Christmas Guest Chef

After assisting our guest chef in the kitchen it's all I can do to post a link to the food blog. Visit Peanut Butter Etouffee for a special treat.

Let the Christmas season begin

Heading off to Seattle this Wednesday for a visit with a friend. She's very excited and has all sorts of plans for us. We were hoping to get there for her 30th anniversary with her company but couldn't work out the details. We'll celebrate that milestone anyway. I'm hoping the weather will cooperate and not rain, but hey, it's Seattle. That's the reason we are not driving, unsure of the weather in the northern part of California this time of year. Could be icy.

It's difficult to believe December 1st is here and soon we'll be heading for the desert to have our Christmas celebration. I'm planning a few things here before we go but really low-key this year. I know more folks than ever out of work but I have hope for a bright 2010.

Speaking of December 1, it's a day of worldwide AIDS remembrance; A Day Without Art. If you are visiting the Getty Center today, check their page for a parking coupon and what they'll be doing.

Twenty-ten will be the year my beloved and I travel more, I've rearranged my Getty Docent responsibilities, and bought him a little dash navigator so hopefully I'll be sending some posts from the road. Not sure what I'll do about that yet, though, so many options for communications these days. I'll start by making a Wish List of places we'd like to visit. Camping in different places will be at the top of mine.

Black Friday

Recently I'd heard of a "Buy Nothing Day" for Black Friday, the day that merchandisers all over the world anxiously await. Buy nothing? Sure, not a problem for me but maybe less to joining the BND group and more that I can't stand the crowds. The last time I braved the masses was maybe 25 years ago and said a silent vow to never do that again. There is usually nothing I want that bad to wait hours in line for.

Our small family reduced it's Christmas buying habit a long time ago by drawing names at Thanksgiving and purchasing a gift for just one person. We started when my father was ill and wanted to take the pressure off his wife and just kept it as a tradition. I like it a lot. Christmas is less about presents and more about being together. Plus, you find out you need less and less as you get older. I'm trying to reduce the size of my "stuff."

Less time on present buying means more time for a wonderful, gourmet Christmas dinner and it's always quite tasty. I'm sure this year will be no different. We all meet in Palm Desert with our darling step-mother and laugh, play cards, eat and catch up. It's very relaxing and I look forward to this time more than any in the year.

If shopping is your family tradition then make this the best Black Friday it can be--we all know the economy can use it.

Cheers, it's Christmas time

Do you ever wonder how we get through the holidays? Vodka? Not so much these days but at the House of Moon though my darling and I did have a glass of wine last night. Wine is so versatile. Summer time, it's a cooler with ice and fruit while Winter evening it warms your body. So it seems a little glass of Old Vine Zin is helping me get through the season.

Not that I have a lot to do this year. I've cut way back. My baking consisted of decorated sugar cookies and one batch of peanut brittle. These items will be given to family and friends as my darling and I have absolutely no willpower. None.

So with a little extra time I'm sitting here thinking of my best Christmas ever and honestly, it's difficult to find one. I've been fortunate to have wonderful family and friends around me at the holidays and all year long. When I was six Santa brought me a red firetruck pedal car that I thought was the best. It had wooden ladders and a bell. I have no idea what happened to it as a few years later we moved to California and sold most everything before we left.

Much older, my darling bought me a little stuffed bear we'd seen in an antique store weeks before Christmas. It looked exactly like one of the only toys I still have from my childhood only bigger. He went back to the store the next week and wrapped it himself. Over the years he's given me more expensive gifts but that one stands out in my heart.

We no longer give gifts but that is by my choice. We usually take a trip, or buy something for the two of us and that's fine with me. You see, my darling husband, quite regularly, surprises me with flowers for no good reason other than to see me smile. I'll take those types of gifts any day.

Our tiny family will be celebrating together, all seven of us, and that will be the best present this year!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

The best of the season to you

Yes, I mean you, you who read this blog on a regular basis, you know who you are. This is the time we set aside to see old friends and family, take time to thank them; or forgive them, and think about those that have been in our lives and aren't anymore. Our time is so short on this planet, almost fleeting, so make sure you take a bit of time to say the things need saying.

Since I've seen way too much stress at Christmas time, mostly self induced, I've try ways to side-step the angst. Our family, albeit small, has a difficult time getting together so we celebrate the holiday when we can. This year it will be December 29. The actual day means little to me, it's the getting together that is important. I gave up celebrating the religious aspect of the holiday such a long time ago, as did my family, so we have no problem shifting the celebration.

This would all be different if our mother was still alive. She was the elf herself. She was always so excited about Christmas morning that if she spent the night, which she did on occasion, she'd be playing Johnny Mathis' Christmas music at five a.m. because she couldn't wait until we were all up. So now, even though she's been gone for a while, if I hear Mathis's Christmas Song, I know another angel got it's wings.

Merry Christmas!

T'is the season

My holiday season is shaping up nicely. My sister, sans her husband, will be arriving on the 25th. We are understanding of my brother-out-law being absent because he's back to being the Super Salesman while they are wintering in Arizona.

Prior to that we'll be attending a Christmas Eve pajama party with our extended family. I've even bought new jammies to wear. This should be fun. The dinner will be, of course, breakfast which has all possibilities. This same extended family will come to our house for Christmas day dessert. I love making the sweet stuff and I have a wonderful new recipe to try along with a few favorites.

Christmas, to me, is when we can all get together; not one specific day so we will celebrate with the whole family on the 29th. That means presents, food and mimosas. If our family had a crest there would be a flute of champagne laced orange juice surrounded by our names spelled out in Scrabble tiles on a field of pet hair. One can almost see the heraldic banner flapping in the breeze.