December 25 - Car loaded with gifts and more sweets than any hundred people would need, we drove the hour and 45 minutes south to Sis2's house. This was a year when all four sibs, their significant others, niece, nephew, and their significant others celebrated together. Gifts were opened first in a wild flurry of tissue paper, gift wrap, boxes and bags, some of which were gifts themselves. Kaleidoscopes, paperwhite bulbs, scarves, chocolate covered cherries, Texas pecans, windshield cleaners, sweaters, motion-activated toy dogs, slippers, books, framed antique hand drawn maps, and other various and sundry items were exchanged with joy and pleasure. Then followed dinner.
Nephew, the former sous chef and current free lance caterer, designed the menu and cooked the meal with the assistance of his better half: roast ribs of lamb, duck confit over cherries and cranberries, seafood casserole, creamed spinach, Caribbean wild rice salad, brussels sprouts with bacon, onion and mushrooms, and pureed parsnips. Everything was delicious, and the wine flowed freely.
After dinner some indulged in strenuous games on the Wii a la projection screen tv, some in conversation and beverages, some in sweet desserts, and some in all three. It was clear that there was way too much food, both dinner and dessert, but the tradition among my sibs is to fill tubs, tins and tupperware with leftovers to enjoy later or the next day, so it never goes to waste. Sis2's hubby had requested shortbread and 7 layer bars, so extra was made just for him. I could have left the variety of chocolates and the banana split ingredients at home because they weren't touched. I'll be baking banana breads tomorrow and having sliced bananas for breakfast for a few days, and that's a fine thing.
The drive home began in light and unexpected snow, so I was wary of the roads, but where it was snowing the air temps were above freezing, and when the snow stopped and the temperature dropped, the roads were clear. The trip was fairly easy, and the dog was glad to see us. Getting home a little after our usual dinnertime was nice because that gave us the evening to unpack and unwind. I tried out the heating, vibrating neck wrap that my husband gave me. Delightful!
December 26 - Christmas II began at a nice leisurely pace with a special Christmas coffee and no rush to wrap gifts and package goodies. Today was a smaller gathering of just us sibs with Mom and her beau.
After we located her at her boyfriend's apartment, we gave Mom some small gifts: a deep pink cyclamen, three packages of Christmas-style Peeps, a scarf, some bubble wrap (she loves to sit and pop it), a large package of Klondike bars, two bird feeders to attach to the outside of her windows, and some birdfeed. Her beau had asked Sis2 to pick out some red slippers for her and bring them to her, from him, which she did, but Mom kept trying to give the package to him to open, misreading the "To" and "From" label on the wrapping. We each gave him small gifts too - a soft scarf, some candy, a toy for his cat. Then, per her request, we went out to lunch.
Her favorite Asian restaurant is in a shopping plaza, so that's where we ate. It was a short drive but I was able to spend it with my brother, catching up on the end of a conversation begun yesterday about retiring. Even though he's six years younger than I am, it seems we're in about the same mental place when it comes to our careers. Sis3 drove herself so she could have a smoke, and Sis2 played chauffeur for the couple. Seated at a round table in an alcove, we helped Mom and her significant other choose from among a bewildering array of options, locating her beloved shrimp and veggies. We enjoyed our various plates, and then we returned to their apartment building for a few group photos a la little brother's camera with its self timer. Sis3 left first, her two-hour attention span spent, and I left next after listening to little brother gently questioning the boyfriend about his past and the boyfriend describing his life from high school football player to his former career working with the Yellow Pages. Mom's new flame seems to be a nice, solvent man with just a little less forgetfulness than she has, and they seem to be happy. Nevertheless, I think we were all glad that there was no talk today of them getting married.
Back home, advertised bad weather not yet arrived, I put my feet up for a bit before starting our own Christmas dinner: slices of hickory smoked spiral ham, fresh asparagus, and mashed potatoes, simple and delicious.
It's been a full three days, a long one of preparation and two of time with family, celebrating Christmas with gifts and meals together. I'm looking forward to having very little on my plate and plenty of time to accomplish it.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas
I'm sitting here eating a ham sandwich, looking at the Christmas tree that's decorated with tiny blue lights, strands of silver garland, and various ornaments as I enjoy the sunlight streaming in through the front windows. The kitchen is so cluttered with ingredients and utensils that finding a place where I could slice the roll open was a challenge. I'm still not sure what my future nephew in law is getting for the "stocking" type of gift, but I'll think of something. And I'm truly in denial that tomorrow is Christmas.
Perhaps the denial has set in because I was working until around this time yesterday, and each day at work requires almost entire concentration upon the job at hand. I'm still not 100% after the bout with laryngitis and the cough that seemed to bring it on, so it was no wonder, after we spent half an hour in the spa, that I kept dozing on the couch, missing most of whatever television shows were amusing my spouse and our pup. I'd found enough energy the night before to bake several dozen cookies for my students who were in attendance on the last school day for 2009, but I haven't begun to wrap any gifts yet. There will be time enough.
Tomorrow, around this time, we'll be digesting Christmas dinner at the home of my sister who lives almost 2 hours south of us, and we'll be enjoying the gifts we've exchanged. The host sister has offered to help me extract the dead hard drive from my aging laptop, so that'll keep us busy while the others watch sports events on their new large screen television. Then it's back home again to liberate the dog who'll spend the day sleeping on the furniture, and who'll be so glad to see us that he'll even share his new squeaky toys with us.
The next day, around this time, we four siblings will be dining with Mom and her beau. Somehow, she was convinced that the lengthy drive to Sis2's house would be unpleasant enough for her that she'd be miserable the whole time she was there, and the tradeoff was luncheon at her favorite (although she complains about something on her plate each time she dines there) "Chinese" restaurant, just the six of us. I have the feeling that her boyfriend Bob might just announce that they've decided to get married, and that worries me a bit since none of us including Mom knows the details of his financial situation, his health, his track record. Another issue is that, if they decide to move in together, marriage or not, even her apartment which is larger than his isn't room enough for two people who each insist upon living conditions (eg. he has a cat and she's sensitive to them) that don't go over well with the other. On the other hand, this is her life. None of us can stop her decisions unless we have her declared incompetent, and that's not likely to happen for a variety of reasons. All we can hope is that her choices end up being good ones, as any parents hope for their children. Yes, that's where we are now: the child is father to the man, as they say. With luck, Saturday will be just a lovely luncheon and no other momentous occasion.
My sandwich is finished, the oven has beeped that it's preheated enough, and the kitchen calls to me. Perhaps listening to carols on the local radio station, munching candy canes, and baking our perennial favorites will give me a better sense of impending Christmas 2009. To anyone reading this, I hope yours is peaceful and joyous!
Perhaps the denial has set in because I was working until around this time yesterday, and each day at work requires almost entire concentration upon the job at hand. I'm still not 100% after the bout with laryngitis and the cough that seemed to bring it on, so it was no wonder, after we spent half an hour in the spa, that I kept dozing on the couch, missing most of whatever television shows were amusing my spouse and our pup. I'd found enough energy the night before to bake several dozen cookies for my students who were in attendance on the last school day for 2009, but I haven't begun to wrap any gifts yet. There will be time enough.
Tomorrow, around this time, we'll be digesting Christmas dinner at the home of my sister who lives almost 2 hours south of us, and we'll be enjoying the gifts we've exchanged. The host sister has offered to help me extract the dead hard drive from my aging laptop, so that'll keep us busy while the others watch sports events on their new large screen television. Then it's back home again to liberate the dog who'll spend the day sleeping on the furniture, and who'll be so glad to see us that he'll even share his new squeaky toys with us.
The next day, around this time, we four siblings will be dining with Mom and her beau. Somehow, she was convinced that the lengthy drive to Sis2's house would be unpleasant enough for her that she'd be miserable the whole time she was there, and the tradeoff was luncheon at her favorite (although she complains about something on her plate each time she dines there) "Chinese" restaurant, just the six of us. I have the feeling that her boyfriend Bob might just announce that they've decided to get married, and that worries me a bit since none of us including Mom knows the details of his financial situation, his health, his track record. Another issue is that, if they decide to move in together, marriage or not, even her apartment which is larger than his isn't room enough for two people who each insist upon living conditions (eg. he has a cat and she's sensitive to them) that don't go over well with the other. On the other hand, this is her life. None of us can stop her decisions unless we have her declared incompetent, and that's not likely to happen for a variety of reasons. All we can hope is that her choices end up being good ones, as any parents hope for their children. Yes, that's where we are now: the child is father to the man, as they say. With luck, Saturday will be just a lovely luncheon and no other momentous occasion.
My sandwich is finished, the oven has beeped that it's preheated enough, and the kitchen calls to me. Perhaps listening to carols on the local radio station, munching candy canes, and baking our perennial favorites will give me a better sense of impending Christmas 2009. To anyone reading this, I hope yours is peaceful and joyous!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Voiceless
Once in a great while I lose my voice. I'm not referring to a scratchy voice or even a quiet one. I mean it's just gone. When I try to speak, air comes out. Not even a squeal or squeak emits from my throat. That's my condition today. Waldo could still hear my whispers as I stayed home from work to try to rest and get rid of the cold in my throat, but I didn't bother to answer the phone. What good would it have done?
At times like this I realize how much I use my voice without thinking about it. This evening it didn't matter if my husband sat in his recliner nearby or a room upstairs because he couldn't hear me in either place. I had to face him and whisper slowly so he could read my lips. I couldn't scold the dog when he grabbed my package of cough drops. I couldn't sing along with my favorite ads. I couldn't curse or even mutter when we lost our internet connection tonight and I had to troubleshoot.
When we lose electricity, I know we can stumble along, especially in the winter when the wood stove works for heat and cooking, and even the food in the freezer can be rescued with snow packed in coolers. When I lose my ability to use a body function that's significant to my normal daily life, that's when I really recognize its value. I'll have a challenging day tomorrow as I return to the classroom because I'll want to speak but I'll only be able to whisper...or use a little whistle I keep in my purse...and I'm hoping the kids will be kind to me. Perhaps the ones who have had The Cold this fall will feel some empathy and my day will be well, if silently, spent.
At times like this I realize how much I use my voice without thinking about it. This evening it didn't matter if my husband sat in his recliner nearby or a room upstairs because he couldn't hear me in either place. I had to face him and whisper slowly so he could read my lips. I couldn't scold the dog when he grabbed my package of cough drops. I couldn't sing along with my favorite ads. I couldn't curse or even mutter when we lost our internet connection tonight and I had to troubleshoot.
When we lose electricity, I know we can stumble along, especially in the winter when the wood stove works for heat and cooking, and even the food in the freezer can be rescued with snow packed in coolers. When I lose my ability to use a body function that's significant to my normal daily life, that's when I really recognize its value. I'll have a challenging day tomorrow as I return to the classroom because I'll want to speak but I'll only be able to whisper...or use a little whistle I keep in my purse...and I'm hoping the kids will be kind to me. Perhaps the ones who have had The Cold this fall will feel some empathy and my day will be well, if silently, spent.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
100
Blogger says this is my 100th post. Do I feel pressure to make it noteworthy? No more than I have the past 99 times!
Today the sun rose on the first snow of winter. We had some white stuff back in October, but that didn't count because ... well, because it was October and clearly the snow wouldn't last. December snow has at least a chance of sticking around. This snowfall began yesterday afternoon, and it didn't whiten the road as I was driving home from the next to last craft fair of the season, so I wondered if it would actually accumulate. By dinnertime, the railing on the front porch was covered with almost two inches of fluffy flakes. That was promising! Each time Waldo went outside to do his thing, he tiptoed around the cold white ground, sniffing it and the air, and returning to the door with muzzle and beard caked with clumps of snow. Apparently he doesn't mind this change to his environment because one of those times outdoors he spent sitting on his favorite spot, watching traffic drive past as though nothing had changed, while the snow gathered on his little head. He had fun coming inside and shaking the moisture off himself and onto us.
He also had a different brand of fun today. My husband, who had arthroscopic surgery on his knee on Friday, and who is making wonderful, fast progress in his recovery, decided on his first day able to drive that he'd take the dog when he went in to town to purchase a Sunday newspaper and get a little fresh air. He did make sure that he had his cellphone with him which turned out to be very fortunate. The first mistake was choosing to get the fresh air on a local logging road which is little more than the remnants of two wheel ruts that run from a side road well into woods and up the side of a mountain. The second mistake was to let the dog off his leash.
We've discovered that, sometime in his puppy past, Waldo must have been treated very badly and chased to be caught, so it took us months to get him to willingly come back into the house from the yard when he was let out not on a leash or lead, and to get him into the truck (the Big Honkin' Truck, that is) or even my car, he had to be leashed from inside the house and led by the leash to get into the vehicle. It feels odd to us because our previous dogs have LOVED going for car rides, but not this one.
About twenty minutes after my husband had left in the truck, the phone rang. His voice in my ear told me that Waldo was loose and wouldn't get back into the truck. Good thing he'd brought his phone to call and tell me! I picked up a couple of large dog biscuits, tossed on my fleece jacket and snow boots, and headed out. The logging road area looks different in the snow, so I drove past the entrance and had to turn around to return to it. I didn't dare pull in because I haven't yet had the snow tires put on my car, and it isn't good in that type of snowy road, so I left it up on the side road. What followed was a 90 minute exercise in frustration and patience.
Long story short, we tried lots of tricks to lure him close enough to catch, but we had no luck. The mister had to sit down periodically to rest his leg, and each time I was close enough to make an attempt at catching him, Waldo would dart away. I could sometimes touch his fur but I couldn't grab anything that would slow him down, so of course that charged him up even more. Finally, we tried slowly driving away, the truck in the lead and me following in the car. As he does in our yard, the dog trotted off after the truck and he kept looking back at me. We knew that there was no hope of getting home via this little-used back road because it ended at the state highway, but we thought there might be a break in the situation if we traveled about half a mile along it. Fortunately, that's what happened: the truck stopped and my husband got out, I stopped my car and got out, and the dog was tired enough that he lay down in the snow at the side of the road to rest, so I was able to slip my hand under his collar and secure him. What a relief! This little guy couldn't endure much time out in the woods after the sun lowered, the air grew cold, and the prowling animals caught scent of him.
So now the fire crackles in the wood stove, the patient is giving his knee a little extra TLC, reading the Sunday papers that I brought home to him, and taking it easy, the furry little boy lies on the dining room carpet resting up from his adventures, and I'm here, sipping some warm coffee and counting my blessings that my boys are both at home with me, safe and sound. I never did get out to take pictures of the first snow, but there will be other snowfalls even prettier, so I'm in no rush to go out wandering ... as opposed to these two males who seem to have wanderlust in their genes.
Today the sun rose on the first snow of winter. We had some white stuff back in October, but that didn't count because ... well, because it was October and clearly the snow wouldn't last. December snow has at least a chance of sticking around. This snowfall began yesterday afternoon, and it didn't whiten the road as I was driving home from the next to last craft fair of the season, so I wondered if it would actually accumulate. By dinnertime, the railing on the front porch was covered with almost two inches of fluffy flakes. That was promising! Each time Waldo went outside to do his thing, he tiptoed around the cold white ground, sniffing it and the air, and returning to the door with muzzle and beard caked with clumps of snow. Apparently he doesn't mind this change to his environment because one of those times outdoors he spent sitting on his favorite spot, watching traffic drive past as though nothing had changed, while the snow gathered on his little head. He had fun coming inside and shaking the moisture off himself and onto us.
He also had a different brand of fun today. My husband, who had arthroscopic surgery on his knee on Friday, and who is making wonderful, fast progress in his recovery, decided on his first day able to drive that he'd take the dog when he went in to town to purchase a Sunday newspaper and get a little fresh air. He did make sure that he had his cellphone with him which turned out to be very fortunate. The first mistake was choosing to get the fresh air on a local logging road which is little more than the remnants of two wheel ruts that run from a side road well into woods and up the side of a mountain. The second mistake was to let the dog off his leash.
We've discovered that, sometime in his puppy past, Waldo must have been treated very badly and chased to be caught, so it took us months to get him to willingly come back into the house from the yard when he was let out not on a leash or lead, and to get him into the truck (the Big Honkin' Truck, that is) or even my car, he had to be leashed from inside the house and led by the leash to get into the vehicle. It feels odd to us because our previous dogs have LOVED going for car rides, but not this one.
About twenty minutes after my husband had left in the truck, the phone rang. His voice in my ear told me that Waldo was loose and wouldn't get back into the truck. Good thing he'd brought his phone to call and tell me! I picked up a couple of large dog biscuits, tossed on my fleece jacket and snow boots, and headed out. The logging road area looks different in the snow, so I drove past the entrance and had to turn around to return to it. I didn't dare pull in because I haven't yet had the snow tires put on my car, and it isn't good in that type of snowy road, so I left it up on the side road. What followed was a 90 minute exercise in frustration and patience.
Long story short, we tried lots of tricks to lure him close enough to catch, but we had no luck. The mister had to sit down periodically to rest his leg, and each time I was close enough to make an attempt at catching him, Waldo would dart away. I could sometimes touch his fur but I couldn't grab anything that would slow him down, so of course that charged him up even more. Finally, we tried slowly driving away, the truck in the lead and me following in the car. As he does in our yard, the dog trotted off after the truck and he kept looking back at me. We knew that there was no hope of getting home via this little-used back road because it ended at the state highway, but we thought there might be a break in the situation if we traveled about half a mile along it. Fortunately, that's what happened: the truck stopped and my husband got out, I stopped my car and got out, and the dog was tired enough that he lay down in the snow at the side of the road to rest, so I was able to slip my hand under his collar and secure him. What a relief! This little guy couldn't endure much time out in the woods after the sun lowered, the air grew cold, and the prowling animals caught scent of him.
So now the fire crackles in the wood stove, the patient is giving his knee a little extra TLC, reading the Sunday papers that I brought home to him, and taking it easy, the furry little boy lies on the dining room carpet resting up from his adventures, and I'm here, sipping some warm coffee and counting my blessings that my boys are both at home with me, safe and sound. I never did get out to take pictures of the first snow, but there will be other snowfalls even prettier, so I'm in no rush to go out wandering ... as opposed to these two males who seem to have wanderlust in their genes.
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