Friday, December 24, 2004
Rain and Wind and Snow
The four of us went out for steak dinner last night and had a great time. Leaving the restaurant was a real challenge since Boston was in the middle of a rain and wind squall. George and I ran to the restaurant's meat market to buy meat for the Christmas Eve meatloaf and got drenched. The lights went off in the market and we had to find our way to the cash register in pitch black. The market had generators which kicked in, and we ran through the parking lot together in drenching rain and winds and got to the car and waited for Mike and Michelle who were going to meet us at the entrance. And waited. My cell phone rang. It was them; they had gone to the market and were waiting at the entrance behind us. Needless to say, we were all laughing and very wet. At home finally, we ran through the downpour into the house one at a time so that there wouldn't be a pileup on the porch while George unlocked the front door. We had a really good time and I'm sure our coats will be dry some day.
Today is gray and windy and around freezing. A good day to make some spritz cookies and some gingerbread boys. I think we are also going to do some last minute shopping at Barnes and Nobel and Pier One, and have some eggnog lattes at Starbucks, a treat I do not let myself have often. Tonight we go to church at 10:00 and I play in the bellchoir for the prelude. I don't have a big role so nothing to fret over. It will be fun.
We are watching the news from Cleveland where the snow collapsed the garage that houses the snow plows. So many stranded motorists and snow emergencies at this time when there are so many people on the road. In the past, we used to drive from Chicago to Oklahoma for Christmas almost every year and we often had to deal with bad weather and snow. God Bless the travelers today.
Have a wonderful Christmas Eve.
Today is gray and windy and around freezing. A good day to make some spritz cookies and some gingerbread boys. I think we are also going to do some last minute shopping at Barnes and Nobel and Pier One, and have some eggnog lattes at Starbucks, a treat I do not let myself have often. Tonight we go to church at 10:00 and I play in the bellchoir for the prelude. I don't have a big role so nothing to fret over. It will be fun.
We are watching the news from Cleveland where the snow collapsed the garage that houses the snow plows. So many stranded motorists and snow emergencies at this time when there are so many people on the road. In the past, we used to drive from Chicago to Oklahoma for Christmas almost every year and we often had to deal with bad weather and snow. God Bless the travelers today.
Have a wonderful Christmas Eve.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Thirty potholder Christmas
I didn't finish the afghan. Michael is getting thirty potholders for Christmas instead.
Good news and bad news
The good news is that Michael and Michelle arrive today and I hae the day off today. I have been up since dawn puttering around the putting stuff out of sight. How did I get so much stuff? Today it was bins of hand knit sweaters that I keep in the cool guest room when it is not in use, which is seldom. I'm not going to get rid of those sweaters, but sometimes I feel like a knitting machine. I knit more than I can use, that is for sure. I need to find someone who likes the stuff as much as I do. The problem with hand knit sweaters is that most are very warm, and it takes a cold day to wear them comfortably. They need to be carefully hand washed as well, so they are not the easiest things in the world to take care of.
I am sending along some pictures of things in my house to bring in the "silly season" as my friend in Australia says it is called.
Ok, Ok, the bad news is that George's car window will not go up. His poor car sat outside with the window down all night, but luckily for us it was a dry night. Rain expected today however. He took off this morning very early to go down to Boston to the car shop and see if they can fix it. If they need to keep the car, then we will meet up later and go to the airport in my car. Always something.
My mom tells an old story about our family. She says my brother, Gerald, when he was young (a long time ago, hehe) said, "How come other families have things happen once in a while, but in our family it is one crisis after another."
I'm off to the grocery store this morning to bring in the Christmas supplies. It is a busy time, isn't it? Seems we just can't help it.
Have a great day.
[note: things are coming together nicely. Mike just called and they are at the airport in Washington, everything is fine and on-time, and George just called to say his car is ready and he is on his way home to pick me up to go to the airport. I officially declare, as of this moment in time, that Christmas has begun. Let the good times roll!!]
I am sending along some pictures of things in my house to bring in the "silly season" as my friend in Australia says it is called.
Ok, Ok, the bad news is that George's car window will not go up. His poor car sat outside with the window down all night, but luckily for us it was a dry night. Rain expected today however. He took off this morning very early to go down to Boston to the car shop and see if they can fix it. If they need to keep the car, then we will meet up later and go to the airport in my car. Always something.
My mom tells an old story about our family. She says my brother, Gerald, when he was young (a long time ago, hehe) said, "How come other families have things happen once in a while, but in our family it is one crisis after another."
I'm off to the grocery store this morning to bring in the Christmas supplies. It is a busy time, isn't it? Seems we just can't help it.
Have a great day.
[note: things are coming together nicely. Mike just called and they are at the airport in Washington, everything is fine and on-time, and George just called to say his car is ready and he is on his way home to pick me up to go to the airport. I officially declare, as of this moment in time, that Christmas has begun. Let the good times roll!!]
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
The day before the day before the day before
Today is the last day of work before the holidays. My grocery list is made and organized by department. I always make my list with veggies, breads, meat, dairy, all catagorized as it is as you walk through the store. Saves a lot of frustration that way. Does that seem micromanaging?
After a lot of thought, I have decided to keep it really simple this year with the menu. Instead of beef, we are having turkey for Christmas dinner. I really enjoy making classic turkey dinners, and the menu includes cornbread dressing with dried cranberries and fruit, homemade cranberry sauce with oranges, jello and fruit salad (of course), brocolli with cheese sauce, riced potatoes and gravy, yellow turnips which we call rutabeggas, and a fresh green salad with homemade vinaigrette.
Christmas Eve we are going to church because I am in the bell choir. Services don't start until 10:30, so I thought something simple would be good for dinner. I've decided on meatloaf--comfort food Christmas Eve--meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans with almonds, bibb lettuce salad with spiced pecans, and cheesecake with strawberries for dessert.
Right now that seems like a lot of food, but as the holidays progress, I'm sure all that will be very tasty. I bought a small wheel of Brie, and will have snacks of shrimp and Jarlsberg cheese. I'm looking for ways to use George's new deep fryer. I usually don't make deep fried foods, so this is going to be an adventure in the kitchen. George sent me an email yesterday about the seven fish dinner that the Italians have at Christmas. I wish I had someone to make seven kinds of fish dishes for us. Sounds stressful :-)
We are going to make gingerbread men on Thursday evening after Michael and Michelle arrive, so everyone will have a chance to decorate them. I'm looking forward to going out for a steak dinner that evening at a Boston landmark, The Hilltop. We will take Michelle for the tour of the famous Saugus Christmas lights neighborhood. I am hoping to get in a tour of the North End and maybe a stop at an Italian coffee shop for coffee and dessert.
George is delivering presents today and we have decided to buy a new spritz cookie press. The old-fashioned metal one with the screw mechanism I have had for years is buried in storage somewhere, and it looks so out of date compared to the new white ones.
On a more serious note, I have a good friend at work who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, and I am driving him to a doctor appointment today and to the grocery store and helping him get his groceries to his third floor apartment. We are also making a trip to his house with Christmas dinner on Christmas Day and last night I bought him a Hollyberry Yankee candle as a Christmas gift. It is sobering, to say the least, to see how life can change so fast. I am praying that the chemo and treatment will help him quickly. The pressure on his chest is painful and he is using a small portable oxygen tank. They said to him that the bad news is it is a fast growing tumor, but the good news is that it is also the kind of cancer that is quick to accept treatment. I will do what we can to help him in any way we can and I am very happy that he is so willing to accept my offers of help.
Enjoy the day.
After a lot of thought, I have decided to keep it really simple this year with the menu. Instead of beef, we are having turkey for Christmas dinner. I really enjoy making classic turkey dinners, and the menu includes cornbread dressing with dried cranberries and fruit, homemade cranberry sauce with oranges, jello and fruit salad (of course), brocolli with cheese sauce, riced potatoes and gravy, yellow turnips which we call rutabeggas, and a fresh green salad with homemade vinaigrette.
Christmas Eve we are going to church because I am in the bell choir. Services don't start until 10:30, so I thought something simple would be good for dinner. I've decided on meatloaf--comfort food Christmas Eve--meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans with almonds, bibb lettuce salad with spiced pecans, and cheesecake with strawberries for dessert.
Right now that seems like a lot of food, but as the holidays progress, I'm sure all that will be very tasty. I bought a small wheel of Brie, and will have snacks of shrimp and Jarlsberg cheese. I'm looking for ways to use George's new deep fryer. I usually don't make deep fried foods, so this is going to be an adventure in the kitchen. George sent me an email yesterday about the seven fish dinner that the Italians have at Christmas. I wish I had someone to make seven kinds of fish dishes for us. Sounds stressful :-)
We are going to make gingerbread men on Thursday evening after Michael and Michelle arrive, so everyone will have a chance to decorate them. I'm looking forward to going out for a steak dinner that evening at a Boston landmark, The Hilltop. We will take Michelle for the tour of the famous Saugus Christmas lights neighborhood. I am hoping to get in a tour of the North End and maybe a stop at an Italian coffee shop for coffee and dessert.
George is delivering presents today and we have decided to buy a new spritz cookie press. The old-fashioned metal one with the screw mechanism I have had for years is buried in storage somewhere, and it looks so out of date compared to the new white ones.
On a more serious note, I have a good friend at work who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, and I am driving him to a doctor appointment today and to the grocery store and helping him get his groceries to his third floor apartment. We are also making a trip to his house with Christmas dinner on Christmas Day and last night I bought him a Hollyberry Yankee candle as a Christmas gift. It is sobering, to say the least, to see how life can change so fast. I am praying that the chemo and treatment will help him quickly. The pressure on his chest is painful and he is using a small portable oxygen tank. They said to him that the bad news is it is a fast growing tumor, but the good news is that it is also the kind of cancer that is quick to accept treatment. I will do what we can to help him in any way we can and I am very happy that he is so willing to accept my offers of help.
Enjoy the day.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Scared of Santa Contest
Mike just emailed me this very funny web site. I couldn't resist passing it along.
Christmas birthdays
George is one of those unlucky people who has his birthday at Christmastime. I kept putting off thinking about what to get him for his birthday yesterday, since I was all wound up about Christmas presents. It had even occured to me to do the unthinkable and just "forego" the birthday present, or give him one of his Christmas presents instead. That is exactly why it is bad to have a birthday at Christmastime: people just can't help but try to take shortcuts.
In the end, feeling very guilty for my stingy thoughts, I bought him a new pair of slacks and a matching knit shirt. I wanted to buy him a warm hat for "show snoveling" as he calls it, but didn't find one. Time to get the knitting needles out. He also got a new deep fryer (can't wait to try that out), a box of beautiful pears from Harry and David, an LLBean maroon sweater, another beautiful plaid shirt and dinner at a Korean restaurant with his son and daughter-in-law.
No, I didn't make this cake in the picture; Martha Stewart did, but we can dream can't we? Did you hear the news that they had a Christmas decorating contest at her prison? Prison employees shopped at the local K-Mart, spending no more than $25, and each team gave them their list. Martha's team lost. I'm sure by now you have realized that I am a dyed-in-the-wool Martha Stewart fan, that I can't help myself, and that I have not lost my admiration for her talents even though her lustre is a bit tarnished by being extraordinarily greedy and being sent to prison. She still makes beautiful stuff.
Back to the real world. George's office mates have special lunches for birthdays and events, (unlike my office that seldom celebrate together), so he also got to go out for lunch yesterday with his co-workers at my favorite Portugese restaurant, Atasca. Do I sound a little jealous? I feel like my day was mostly keeping nose to grindstone, and I had milk and cereal for dinner. Somehow, the fun has GOT to start soon!! Michael said that they had a flyer at his workplace yesterday about how to beat "holiday stress". He said, "I don't know what all that stress is about, we just sit on a couch and watch James Bond." Funny, Michael.
It is cold--7 degrees this morning--but with hope for warmer weather soon. Looks like Michael and Michelle will have good travel weather on Thursday. I can't wait to see them and for the fun to begin!
Have a wonderful stress-free day!
In the end, feeling very guilty for my stingy thoughts, I bought him a new pair of slacks and a matching knit shirt. I wanted to buy him a warm hat for "show snoveling" as he calls it, but didn't find one. Time to get the knitting needles out. He also got a new deep fryer (can't wait to try that out), a box of beautiful pears from Harry and David, an LLBean maroon sweater, another beautiful plaid shirt and dinner at a Korean restaurant with his son and daughter-in-law.
No, I didn't make this cake in the picture; Martha Stewart did, but we can dream can't we? Did you hear the news that they had a Christmas decorating contest at her prison? Prison employees shopped at the local K-Mart, spending no more than $25, and each team gave them their list. Martha's team lost. I'm sure by now you have realized that I am a dyed-in-the-wool Martha Stewart fan, that I can't help myself, and that I have not lost my admiration for her talents even though her lustre is a bit tarnished by being extraordinarily greedy and being sent to prison. She still makes beautiful stuff.
Back to the real world. George's office mates have special lunches for birthdays and events, (unlike my office that seldom celebrate together), so he also got to go out for lunch yesterday with his co-workers at my favorite Portugese restaurant, Atasca. Do I sound a little jealous? I feel like my day was mostly keeping nose to grindstone, and I had milk and cereal for dinner. Somehow, the fun has GOT to start soon!! Michael said that they had a flyer at his workplace yesterday about how to beat "holiday stress". He said, "I don't know what all that stress is about, we just sit on a couch and watch James Bond." Funny, Michael.
It is cold--7 degrees this morning--but with hope for warmer weather soon. Looks like Michael and Michelle will have good travel weather on Thursday. I can't wait to see them and for the fun to begin!
Have a wonderful stress-free day!
Monday, December 20, 2004
Arctic chill descends on Boston
An arctic chill has arrived this morning I am nervous about the roads going to work. The sander was already on our street, and we are on a dead end street, so hopefully that means they've learned from their past mistakes and the buses will no longer be sliding sideways down our hill.
I will be home late from work tonight, but then I can start on the assembly of the afghan. It took over four hours yesterday to weave the ends in the last of the pieces, but I stuck with it and got it done. We counted and labeled the blocks and made a "pattern" on a scrap of newspaper (which I can't find right now, but will, I'm sure.) We also baked chocolate chip and sugar cookies last night and took a plate of warm sugar cookies to our neighbors who watch Thunder when we go on vacation.
George is off to work early with the wrapped gifts for his dinner tonight, and at 6 this morning, the house was a bustle of activity looking for things. Time to take a breather and think about what the Christmas season is all about. Today is the last day for Christmas cards they say on TV this morning, so I have three of them that need to go out right away. We don't send a lot of cards anymore and I don't think very many people send them either. That seems to be a Christmas tradition that has gone by the wayside.
In the massive cleanup for the party, I have mislaid my small red address book, and today George was in the basement retrieving his "junk" box (full of important stuff) that he normally keeps on top of the microwave. Moving stuff for parties is deadly, since you sometimes never see it again.
Have a good Monday and if you are sliding around on the ice somewhere, be careful. If you are sitting under a palm tree in a tropical breeze....I don't want to think about it.
:-)
I will be home late from work tonight, but then I can start on the assembly of the afghan. It took over four hours yesterday to weave the ends in the last of the pieces, but I stuck with it and got it done. We counted and labeled the blocks and made a "pattern" on a scrap of newspaper (which I can't find right now, but will, I'm sure.) We also baked chocolate chip and sugar cookies last night and took a plate of warm sugar cookies to our neighbors who watch Thunder when we go on vacation.
George is off to work early with the wrapped gifts for his dinner tonight, and at 6 this morning, the house was a bustle of activity looking for things. Time to take a breather and think about what the Christmas season is all about. Today is the last day for Christmas cards they say on TV this morning, so I have three of them that need to go out right away. We don't send a lot of cards anymore and I don't think very many people send them either. That seems to be a Christmas tradition that has gone by the wayside.
In the massive cleanup for the party, I have mislaid my small red address book, and today George was in the basement retrieving his "junk" box (full of important stuff) that he normally keeps on top of the microwave. Moving stuff for parties is deadly, since you sometimes never see it again.
Have a good Monday and if you are sliding around on the ice somewhere, be careful. If you are sitting under a palm tree in a tropical breeze....I don't want to think about it.
:-)
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