Holiday Fun

How many people does it take to walk two dogs?  The more, the merrier!  (The photographer, yours truly, was the third.)

One holiday tradition that has been in our family for a long time is working on a puzzle together.  Dawn remembers visiting her grandparents at Christmas and helping them with the puzzle they always had in progress.  What makes this really fun is that people of all ages can contribute to completing the puzzle and can converse while working together.

Try it sometime!  It's low-tech fun!

Merry Christmas to All!

And in the words of Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol, "God bless us, every one!"

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas Day filled with things you enjoy, every one!



Christmas Eve

Today we went to Boston to get Dawn!  And we have another guest with us for Christmas--Wesley, Mark's sister's dog!

Since I wasn't sure how a Christmas tree would fare with two dogs and one cat, this year I put our 4-foot artificial tree on a table in front of the living room window.

I decorated it mostly with ornaments that Dawn helped me make when she was little--very little, because Ross wasn't even born yet!  Dawn helped me pick out a preprinted cloth panel, and then I sewed the ornaments on my machine. Dawn stuffed each one and was so proud to help!  It's such a lovely memory.

Later today we'll be baking cookies and getting ready for Santa.  Hope all your holiday plans are coming together nicely!

Our Nativity Set

Mark's mother made this nativity set when she was taking ceramics classes, probably in the late 1960s or early 1970s.  I always admired it in their home and we were fortunate to inherit it from Mark's parents.

Mark's mother obviously took a lot of time and care in making this nativity.  She applied the glazes so carefully and decorated some statues with tiny rhinestones.  The set is quite large, with the standing camels measuring 9 inches tall.  Yes, Lenox China mass produces a lovely and expensive nativity set but this one is special to us because it was handcrafted by a family member.  We're pleased to display this nativity set in our home at Christmas.

Christmas Ornaments

It's so much fun to look at colorful Christmas ornaments!

These are the best kind of "vintage" glass ornaments--the ones I grew up with!

A Christmas Tradition

Aunt Dot came into my life the year after my mother died when she became engaged to my new stepmother's brother.  Every Christmas, one of the presents our family received from Aunt Dot and Uncle Steve would be a loaf of her homemade nut bread, a Slovak delicacy.  And every Christmas afternoon when we visited them, Aunt Dot would serve her nut bread and poppyseed bread.  Shortly after we were married, I'm pretty sure I hinted broadly to Aunt Dot that Mark and I would love to receive our own loaf of nut bread for Christmas.  Being such a sweet and kind lady, of course she obliged.  One year as I raved again about her nut bread, Aunt Dot assured me that I could learn to make it--and she then proceeded to write out 4 pages of directions for me.

Now every Christmas I make Aunt Dot's nut bread.  It's not quite the same, but I think it gets a little closer to hers each time I make it.  For a self-taught cook like myself, making a yeast bread from scratch is quite an ambitious undertaking.  The recipe calls for 10 cups of flour and makes 8 loaves!  In honor of Aunt Dot, making nut bread is a Christmas tradition that I treasure.



A Christmas Stocking

Family legend is that my mother made this Christmas stocking for me.  Since I have so few tangible reminders of my mother and even fewer memories, it is very special to me.  It's missing a few sequins but otherwise is in perfect condition!

When Ross was 8 years old and in third grade, he wrote a special story about this stocking and illustrated it for me as a Christmas surprise. 

After Ross had glued the story and the drawing to construction paper, his teacher (who now lives across the street from us) laminated it to preserve it.

As someone who has worked with elementary school students for years, I realize how much careful effort Ross put into this project.  Now his gift is as precious to me as the stocking itself.  I proudly display it every Christmas. 

May a little surprise bring lasting joy into your life!

A Christmas Sweet

It's December--time to make the rum balls!  Midnight Rum Balls have been one of Mark's favorite Christmas treats ever since I found the recipe in a magazine when we were newlyweds.

Ingredients:
     1 package chocolate wafer cookies, finely crushed
     1/2 cup confectioners sugar
     1 cup finely chopped walnuts
     3 tablespoons cocoa
     2 tablespoons light corn syrup
     1/3 cup rum
     granulated sugar

I use a food processor to crush the cookies into crumbs and to chop the nuts finely.



 

Put the wafer crumbs, confectioners sugar, nuts and cocoa into a bowl and mix well with a spoon.

Add the corn syrup and the rum. 



Mix well with a spoon until blended.  Chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Shape into balls, wetting hands slightly if hands become sticky.  (I use a metal teaspoon to get a bit of dough and then roll it in my palms.)  Roll balls in granulated sugar. Store covered in a cool place. 

These taste better the next day after the flavors have time to meld.  I've also used different liquers with success but always seem to come back to the rum.  The recipe is supposed to make 48 one-inch balls but I usually get less, about 30 or so 3/4 inch balls--maybe because I grind the cookies into such fine crumbs in the food processor. 

Making these Midnight Rum Balls has become a Christmas tradition in our home--they're easy, tasty, and different than the typical Christmas cookie.  Enjoy!

A Christmas Treasure

This creche has been in my family for as long as I can remember.  I wish I had thought to ask my dad for its history--I'm not sure if my parents bought it as newlyweds or when dad came back from WWII, or maybe it was a gift to them.

It's quite an ingenious design really--the part with the 3 Kings and shepherd folds into the main part of the creche for storage!

As a young child, I loved hearing stories about Baby Jesus and celebrating His birth at Christmas.  These statues fascinated me, especially the animals!

The brightly colored figures look like miniature versions of the large creche that was set up in our church.  The tallest king is only 4 inches high!  My dad always treasured this little creche, and that makes it very special to me. 

May Christmas treasures from your past bring you many happy memories!

Friday Fun at Hill-Stead

Sharon asked me if I would be willing to lead one of the special theme tours being offered at Hill-Stead on Friday evening.  Basically I would bring my group to different rooms in the house to see the "performers" while imparting Yule lore in appropriate places.

Fortunately she provided lots of Christmas research so each of the 3 tour guides could decide what we would say and where. The house looked so lovely at night!

It's amazing how many holiday traditions that are still popular today began during Queen Victoria's long reign.  Her husband Prince Albert introduced the German custom of keeping a Christmas tree to the English royal family in 1841.  When an illustration of Victoria, Albert, and their children around their Christmas tree was published in London in 1848, the custom spread throughout England.  That same illustration was published in the US in 1850, causing Christmas trees to become enormously popular here.

According to Druid custom, whenever enemies met under mistletoe in the forest, they would lay down their arms and observe a truce until the next day. This evolved into exchanging kisses under mistletoe as a sign of friendship and goodwill.  The English custom of kissing under the mistletoe had the restriction that there could be only as many kisses as berries--every time a couple kissed under the mistletoe, a berry had to be removed!

Holly wreaths were hung on the inside of Hill-Stead's windows when Theodate lived there.  Did you know that holly was the sacred plant of the Roman god Saturn and was used during Saturnalia celebrations?  Early Christians celebrated Christ's birth at the same time as Saturnalia, using decorations of holly to avoid persecution.

I learned a lot about Christmas from reading those 8 pages of research! 

Thailand Photos

I really enjoy looking at the photos from Mark and Dawn's trip to the World Orchid Conference, but some of my favorites are from their time in Thailand.

Vendors prepare meals right in their boats!

At the Tiger Temple, the monks or tiger handlers would position the tigers with the tourists and take their photos.  Mark literally has a tiger by the tail!

The handlers exercise the tigers in the water using cat toys made from empty feed bags dangling on the end of bamboo poles.

I'm glad Mark and Dawn had such a fun "daddy-daughter" trip.  Now they have special memories that will last a lifetime.

'Piece'ful Quilts

Some pieced quilts achieve stunning simplicity with a restrained color palette.

I find their subtle use of color very peaceful, don't you?

Wishing you a peaceful day, wherever you are!

"Lollypop Trees" Quilt

A local quilter exhibited her beautiful appliqued quilt in the "Lollypop Trees" pattern by famous Australian quilt designer Kim McLean.

There are whole websites devoted to Kim's colorful modern designs using Kaffe Fassett's fabrics.  Check out this blog for examples of other quilters' work.

Even though the blocks are large, I'm sure they take a long time to complete.

Have a wonderful weekend--be sure to make time for fun!

Back to Quilts

It seems like a long, long time ago when Mark and I attended the Farmington Valley Quilt Show on October 16th.  I still have many photos to share.

This beauty took more than 10 years to make and the handwork is exquisite. 

It's a combination of the traditional "double wedding ring" pieced pattern with a center of hand-appliqued orchids.  I love the way this quilter incorporated beads into her original design.  What an heirloom!