The weekend

 

Just a little holiday display to brighten the kitchen window box. We haven't had a hard freeze yet, so the geraniums there were still blooming away. Occasionally they make it through the winter, but they're sad looking puppies by spring so I start over with new ones from Costco. What else blooms for seven months straight?

We have a seven foot Douglas Fir to wrestle inside today-- also haul the tubs and boxes down from the attic crawl space. A wet weekend and good time to make a start on cookies and cards. 

Instead of a Christmas letter, I decided to write personal notes to the few people we're in touch with only once a year. To be honest, most of the family keeps up with us on the blog anyway. We're in good health so no complaints! I just don't have the energy to put a happy spin on 2025. Hopefully next year is better, especially in the vacation department. 

We dug out the Christmas CD collection and the old albums are still the best-- young Doris Day has a voice like an angel, and Mel Torme's snappy version of Good King Wenceslas is my favorite carol, along with with Holly and the Ivy. On the other hand, once a year is enough to suffer through A Little Drummer Boy and The Twelve Days of Christmas. Especially at the grocery store. 

Ukulele players are partial to the most goofy, jokey Christmas songs ever written and we started in on that catalog yesterday.  I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas is more fun than struggling though five gory stanzas of We Three Kings. But our leader likes the complicated carol arrangements done by classic bands like The Eagles and Beach Boys. Just my opinion, but Little Saint Nick on ukulele is right up there with Drummer Boy. Ha Ha. 

 Have a good weekend. Take care. 

Weird products

 

Sometimes I buy this little box of dehydrated potato pancakes and it's actually pretty good. Mix with eggs and water, then fry blobs a small amount of vegetable oil (not olive.) 

They soak up all the oil like a sponge, so go light. I guess in the evil ultra-processed food category, but real latkes are messy work-- the potatoes finely grated, wrung dry in dish towels, etc. etc.

Karen gave us a jar of her homemade applesauce and it was a delicious topping.

I skipped the sour cream for a change, not being that hungry last night. Why?

Lunch: Orange Chicken, the Panda Express signature dish. Good grief. We were out buying a Christmas tree and running other errands.

Also in the wild and weird category, an impulse bottle of cranberry wine, of all things. What a beautiful jewel red holiday color!  Hopefully it tastes half as good as it looks-- maybe with the Christmas ham.
 

Chili for chilly nights

 

We made a giant pot of chili with ground beef and a bag of heirloom Jacobs Cattle Beans, mail ordered from Rancho Gordo. Why go to all the trouble, when you can just open cans of kidney beans?

Well, these beautiful beans are pretty special. While they look like any other bean after they cook, they hold their shape and have a meaty texture that makes them especially good for chili. 

(Legend has it that Jacobs Cattle beans were a gift from the Passamaquoddy Native Americans to the first non-native child born in Lubec, Maine. Aw. Nice story.)

 

John won't touch sour cream, but I like a fattening dab to mellow out spicy food. 

Speaking of chilly, while the eastern half of the country freezes, we've been warm so far this winter. That's typical of our contrarian weather in the Pacific Northwest. They're starting to fret about the lack of mountain snow pack, but plenty of time to make that up. It will probably dump on the passes around Christmas, when people want to travel. 

Speaking of, we're off to get a tree today at Mclendon's Hardware in White Center. Maybe that will put me in a Christmas mood. Or not. 
 

Praising Manners

 

A poem posted on the blog in December 2015. Still true. 

 

"Praising Manners"
by Robert Bly

We should ask God
To help us toward manners. Inner gifts
Do not find their way
To creatures without just respect.
If a man or woman flails about, he not only
Smashes his house,
He burns the whole world down.
Your depression is connected to your insolence
And your refusal to praise. If a man or woman is
On the path, and refuses to praise — that man or woman
Steals from others every day — in fact is a shoplifter!
The sun became full of light when it got hold of itself.
Angels began shining when they achieved discipline.
The sun goes out whenever the cloud of not-praising comes near.
The moment that foolish angel felt insolent,
He heard the door close. 

And look at these little girls, ten years ago! We knew they would grow up, but just didn't realize it would happen so fast. 

 

December arrives

 

A pretty view of Twisp Works during "Mistletoe Madness" last Friday night. This an annual outdoor holiday event, but different from our typical street fairs in Seattle, where the same vendors sell the same (mostly) imported stuff. 

In Twisp, the shops, galleries, and art studios all host open houses, and the arts and crafts are local. You would be amazed at the artistic talent in the Methow Valley. 

Our family drove in from the pear farm and we walked up to downtown Twisp together, which was jammed with people. It was fun but a challenge finding dinner. There are only two restaurants, and one was closed on such a busy night, go figure. Everything worked out and we had some good barbecue. 

In the morning, I cleaned the river house and we closed up, probably now for the winter.

For luck, I always take a parting shot before shutting the door. See you in February. Maybe. 

 

We hit the road early on Saturday morning, fueled by gourmet donuts from Orchard House and Lone Pine Coffee. We lucked out on the weather and traffic, having an easy drive both directions.

 

 

We had a full load because I talked John into bringing a chair back to Seattle. There was a big, uncomfortable recliner crammed in this little room, and now I have a bright corner to read and sew this winter.

We hauled that old lug out to the sidewalk with a free sign and it was gone in an hour.

A rare, perfect winter day for getting rid of furniture! Sunny from start to finish, topped off by a beautiful sunset from the front porch. 

 

The freshly cut tree is already up at the farmhouse. Guess I need to put it into holiday gear around here.

Sweet times

 

 

Wonderful Thanksgiving spread in the farmhouse dining room...

Family walk afterwards in the orchard...

The Russian stove hard at work...

The poor lonely pear...

And other farm excitement, a new rooster (gifted from a neighbor) joins Amanda's flock of 12 hens. All is well.