Christmas Past

 Christmas celebrating this year is over and while we are still basking in the lights, it's considerably quieter around here.  Yesterday PH said it felt strange not running around getting things ready for the kids and grands (we still call our 50 year old children "the kids.")  The grands ran around in the woods outdoors, we shared gifts, we had food enough to eat and leftovers to send home, we played card games at night, the grands roasted marshmallows in the fireplace after the adults went to bed. 

 I don't even know how many kinds of cookies I made but I kept just one kind and sent the rest home with everyone. Floor vacuumed, naps taken, it's quiet again.  They are all prepping for their own Christmas and with their in-laws. It always feel like a real silent night after they've gone home but we've worked it out so we have them for the weekend before actual Christmas and that frees them up. We have them overnight and the kids look forward to that.  As Charlie said, "it's how it's supposed to be, it's all part of Christmas." 

  PH and I have done various things on the actual day, in the past sometimes with friends, but the usual is to go to a movie and out for Chinese - the only two things open on Christmas Day.  

They aren't kids anymore, they're all teenagers and beyond (Mike is on the threshold and Charlie past the teen years) and we really can't believe how fast time goes.  One day at a time, I know, but like the saying goes, the days are long, the years are short. 

This was a morning photo after they searched for the pickle on the tree.  

This year Elizabeth found it

I love surprises.  Some people don't but I do.  Surprises say someone was thinking about you and you didn't even know it.  Yesterday this surprise from Jo came in the mail!  I was shocked and honored she was thinking of me and made a card, filled it with this so cute ornament and sent it to me.  Thank you, Jo.  It's hanging on my 'special' tree.

So, as PH and I watch a movie and eat Chinese and bask in our memories of this year, we both hope you have a nice Christmas and holiday whether surrounded or quietly together. 

Chestnuts Roasting

 Granddaughter is home from college for a few weeks and spent her first day home with me making peppermint bark (first time, experiment, I didn't much taste the peppermint but she did) and seafoam candy. 

She loves this and it's really nice handing off the pies at thanksgiving to Adelaide and the candy at Christmas to Elizabeth. They don't need me for anything but the ingredients and conversation during the process.  

Just making memories, just making memories.

This is what happens to all of those chestnuts we talked about a couple of weeks ago. Daughter orders 20 pounds from the u-pick chestnut grove we picked at.  What we picked was daughter's family's own personal stash, then she orders more for the museum's booth during the city's Christmas night at the showboat.

 Elizabeth said she knows how to do it right, meaning it's her job and we all get out of her way.

People smell them cooking and line up for a cup full of free samples, we show the first timers how to peel them, advise them to eat them warm and off they go. One little guy had never tried them and wanted to so I peeled one for him, he ate it and declared it was delicious!  I praised him for taking that "no thank you bite" and his dad was standing there nodding his head.

A "no thank you bite" is a try-it-before-you-say-no-thank-you bite.  We used to tell that to the kids at school when something new was put on their plate.  Now I use the phrase when reading to the first graders and the book is about food. You have to at least try it, then if you don't like it you can say "no thank you" but at least you have to take that bite.  I will never forget the little girl who said, "I tried broccoli no-thank-you-bites 11 times and discovered I like it!"  

But many - most - return to purchase a bag of uncooked chestnuts to take home for themselves. 

Set against the fresh snow the showboat is so pretty at night and Santa was on board for the kids, but it was SO COLD.  

There were carriage rides around the neighborhood.  There were carolers, miniature ponies, free hot dogs, chips, cookies and hot chocolate in addition to the chestnuts. 

And a hand warming fire, which I used, but couldn't get close enough to stick my hands right in there, which I wanted to do badly.  It was very cold but no wind but very cold. 

 

Trees

We always have a real fresh cut Christmas tree. Even at that they are rarely perfect.  Trees shouldn't be perfect but somehow this year ours is.  I smile every time I walk past it and comment at least once a day to PH that this year's tree is the prettiest we've had in a long, long time.  

When you've come home and found your tree laying on the floor, or for years held it up with fish line tied to the curtain rod or placed rocks in the base to hold it up or many other situations, I do appreciate this year's tree.  

Our ornaments vary and are varied.  I've hung spoons and tucked in photos of the grands and invitations to their birthdays and a press pass our son had during a presidential forum and still use the angels our kids made in 3 year old preschool (they are now 49 and 47).  It's a life tree.  It's not matchy or organized or a show stopper, it's ours.

It's cold right now and today we are having snow, rain and rain mixed with snow so all schools are closed because it's not safe for busses and kids.  I can remember only one snowday when I was a kid because we didn't have school busses.  We walked no matter the distance or weather.  Now the schools build into their calendar five snow days.  If they have to take more then they have to make up the time missed. 

In the past six days I've had seven Christmas meet ups with different friends and it's been great fun. Busy but fun.  Believe it or not this is the only photo from one of those meet ups.  This is our retreat group, well, almost. We are losing two because they aren't coming back so the meet up was a nice chance to connect before they go off into the unknown. 

Some of us brought little gifts and this was from Friend Jan. Isn't it darling?  It's hanging on the felt tree I keep in the dining room window.  That tree has my most fragile, special and mostly red ornaments.  I knew immediately upon opening it that this would hang here. 

 

Ornaments

 

Every year since forever I've made quilty Christmas ornaments to give to the kids on Thanksgiving to take back to their trees.  The collection has grown and I sometimes have a hard time finding something different to do.  Sometimes there is one per family, sometimes many, many.

This year I took the itsy bitsy blocks Sally made and gave away at one retreat.  I put some together to make bigger blocks - but none measuring bigger than 2 inches - and some I left small.  I quilted and bound them.  

I put them all out and told the kids to take as many as they liked or wanted. There was enough variety to please them all.  Their trees go up this weekend so these will all be hanging for 2025. 

Making Magic

 

Ever since our Charlie was three years old our son-in-law gave him toy soldiers for Christmas. Son-in-law learned from his dad how to cast molds of soldiers found in toy sales, garage sales, thrift shops, etc., and they would build an army from them. He pays such attention to detail some of his paint brushes have two bristles so he can get just that one spot dot. His creations truly are beautiful. Incredible.

This was one of the gifts Charlie got when he was three.  You can see the burned out building in the back, the soldiers in the back, the vegetation, these things are prized by Charlie and sparked his interest in military history.  Our son in law made and painted all of it.

After that year Charlie always got the last gift under the tree because it was so very special. As Charlie grew he would ask for a specific war or battle or 'side' represented.  And that's what he would get.  Son in law would spend the better part of a month painting a platoon, building an army for Charlie.

This year our son in law showed Charlie and all who were interested how it's done. Son in law's father passed away this year so he inherited the tools, the ones he learned with.  

He set up a station on the back porch - for ventilation and so it was pretty cold - a hot plate with a ladle for melting the mistakes.  There are no mistakes, if one of the soldiers doesn't turn out or come out of a mold you just put it back and melt it down again.

He had two kinds of molds, metal and - I don't know what they were but it wasn't metal.

After the metal was melted they would pour it into a mold and wait a very short time for it to set

And out it came! 
 

                                      The kids were in a well ventilated area, wearing gloves

You can see it was cold! Hoods were worn, hands in pockets! Charlie is now 20 and his interest in military history and love of these soldiers from our son in law has not waned one bit. 

 It fascinated all of them.

There is always something interesting to learn from our son in law, even us old people!  It's no wonder when you can be doing something like this that you wouldn't pick up your cell phone the entire day. 

Thanksgiving Day

 Our Thanksgiving Day was yesterday and while we tend to do the same thing every year (it's tradition! the kids will remind us) they grow every year so it's also different.  

This year Adelaide made the pies.  She spent Tuesday night with us so she could be here to make the pies and then Elizabeth joined us to decorate the tree and spend Wednesday night, too.  It's tradition! Except this time I didn't do the baking.  

Our daughter rose at 5:00 a.m. to put the 28 pound turkey in the oven.  It's a biggie, and I brought three extra legs because we have leg people in the family and turkeys only come with two. 

I wish you could have been there to help with the dishes. So did Adelaide and Ceci, but they washed and dried them all while singing the songs of Hamilton.  The boys cleared and I put the dishes away as that pile grew. 

And here they are, all grown up but still fit on the couch.   We all had such a good time!  More to follow.

It's Time

 It's time to officially get ready. While Thanksgiving is its own holiday it does get short shrift being right next to Christmas.  Christmas has been out since before Halloween and by now, it's full force no holds barred.  

And we, too, are at the starting line waiting for the starting gun. This week is our kick off. I made 6 different cookies that now live in the freezer till the weekend the kids come for our Christmas.  Yesterday we went to get our tree.  We tried a different tree farm, one closer to home, smaller and new to us.  

PH was on the hunt. What a pleasant experience this farm was!  We really only had to pick one out and point to it and one of the guys working came with a chain saw, cut it for us, offered us a ride back in his golf cart thingy but we opted to drag it back ourselves and walk.  We may LOOK old but we are not giving in but it was kind to have the offer of a ride. There were families, kids each calling out their favorite tree, photos being taken, the weather was incredible.  What a happy morning!

We have one of those tree stands that has a spike in the middle that you push the tree down onto. But a hole needs to be drilled in the bottom of the tree for that to happen. Since we've had this kind of tree stand we haven't once had to tie the tree to the ceiling or curtain rods or come home to find it lying on the floor.  We love it.  PH said as long as he is alive we will have a real tree.  We brought ours home, put it in the stand with water, I put the lights on and we now wait for the girls to come Wednesday to decorate it.

Today was noodle making day.  We had a couple of changes.  Elizabeth isn't here for noodles so Adelaide invited her boyfriend to come be the extra set of arms.  He was a quick study and did very well.  

Noodles is such a messy job, that's why daughter wants it done once and we make a double batch but Elizabeth enjoys the day, too, so we made a batch for Thanksgiving today and when she gets home there will be another noodle day for Christmas.

She WAS with us, though. 

I was official noodle hanger when I took a break from cranking the machine. 

Aren't they pretty?  They'll dry for a couple of days and then get cooked up on Thursday. 

And so it begins.