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Ohhhh, yes, yes, yes. I believe in the miracle of Christmas. From my own personal experiences since I was a child.....
There were 6 of us siblings. We didn't have much money; my mom did not work out of the house. My dad was a life-long alcoholic who tried to do what was right. He worked on the railroad. And he worked. But times being what they were, between sketchy paychecks and my mother's inability to manage money, much less a household of kids, things were tough. But....we did live in our own house, we did watch out for each other, we DID love our parents. We didn't have birthday parties or gifts. We had a cake, invited a few neighborhood friends, got kisses and hugs. So Christmas for us was the highlight that we waited for all year. That was our magic moment.
My mom would bake all the cookies, the house would be scrubbed and cleaned from top to bottom, and decorated beautifully.
And no matter how hard times were, come Christmas morning....we had a ton of gifts! Almost all we asked for and some we never thought of but were so happy with, all the same. How did they do it?? My mom and dad would be smiling from ear to ear at the excitement, laughs and giggles of us all going through each and every gift.
Back in those days, all the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents came to our house Christmas night. My dad had 4 siblings, their spouses; my mom had 2 siblings and their spouses. And there were 21 cousins at the time. Our house was shaking from the rafters, all the laughing, running, playing, eating, talking! Great times.
Since I've had a family of my own, some 47+ years now, I've tried to recreate the same Christmas feeling. Back in the day, things were not easy. We went through a lot of rough patches during the years. But, come Christmas.....the kids had all they asked for and more. I did work part time when they were small; I worked full time when they were older. One year, things were so bad and I won't go into the sordid details of an ex and his shinanigans.....but my kids had the most wonderful Christmas thanks to my brother and sister.
Bakings dozens of cookies, decorating the house to the hilt as best I could, and the tree.....oh the tree.....it had to be decorated just so....as if it came from a magazine. It was the magic of Christmas. It all came together and turned out to be a wonderful time. I would sit in quietude and wonder "how did this all come together? How did it all finally work out? Where did it all come from?" A miracle, for sure.
Then we would all go to Mom and Pop's in the evening for more Christmas magic. Now they had 11 grandchildren with more on the way. All our kids, cousins, enjoying the excitement, the thrill, the love and the Magic of Christmas.
Today, we're much older. My parents are gone 5 years now; the kids are grown with families of their own, and we're spread out all over the country. Some have chosen to leave the family because of their own feelings and that's a shame. My energy is waning, and some years I just don't know how I'm going to pull this off. But through persistence, and a LOT of Christmas music playing throughout the day, it all gets done. The baking, decorating, shopping, crafting a lot of gifts, wrapping, boxes and Christmas cards sent out, phone calls all through the weeks. It all comes together. And come Christmas Eve, we sit back in amazement at the beauty and wonderment of it all. We reminisce of holidays gone by; we pray for those who don't take part, that some day we'll all be together again; we wish them well.
And we celebrate with our small family still within driving distance. We revel in their excitement and joyfulness of another Christmas at home. We thank God and Baby Jesus for all our blessings, not just today, but all through the year. For giving us the means, the health, the energy to give to others; to instill in them the meaning of family and being together through it all.
It's the time for new beginnings. Put the old behind us and start fresh. And if this proves true through the year, then, yes.....it is the miracle of Christmas.
May you all have a very Blessed, Magical, Merry Christmas.
Have you noticed that this is the usual refrain from everyone you meet this time of year? I generally smile and say "oh yeah, just about". It's a lie. What I really want to say is....."ask me on Christmas Eve; I'll have a better idea."
Well, this year, I..am..ready. Sort of. If the next couple of days work out as planned, I will have a whole week of nothing to do! Yay me!!
Oh, of course, there's Christmas Eve dinner to prepare, but that should be a breeze....if all goes as planned. Now, I don't want to waken the Christmas gremlins, so we'll just leave it there.
Did a new theme for the tree this year. Our 2nd year with our artificial one. I love this tree. I've been doing white ornaments for years now....little angels I made in my crafting days; small glittered snow flakes, acrylic icicles,white lights and white garland. It was very beautiful, in my opinion.
But this year, the thought of doing all clear glass ornaments that our older son's girlfriend had been gifting me with for years, and some my mom made for me many years ago, seemed like the way to go. So, I got them out and proceeded to hang them on the tree. I had forgotten how many there were.....quite a few.....and soooo beautiful!
I also came across a dozen small, glittered fruits I used years ago while crafting things for sale. Since I'm not crafting any longer, I thought these would add a nice touch. And they did.
How about candy canes? Haven't done that for a long time. I came across a dozen red/white pipe cleaners also used for crafting. So, I cut each one in 1/2, formed the hook and hung them on the tree....perfect!
There's also the white lights (the tree was bought pre-strung with lights), my favorite, and of course, the white garland and acrylic icicles.
Ta-dah!!
Well, besides all that, all the gifts are wrapped....all the gifts that needed wrapping, that is. We still have 1 person to shop for tomorrow and there's a few things coming in the mail. Cookies are done and in the freezer as are the breads. One box has to be packed tomorrow and taken to the post office. I can remember when we used to send out 10 - 12 boxes each Christmas. And I'm not talking small....oh no. These were boxes from the grocery store that they received cereal stock in. Huge! BH and I used to laugh (sort of) at which cost us more.....the gifts in the boxes or the postage to send them all out!! And back then, we were going "hand to mouth". Geeesh.
Dinner will be on Christmas Eve, as it was last year. Due to our youngest son's girlfriend. They will travel to her mom's on Christmas Day, and then on to a very close friend's party that evening. A tradition she's had for a handful of years. We don't mind. We tell all the kids the season runs from Eve through New Year's Day. Whenever they can make it here, that's when we celebrate.
Oh, yeah, dinner.....well, girlfriend is a vegetarian. Last year, we had 2 pans of lasagna...one was meat-eaters, the other veggie. Ah, but this year....we're having all seafood. Fish filets, breaded/fried and broiled; crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, macaroni salad, chef salad and yummy rye bread. Dessert is, of course, cookies and....Baklava!! A surprise for GF, who grew up in Greece. I didn't make it last year for whatever reason, but I'm ready to tackle it this year. Because.....I...have...all...this....time...on...my....hands. If all goes as planned.
Thanksgiving is over and done. We had a really great day; son and girlfriend, other son and our daughter. Dinner was a little later than I like, which meant the cleanup was later.....but we still managed to get in a couple of games, a movie and a LOT of talking and laughing.
Now to clean out the fridge and put a ton of leftovers in the freezer. Gotta make room for Christmas baking ingredients. Today I'm hoping (hahahahaha!) to get some decorating done. I would like to get the deck.....decked.....with lights, wreath and such; get the lights on the windows all over the house and get the lighted garland above the kitchen cabinets. That should do it for now.
Doing the usual slipper boots for gifts....I have 6 1/2 pair more to go. I have about 1/3 of the other gifts ready to be wrapped. Made my lists yesterday of things to bake, ingredients to buy and the rest of the gifts yet to be purchased. I've cut the list of baked goodies in half. Have you seen the price of eggs?!! What is up with that?!
BH suggested I make my lists now, including finishing up the decorating. Then there's daughter's apartment to be decorated, put her tree up and take her Christmas shopping.
AND, best of all.....our granddaughter will be home for Christmas from her deployment in Kuwait!!! 2 months early, to boot!!Ohhhhhh......Happy Dance!! Can't wait!!
What I'd really, really like to do is get back to my spinning. But wheels and wool are put away until Dec. 26......my favorite day of the Christmas season! I can do this.
We don't do anything special for New Year's, happily. Haven't had company for a few years now, except daughter, who will probably be here for a few hours in the evening. But definitely not near or past midnight. She can't manage to stay up that long and neither can we. But that's ok. It's a perfect, quiet, restful end to a very, very hectic season. And by that time, I'm happy to see it end.
Cold.....very cold.....weather has come upon us as of Thursday night. But not more than a dusting of snow, thankfully. I wouldn't mind if it stayed like this till Spring.
Well, here's hoping the rest of the month goes smoothly with just a minor hiccup here and there. Because, you know, there's always a hiccup somewhere. Onward and upward........
Wishing you all a blessed day filled with plenty of good food, warm homes, warm hearts, family and friends around the table and wonderful memories of days gone by. May you be thankful everyday and remember all your blessings, big and small.
We have a roof over our heads; we have wood in the stove to keep us warm; we have the means to fill our table with delicious foods. No one in our family has ever suffered from an incurable disease, had a life-altering accident or found themselves without shelter or employment.
Everyone has struggles and sometimes we wonder how we're ever going to climb that mountain. We fret over why bad things happen to us or those we love; how are we ever going to get through?
But we're not being bombed everyday; we don't live in fear for our lives every minute of every day. We're not living on the streets or in shelters; we don't have to wonder where our next meal is coming from. No one is in danger of being killed by gangs, drive-by shootings or drug addiction. Our children are well taken care of, not abused or neglected and left to run wild.
And those of us who have loved ones in service to this country are thankful everyday for their lives, thankful that through the grace of God, they will be home with us soon. We pray for their continued health, well-being and safety. And we mourn for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, their life, in an endless, incomprehendable, unnecessary war. We pray their families will have peace as they cling to each other for emotional and physical support.
We have so much to be thankful for, from putting our feet on the floor each morning, to just being able to live our lives day by day. Give thanks every day.
My mother always drove herself nuts when holiday dinners rolled around. She would cook all day. And back in the day, when we were all young kids, a 27 -28# turkey was the norm. We had to eat dinner by 2 or 3pm because my father would leave about 7pm to get back to the woods for deer hunting.
So, she'd get up at 2 am, get the turkey in the oven by 3am and spend the rest of the day, peeling, chopping, cooking, mashing, and getting the table finery ready. One year, my grandparents decided they were coming to our house for dinner.....don't get me started. Suffice to say, if tranquilizers were the norm, Ma would've needed a whole bottle. Thank goodness there was beer or wine to cut the edge.
Of course, pies were baked the day before. Insight is a good thing.
So, for my 48 years of preparing my own family holidays, I did what my mother always did. As the years went on, and the kids disappeared for other venues, the turkey got smaller. But somehow, there were always others to take their place. Other relatives and friends who found themselves to be alone were always invited and welcomed to our table.
Also as the years progressed, I've begun to lose interest in cooking and baking. Holidays have now become a drudgery I would just as soon leave to someone else. But I don't. I salley forth.
Last year, something was going on. Maybe I was in the middle of Christmas preparations along with Thanksgiving. Maybe some people didn't know if they were going to be here; maybe there was a danger in the weather. Anywho, it occurred to me: "why not prepare most of the dinner and put it in the freezer?" Just about everything can be frozen. Everything. Except the mashed potatoes and maybe one more fresh veggie side dish (green beans).
GENIUS!!! So, I spent the week before preparing candied yams, butternut squash, 2 kinds of stuffing (we now have a vegetarian in the family......), cranberry relish and roast turkey. Even the gravy is made and frozen. Come Thursday, it all goes in the oven to warm through (except the cranberries, of course). The potatoes are peeled, cooked and mashed, green beans done. Table is set beautifully as we await the family.
I do have to say, the only way this can really all be accomplished is because we have 2....yes 2.....freezers; a big upright and a big chest. If only my mom had freezers. Even 1 would've eased her crazy cooking day.
So now, on Thursday, I will have time for a glass of wine or 2....3....how many glasses are in a bottle, anyway? Don't have to worry about something burning or forgotten about. At 12pm, the wine starts flowing. My daughter exclaimed one year, "Mom, wine already....it's only noon." And you know the standard response:
"Ahhhh, but it's 5:00 somewhere!"
In about 5 - 6? (I try not to look at the calendar from this point on)weeks, we'll be in the throws of the Christmas season. Christmas!! What the hell happened here??! I'm not ready. I'm not getting ready. I don't want to get ready. This could be a problem.
Well, that's not all true. I have a tote filled with gifts I've been accumulating over the past couple of months. And I do have a LOT of handmade crafts of all kinds in storage for just such an occasion....that being that I'm bogged down, don't want to go out and shop, don't know what to buy, don't want to spend the money when I have totes...that's right, totes, plural..... FULL of handmade crafts.
Anywho.....enough about that. Spinning and knitting have taken me over! I know I'm an addict, but this has been full on! Hence, the lack of posts for the past month plus. So, one day a month ago, I was perusing my magazine and book collection. Low and behold.....what I thought was just 1 Aran pattern book became 2!!
Honestly....I don't remember buying 2 Aran books. Of course, the one was purchased some years ago....maybe 8. I either bought both of them or the Irish knitting fairy has been very good to me.
So I found a new pattern; one with all twisted cables intertwined. Just what I was looking for! And there it was! Not just one, but a whole book of new Aran patterns. Well.....that just called for knitting a scarf immediately with one of them. Long story short, (HA!) the scarf is done. But then I started thinking, how about a hat? But to do the vertical pattern wouldn't work. BUT....how about the cables lay on their side, around the head, and then I knit a 1" rib on one length (the forehead) and pick up the stitches at the other side and continue in a stockinette crown?! This looks like it might work. It sounds like a LOT of work. Almost done with the cables, slipping the first stitch on each row for an easier pick-up. I'll have pictures if it turns out.
I had to break down last week and super clean the house. Hadn't been done since the beginning of September. Nothing more than a little dusting, vacuuming, clean kitchen and bath. I couldn't tell the "dust bunnies" from the wool. It was getting bad.
I just finished spinning 2#s of the most delicious, dark, dark, chocolate brown fiber. It wants to be a Fair Isle sweater. I think I have enough complimentary yarns to do the job....after the shhhhh....holidays. And now there's the softest, beautiful top being spun. It was purchased a couple years ago at a little shop while coming back from vacation. The tag said "8oz. Corriedale". But, geezzzz, it feels and spins like Ashland Bay merino colorway. It's striations of grey, white, sky blue, teal green and a light brown. But when it's spun, it's a beautiful steel blue/grey. Loving it!!
It was the only ball the proprietor had, or I would've bought more. It's spinning up laceweight; will be 2-ply. It wants to be a shawl. And so it shall. With steel grey glass beads knitted into it. And maybe....the other single will be white merino...blended with iridescent Angelina. Doesn't that sound divine??!!
Well, BH has been hard at it cutting down trees, cutting logs, splitting and stacking. He's working on next year's supply! What a guy! All the yard work is done for the season; just the storm windows to put up next weekend. We're supposed to have moderate temps all next week.
We finally went and got a futon for the spare room. Gave my brother the twin bed for his grandkids. What a job putting the futon together! I told BH we're really, really getting too old for all this heavy lifting and construction! But, knowing us, I'm sure there will be another project in the not-so-distant future.
Anyway......the spare room looks great. "Looks like a sitting room" says BH. Indeed. Sitting. And spinning. Or knitting. Maybe sewing. Reading. Napping.
It's all good.
It's almost the middle of October!! Whaaatttt......???? We have 1 more month....1 more month, chickies....till the hurrying, scurrying, nerve-rattling, mind-blowing holidays start rolling in....like an avalanche. Already the stores are bringing out the Christmas decorations. WAIT!! Fall just started!! The kids are back in school barely a month. I don't even have the Autumn wreath on the door yet.
There's still apples to be picked, perennials to be cut down and lawn ornaments to be put away. I'm behind schedule already. We've been waiting for a couple of heavy frost nights for the apples. I think we've had one. A hard frost came through the other night....so they will be picked tomorrow, regardless. As for the perennials....well, they haven't quite died back yet. Maybe this coming week, at least the yard paraphernalia can be gathered up and stored.
But Fall Festivals are everywhere!! Every little town, village and burb is having a celebration. Craft shows have begun and the apple cider is flowing.
For 2 weeks we've had temps in the low 50's for daytime highs; mid to low 30's at night. Today....71.....tomorrow....83!! 83 in October is more than I can bear in northern Minnesota. No. No. No. It's just not right. A/C's were removed last week; the fans were cleaned and stored away this week. Of course. At least BH didn't get the "bug" to put up the storm windows yet!
BH is happy.... he's back to logging. So every afternoon, I get a tally of how many trees, how many cuts, how many total pieces are stacked for next year, how many more trees he needs to cut, how many more pieces that will give him....yada,yada,yada. You get the picture. But at least it gets him out of the house for a few hours.
I've been knitting and spinning like crazy. For no particular reason other than I really want to get as much fiber spun up as is humanly possible from now till next Spring. There's a LOT of fiber. I should live so long.
Just a few things off the needles this summer/fall. Haven't taken any spinning pics for some reason. Hmmm......
We took a trip back to NY to see family over the Labor Day holiday. Stayed for 10 days. It was good seeing family again. We haven't been back in 5 years since my parents passed away. It sure was a different feeling, one that was uncomfortable and makes us realize, yeah, this will never be the same again.
Daughter and I have been spending a lot of Saturdays out and about. Traveling around to different areas, just having a good time. Today, we're going to a craft show in the next town. First one of the season for us. It'll be fun. She really enjoys our time out together.
Skyped with granddaughter earlier this week. She tells me that rumors are going around they'll be home for Christmas!! She's in Kuwait, been there since June. Their tour was supposed to be till the end of January. Don't know what happened; don't care. Just bring her HOME!! We're soooo excited....I pray this comes to fruition. She tells me the took a lot of tools to another base to be re-calibrated; they were told to inform family no more packages or mail is to be sent to them after Oct. 15 and the troops will be moving from barracks to tents next week, making room for their replacements coming in.
Son bought a new car a couple months ago. So he's in 7th heaven! It's his "dream car", he tells us. My caveat to him: "if I hear you bought 1 replacement part, I'll never speak to you again!" He likes to "soup" up his cars. His apartment is loaded with boxes of new parts...including a transmission and 2 engines. It's a sickness. Kind of like someone buying pounds and pounds of wool, stored in large totes everywhere.......eh.....yeah.......
Well, that's about all the news. I think we're caught up now. See you before the snow flies.......I hope.
