of Sisters

Archives

It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

China and “Gotcha Day.”

Christmas Traditions

The Day After

My Favorite Santa

The Favorite Santa

Weather, it is a changin…

Speaking of Sisters and Brothers

Daughters and Chicken Noodle Soup: Two really awesome joys.

The Beauty of Sisters

The Beauty of Sisters

Archives

Laura’s Flickr

Tricia’s Flickr

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