Busy morning

 

I hit the gym with the early rats and shopped at Safeway on the way home. Then made pumpkin pies for dessert tomorrow, using gluten free frozen crusts from Trader Joes. Unfortunately, only available in the fall-- typical. Anyway, they're good, if that's something you need to care about. It's a real pain to make a GF crust from scratch.

Speaking of the gym, I'm Appled-up now with the latest. John bought me a new watch for Christmas, a nice surprise since I already had one, but not this fancy. 

I call it the "hypochondriac model" because it has a constant oxygen monitor and even a do-it-yourself EKG feature. It also checks for afib if you let it. I have not activated those heart features because an alert would probably scare me to death. And that would be counter-productive for a "health device." Haha.

To complete the Apple kit, I got some new Airpods using my credit card rewards. Oh my goodness, are they ever nice. Gyms are noisy, especially because they insist on playing that gosh awful music. When I switched on noise cancelling this morning, everything went quiet. There I was, in my own little private bubble. I felt irrationally rich. Silence is a luxurious thing. John says I'm a walking senior citizen advertisement for Apple. Not quite the look Tim Cook is seeking, but hey, our money is good as anyone else's.

We're getting the house ready now and looking forward to seeing the kids later this afternoon. They will stay until Sunday morning.

Where's the snow?

 

Amanda took this picture in front of our Twisp house this week. Just a dusting of snow on the ground, nothing compared to last December when everything was buried under several feet and there were periods of below zero temperatures. 

We're under an exceptionally strong El Nino pattern, the cause of this warm and dry weather in the northern part of the country. They're getting concerned about the lack of mountain snow pack, but things could still change in January and February.

On the bright side, makes for good driving weather across the state. The family is coning over and staying with us Friday and Saturday nights. We're all looking forward to a belated celebration.

Fruitcake Day

Dedicated to the much ridiculed cakes of questionable age, usually dry and overly sweet. I'm embarrassed to admit that years ago I'd bake a big batch around Thanksgiving, old Betty Crocker recipe, of course. Then I'd dose them with cheap brandy, wrap in foil and store them out in the shed in a can to "age." 

Oh, the lucky recipients of that holiday treat that never spoils. My brother kept some in the bottom of his backpack as emergency rations on wilderness treks, this before energy bars were invented.

Anyway, fruitcake, or Christmas cake as they call it in the UK, is more popular there. A thin slice of quality fruitcake, like the one in that photo above, is pretty good with a cup of tea. But no ones gives out fruitcake anymore.

Speaking of solid English fare, how about this tasty Cottage Pie we had last night, topped with leftover mashed potatoes from our Christmas dinner. The traditional way to use up a Sunday roast on Monday. But I used some fresh ground lamb, which was a real treat mixed with onions, peas, carrots and gravy. 

If you must stoop to buying gravy in a jar, get this one.

Not much else is new. I went out for some Christmas clearance bargain hunting-- cards, gift wrap, that sort of thing. This used to be fun early on Boxing Day, but the shelves at Target and Rite-Aid were bare. They were already making the transition to Valentine's Day, a mere 6 weeks away. I guess the space is too valuable to clutter up with 50% off sales. 

I hope you had a nice holiday. Ours was quiet and it rained all day, so we never left the house. We're still looking forward to seeing the kids later this week for a second celebration.

Boxing Days past

 

Nova's monorail and carousel ride in 2011

Big sister little sister 2013

Hanging with Grandpa in 2014

2015

Feeding the ducks with Dad 

Floyd Lamb Park 2016

2023

Merry Christmas

 

Be careful what you wish for...while not the same as being together this morning, we look forward extending the holiday festivities in the days ahead. The family is on-the-mend in Twisp, but not up quite yet for the long winter drive. We hope to see everyone later this week. 

Needless to say, a quiet and peaceful Christmas day ahead for us. A turkey dinner and a pretty pile of gifts under the tree to open this morning.  Rain in the forecast all day.  

We did get out for a short walk last night, checking out our neighbor's Christmas displays. Big old-fashioned Santas in upstairs windows seems to be the thing. A sweet sight in this cold and dark season.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

All cookied out

I say this every year: after all the anticipation and preparation, what a shame that Christmas is a single day event. Suddenly here, then over in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but the mess and extra pounds.

In wiser times, December 24th was just the start of 12 days of celebration, ending on January 6th, Epiphany Day. A wonderful way to eat up some of the darkest days of winter.

Well, with illness in the family at the moment, we'll celebrate when we can and it will be lovely as usual. My purpose in life is to keep the house stocked with food-- which means another giant Safeway run this morning.

The year draws to a close, and as you age, that underlying feeling of sadness and loss seems to go hand-in-hand with Christmas joy. No parties for us, but I saw some old friends this week which really brightened things up. 

And ukulele group was fun yesterday. We strummed our way through the whackiest of Christmas carols. That should hold us over until next December.

Cecil was there with his harmonica. He will be 100 years old in January, born the same year as our Dad. Talk about Christmas inspiration. And still driving himself around Seattle. Yikes! Living proof that music keeps you young. 

Have a good weekend, dear friends and family.

The shortest day and longest night

 

 

A Winter Solstice Prayer

The dark shadow of space leans over us.
We are mindful that the darkness 
of greed, exploitation, and hatred
also lengthens its shadow 
over our small planet Earth.

As our ancestors feared death and evil 
and all the dark powers of winter,
we fear that the darkness 
of war, discrimination, and selfishness
may doom us and our planet 
to an eternal winter. 

May we find hope in the lights 
we have kindled on this sacred night,
hope in one another and in all 
who form the web-work of peace and justice
that spans the world. 

In the heart of every person on this Earth
burns the spark of luminous goodness;
in no heart is there total darkness.

May we who have celebrated this winter solstice,
by our lives and service, 
by our prayers and love,
call forth from one another 
the light and the love
that is hidden in every heart.
Amen.

Author unknown

When the snow lay all about...

 

 

December 20th is "Caroling Day." Our girl scout troupe would go caroling around our small town, and you could even earn a patch for it. 

Most older people know the standard carols because we sang them in school and church. All the verses, even the depressing ones, none of that first and last only, at least for the Lutherans. It takes a good while to work through "Oh, Come Emmanuel." 

My ukulele group will soldier through just about anything, but we petered out halfway through that one last week.

The Victorians gave us our familiar Christmas music. For that matter, the Victorians gave us just about all our Christmas traditions, thanks to the family-oriented Victoria and Albert, and Dickens, in A Christmas Carol.  Before then, they say Christmas hymns were pretty dull, and Harvest was the big church festival in early winter.

The breakthrough in Christmas music came to England from Finland in 1853, when James Mason Neale wrote new lyrics to a medieval spring carol and called it Good King Wenceslas.

Along with an excellent tune, the carol has a good legend.  "King" Wenceslas braved harsh weather on the second day of Christmas (December 26th) to give alms to a poor peasant. When his page is about to give up the struggle, he continues on by walking in the melted footprints of the saint.  

Charity, leadership, bravery, generosity, faith, trust, and other good Christmassy things, packed in one carol. 

The "Velvet Fog" made an excellent recording, jazzy and smooth as silk.

 

Let's celebrate

 

Ben Franklin's favorite holiday punch recipe:

To make Milk Punch. Take 6 quarts of Brandy, and the Rinds of 44 Lemons pared very thin; Steep the Rinds in Brandy 24 Hours, then strain it off. Put to it 4 Quarts of Water, 4 Large Nutmegs grated, 2 Quarts of Lemon Juice, 2 pounds of double refined Sugar. When the Sugar is dissolv’d boil 3 Quarts of Milk and put to the rest hot as you take it off the Fire, and stir it about. Let it stand 2 Hours; then run it thro’ a Jelly-bag til it is clear; then bottle it off.

Raise a cup to the Seahawks this morning. Did you catch the end of that thriller on Monday Night Football?

  

Winter hues

 

Our weather last week was dominated by a strong high pressure system. In December, that usually means cold, clear nights and foggy mornings. 

On some days the sun, so low in the sky and weak, still manages to burn off the clouds, making for blue skies and spectacular winter sunsets outside our front door. All this is about to change, and we're headed into typical rain for the holiday weekend.

Speaking of winter color. Inside, we're still enjoying the last of the cut flowers and this beauty blooming right on time for Christmas. The amaryllis bulb came from Home Depot only six weeks ago. 

Other than a quick lunch on Saturday, we hardly left the house. John was happy puttering around the basement. It seemed like a shame not to plunge into the urban holiday scene, or do last minute shopping with thousands of other people. On the other hand, the effort required getting around Seattle gives one pause. I'll be out and about plenty this upcoming busy week.

Yes, lunch. My fried oysters, a Christmas tradition and real biguns, at that. Our usual place, the Sunfish, was closed, so went to the old Seattle standby, Spud on Alki. 

We ate upstairs as usual, overlooking the street and beach. It was early for lunch and empty. I felt the ghosts of Sam and Marge, John and Wilda, our dear parents now all gone, sitting right there with us in the booth.

Whenever they came to Seattle for a visit, we always went down to Alki for fish and chips. My mom especially would get very excited, talking non-stop. She loved the Puget Sound view and fried seafood. I could almost hear her familiar voice chattering on and on. I'm ashamed to admit it once annoyed me at times, but now I'd give anything to hear her voice again. Time and loss changes us.

Quiet

  

 

Tenant Farm, Andrew Wyeth, 1961

 "I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape- the loneliness of it- the dead feeling. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show."   Andrew Wyeth

 Fence Line, Andrew Wyeth, 1967

Quiet weather and a quiet weekend coming up here. Have a good one. 

Christmas cards

 

I got sucked down the Google whirlpool this morning looking at "vintage Christmas cards." Have yourself a creepy little Christmas, folks.

I mailed our cards yesterday, along with notes to friends and distant relatives we never hear from. We've been really touched by the outpouring of sympathy for dad. He was such a quiet, dignified man who kept his opinions to himself, but admired and respected, especially by the men in the family. The women just plain loved him.

Anyway, being West Seattle, even a simple errand like going to the post office becomes an ordeal. You won't be surprised to hear that the population density has far outgrown our little 1970's building. There's a total of 3 parking places in front, and to make it worse, they removed the drive-by mailbox, probably because it keeps getting vandalized. So you have to go inside the tiny lobby to mail anything. 

Anyway, the line was out to the sidewalk, so I drove five miles south to 98126, a bigger building and at least you could wait in line indoors. That was fine, since it gave me an excuse to go to the nearby Marshalls store. (Not that I needed an excuse.)

Other than a little rain, the weather is calm for December, especially compared to last year when we were plagued by a vicious ice storm. For that matter, there's hardly any snow in the mountains-- yet. Winter up there is still young.

The American nectar

 

Today is "Hot Chocolate Day." 

To make a long story short, chocolate was brought to Europe by the pirate botanist, William Hughes.  It took a while for people to warm up to it...then the rest is history.

And as we all know, chocolate qualifies as health food. Especially in December. Enjoy.

Buttermilk pancakes

 

Everyone has a favorite pancake mix, and that crazy expensive Kodiak brand has taken over the shelves. Wish I'd bought stock in that company before the pandemic, when everyone started to cook breakfast at home. We've always liked the "Hungry Jack" brand, but eventually it was only available at Target, and now it's disappeared from there.

I don't make pancakes often, and that open box can sit on the shelf for weeks. It's kind of gross, when you think about the preservatives. Anyway, nothing compares to pancakes made from scratch with just a few simple, clean ingredients-- the only hard part is remembering to buy a carton of buttermilk. 

This recipe is from my (literally) battered up old Betty Crocker cookbook. Copyright 1961, when white flour ruled the pantry. For a winter morning treat, it makes the fluffiest, most tender pancakes you can imagine. Nothing like those thick lumps of Kodiak protein cement.

Christmas stuff

 

I spent the day yesterday decorating, then cleaning up the house after decorating. Real pine trees are messy things to drag inside, but we still persist with the tradition. 

And we've wrestled some enormous trees into this living room over the years, until finally realizing that a nice 6-foot Douglas Fir is the perfect size. 

The process goes like this: first we set the tall ladder up, then John goes in the attic and hands down the big tubs of decorations, then he puts the tree in the stand, then he disappears into the basement (usually watching football) until it's safe to come upstairs and see if Christmas has arrived. Then we do the whole thing in reverse in January.

 

No "Christmas lite" this year. I went all out, since we'll be in Seattle for the holidays. 

Yes, someday I'd like to spend a Christmas in Twisp, looking out at the peaceful snow and deer along the river. But to be honest, the winter drive is daunting and it's pretty nice staying safe and sound here at home, surrounded by our familiar treasures. The family will come to us.

What makes something a treasure, anyway? It doesn't have to have practical value, just some little thing like a decoration that's been in the family for decades, with stories attached, something stored in tissue oh-so-carefully, with no meaning to anyone else. Or maybe an ornament picked up on vacation, or a prize plucked from an after-Christmas sale bin, or a special gift from a friend.

Or how about this gem of a candle holder that I found in the bottom of a dirty box at a yard sale? It polished up real nice.

Bringing home Christmas

 

 From The Book of Christmas Illustrated, by Robert Seymour, 1837.

We have a brief break in the rain today, so we'll take advantage of it and go out for a tree. The forecast is for "lumpy rain" in the lowlands tomorrow, then plain old warmish rain Sunday. Snow piling up in the mountains. Typical yuck for this time of year. Another good weekend for hunkering down inside.

The deciduous trees have lost their leaves, but in the winter, Seattle lives up to its "Emerald City" name. The grass is bright green again after the summer drought, and western Washington has abundant evergreen trees and shrubs.

Plants like holly and fir are synonymous with Christmas, but long before Christianity, plants that stayed green all year had special meaning. Folks believed evergreens would keep away illness and those pesky evil spirits. Deck the halls...

I've started making making cookie dough and stockpiling it in the freezer for a baking marathon later. Here's a cute picture of Maya, getting a jump on the baking season.