Blue Yonder

Merry Christmas To All!

Well, here we are, at last! It is Christmas Eve, and thank goodness because I don't think I can hold in all the secrets and merry making any longer!

We have cooked... oh how we've cooked. We made the raspberry bars and the cranberry cookies, the crab triangles and the sausage balls. At this moment the dip is in the crock,  the beans are boiling, the rolls are rising and the mashed potatoes are next on the list. There is ONE remaining fruit cake and the chocolate pie will don her merengue tonight. 

I am so happy to say too, that after all these years, we have tamales gracing our Christmas table. We always had them growing up, but I never learned to make them. My sweet friend Maria, did us the amazing honor of spending a day teaching my mom and I the art of authentic Mexican tamale making. They are heavenly all on their own, but even more so because they represent one more piece of my history, resurrected and passed on to my little boys. 

The presents have been bought, crafted and wrapped. My little elves have outdone themselves this year. I can't wait to share with you, after it's all said and done, the neat things that they created for their loved ones. 

The second annual Christmas Eve Eve concert was held last night, and was a roaring success. James played When the Saints Go Marching In, Away in a Manger and Jingle Bells on guitar. Ryder did a bit of Away in the Manger on piano and then added in a little composition of his own creation. Luke brought the house down with Rudolph, Deck the Halls and Silver Bells on fiddle. 

And so the songs have been sung, the candles have been lit, the stories have been read, and now.... 

Now it's all over but the partying!  (Let's play "Where's Jasper, shall we? Do you see him?)

We wish you all a warm and wonderful Christmas full of every good thing! 

Judge Not, Lest Ye Taste

A couple of weeks ago, my oldest boy said something to the affect of, "Hey mom, why would anyone give fruit cake as a present when EVERYONE knows that it's disgusting?"

A teachable moment if ever there was one.

I have wonderful memories of receiving a great big brown box in the mail each Christmas from on old family friend.  It was always stuffed full with little newspaper comic-wrapped packages for each member of the family and one perfect little foil covered homemade fruit cake. I don't remember a single gift that I ever received from those boxes, but I DO remember, oh so fondly, the fruit cake. I remember sneaking into the fridge to peel back that foil for just one more scrumptious bite. I remember trying to divide the last wee bit into infinitely smaller and smaller pieces to make it last as long as possible. 

It was, hands down, one of my all time favorite holiday treats. 

It is a crying shame really, a travesty, that fruit cake has gotten such a bad reputation when it really is so truly delectable. 

So, I spoke with my mom, we dug up the recipe, and we spent a day in the kitchen. 

54 eggs whites, 2 pounds of butter, 24 cups of fruits, nuts and coconut, and a mile high mound of dishes later,... and we are now prepared to change the way the world (or at least our friends and neighbors) think about fruit cake. 

Yes we can!

And what does the boy now say about fruit cake? 

One taste and he declared, "Oh my gosh, we should make these every year!"

Mission accomplished. 

 So, friends, if you have never had a truly delicious fruit cake, or if you remember them from long ago and agree that the world should come to know and love this tasty little treat, then you must, you simply must, make some up  and help us to spread the good news... fruit cake is delicious, and so worthy of its rightful place at the holiday table!

Here's what to do: 

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter (softened to room temp.)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk

3 1/4 cups sifted flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

8 egg whites beaten to soft peaks

1 cup candied cherries (chopped)

1 cup candied pineapple (chopped) *

2 cups nuts (we use pecans... of course)

2 cups sweetened coconut

Preheat the oven to 250. Cream together the butter and sugar and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the flour and the milk alternately to the butter/sugar mixture. Fold in the eggs. Add the nuts, coconut and fruits. 

Poor into greased loaf pans (fill them just over half full) and bake at 250 for an hour and a half to two hours. They will get just ever so slightly golden around the edges, but should not brown. You will know they are done when you can press your finger lightly into the cakes near the edge and they pull back from the pan. 

Allow them to cool completely before wrapping them in foil. 

Now here's the hard part. Let them sit for a day, or even two or three, in the fridge, before eating. They're best cold and well rested :-)

Each recipe makes four large (or about 7 small) loaves.

* you can substitute the 1 cup of cherries and 1 cup of pineapple for 2 cups of "fruit cake mix" dried fruit

The Holly and the Ivy (or The Cedar and the Yaupon)

Every year we make the trek to the local big box lawn and garden center and pick out our Christmas tree. The boys love this, and I will admit that it does feel rather festive to sort through (and sniff!) them all and pick just the right one. It's fun to wait in line at the check out with bouncing, excited little boys, so proud of their choice. It's giggly goodness to watch papa struggle with tying it to the top of the car and to drive home feeling like a banner waves over us declaring, "It is officially Christmastime!"

... but.... it always makes me a little sad that we don't cut our own tree. There's something right and true about going into the woods as family, leaves crunching underfoot, each of you taking your turn at the saw. It feels real, honest... not at all like the consumerist, cookie cutter feeling I get from buying a tree at a store. 

Yes, there IS a tree farm about an hour and a half's drive from home and every year I think we'll make the trip, but we never seem to gather up the will to take that drive. I'm not sure why. I guess deep down I don't really want to visit a farm either (though we have once, and it really was lovely.) It's better than a store, for sure, but still, it isn't the same as receiving the gift of your family's tree straight from the hands of nature. I have ridiculously romantic (in other words, very unrealistic) notions of what it would be like to wander the wintry woods in search of the perfect centerpiece for our holiday festivities. 

But we don't live in a pine forest. 

We don't live anywhere near a pine forest. 

So, when I read Sarah's sweet memories of her mother's wreath-making, I knew what we had to do. 

We loaded up our clippers, buckets and bags and we walked into the wild. 

It was colder out than we thought it would be. Our 70 degree weekend highs have vanished. 

But it was good. There's nothing like that feeling...  chilly air burning your lungs, rubbing reddened hands together for warmth, running until you're hot, then shedding your coat only to want it back just as soon as the wind blows.

And best of all, silence....  no one else around. No one talking too loudly on her cell phone to her BFF about what shoes to wear to the party, no creepy guy invading your personal space in the check out line, no overtired child shrieking his disapproval to his completely oblivious parents as they debate the merits of the inflatable reindeer vs. the giant musical snowglobe. 

I love shopping. Can you tell? 

Anyhow, back to the woods.... 

   

We don't have pine trees where we live, it's true, but we DO have cedar and yaupon (plus a few leftover clippings from the Christmas tree). 

And now we have a wreath. 

There were a lot of hands (and a whole lotta florist wire) involved in the making of that wreath. There was talk of the symbolism of circles and evergreen. There was cocoa to warm us and laughter over the silly lopsided shape of our creation. We had a good time gathering and making together. 

So, I hope that as imperfect as our little wreath is, it will serve as a reminder this holiday season of the perfect gift of family, and this beautiful world in which we live (crazy shoppers and all). I hope too that a new tradition has found it's way into our celebrations. 

A merry day to you all! 

Twinkly And Bright

Can it be that there are only ten days left? 

As a child, it always seemed like such a terrible long wait for the big day. Now... well every year it seems to slip through my fingers more quickly than the year before. 

It's true, Mr. Frost, that nothing gold can stay. 

Really, if I thought I could get away with it, I think I'd leave up the twinkle lights and the snow village, the tree and the garland all year long. I'd sing carols year 'round and forever be in possession of delicious secrets. I'd fill up the kitchen with the smells of baking goodies everyday.... 

But you and I both know that it wouldn't be the same. 

Like so many of the most wonderful things in life, what makes this season so good is that it's only here for a moment. It is precious, because you only get to hold it for a little while. 

 That look and those whispers when they peer in those little houses and imagine life inside... 

 Those squeals, "I remember this one!" as they pull ornaments from their boxes and hang them on pine boughs.... 

 That cozy, snuggly feeling, with the fire, the candles, the twinkly lights... an old story under an old quilt, a warm little dog curled up in your lap... 

 

 That glass of wine after rowdy boys have come to rest on their pillows... sitting by the tree and trading stories of the day with the man that I love ... 

... then blowing out the candles and trailing off to sleep, warm, and filled, glad to be right here, right now. 

 You know I kind of think that it would be just fine to live in a little house, lit from the inside with candles and twinkle lights, at the center of a snowglobe, while the rest of the world swirled 'round us.

Better Watch Out

"Did you hear that?" he says standing in our front yard.

"What?" says his brother. 

"THAT!"

"What is it?"

"Don't you remember?"

A confused look and then clarity spread slowly over his countenance. "Oh whoa! Do you think it's really.... really????"

And so they watched. 

And they waited. 

For a minute they thought that maybe they'd be passed by this year. The sounds seemed so far off. 

After an interminable wait though... 

Is that... 

.... could it be??? 

Is it really....???? 

It is!!!! 

It's fireman Santa and his firemen elves!

Here he comes, blaring his crackly christmas tunes from the loud speaker. The sirens give a quick wail and the lights they are a-flashing. 

It's magic I tell you. Magic. 

It doesn't even matter that this particular Santa and these particular elves aren't really all that convincing. You see, when they get close enough for inspection, they hurl candy at the children by way of distracting them.

Works like a charm. 

While the small folk are busy gathering up their sugar high and divvying it up amongst themselves, Santa is gone with a wink and a grin. 

Totally cheesy, and completely the stuff that great kid memories are made of. 

Thank you fireman Santa. You made our day.