Sit a Spell

I don't know what it was like at your house this weekend but our place was hoppin'! We seem to be decorating in fits and spurts this year and even though we decorated two trees the weekend after Thanksgiving, the main tree was minus its top until today.

During the month of December I'm participating in Susan's Christmas photo challenge. Yesterday's prompt was 'the Christmas tree' and today's prompt is 'presents wrapped under the tree' which, let me tell you, was a bit of an incentive to get it all together! Okay, maybe not all together but at least the tree bit. I'm still going to cheat a little though, and post a two for one deal because a. there are only so many hours in the day and b. Christmas will be here in three weeks. Three weeks? Wait, it's December?? What happened to November?

Is your tree up? Decorated? Real or artificially beautiful? Glitter and bling or homespun happiness? I think the soft quiet light of a Christmas tree at night would make my list of favorite things.

"You will conceive and give birth to a son and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end."

Luke 1: 31-33 (NIV)

You want lists I got lists...

I'm participating in Susan's December photo challenge which you can read about here. The idea is to take one photo a day between now and Christmas that goes along with each day's word prompt. There are many wonderful photographers out there in the blogosphere, but sadly I am not one of them. I love pictures and I take lots of them, but I'm not a skilled photographer and I don't have a fancy camera. Today's prompt is 'a list'.

I might have a list or ten around here. Lists of menus for the many meals I'll be preparing over the holidays, grocery lists to go with the menu lists, lists of gift ideas, lists of gifts bought, lists of cookies to be baked, a Christmas card list...there's more. I do love me a good list. That being said, when you consider my lame photography skills I don't think taking a picture of all those lists would be very exciting for my readership. Ha.

As opposed to all these words I've written explaining myself. ahem

So here's my list.

In photo form-

I have a luncheon to attend today and I'm bringing a starter. There will be about 50 people at the luncheon and not a lot of oven space so I opted for something cold. These are the ingredients you'll need to prepare mustard-dill tortellini skewers.

Adorable German Baker Smoker is optional.

He needed to be in the picture I think.

Now I could put the actual list of ingredients and the steps to follow written in list form on my blog today but it's easier to direct you to the source-Southern Living. You'll find the recipe here.

I've made this recipe once before in the summertime and it's delicious. I think with its red, white, and green color scheme it works for a Christmas party too.

Hope you check many things off your list(s) this weekend! It's not too late to join the photo challenge... hop over to Susan's blog and add your link.

"But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God." Luke 1:30 (NIV)

A day in the life

The first of December and the blogosphere is full of posts about decorating and recipes and holiday plans. You might be expecting to find a post related to the season of Christmas here too. Sigh.

Today I give you a peek inside my logistically complicated world. I am doing my absolute best to drive our investment advisor bonkers all because daughter2 turned 21 in September. When your baby turns 21 all sorts of paperwork needs to change in order to keep things legal like. Essentially 'her' account can no longer include 'our' name even though it is 'our' money going in. And coming out...mustn't forget that! Pesky tuition.

I have exchanged no less than ten phone calls and fifteen emails with the investment people trying to get the new account set up correctly. They need a letter stating blah blah blah. They need eighteen forms signed. They need a copy of our utility bill. They need they need they need. They need her SS card. That one seems like no biggie, right? Ha! In our house that's a biggie. Where is that darn card? Daughter2 thought she had a copy but alas, she kept the receipt end and tossed the actual card. Learning curve people. I thought I had a copy so yesterday I trekked to the safety deposit box with my fingers and toes crossed but no luck. She could go get a new card in between student teaching, studying for exams, and completing end of semester projects and papers, except she is in South Carolina and her birth certificate is in NJ and her passport is in DC. Plus, she's under a lot of pressure at the moment and it's highly unlikely spending an entire day in the SS office will do anything to make that better.

Investment people say they can accept a couple of other docs in place of the SS card but do we have those docs? No sirree. Daughter2 can also fax a pay stub to them but daughter2 is in class and can't be given this piece of information. And does she have a window in her day today to do this? And do I have a bajillion other things to be doing besides going thru tax returns and file cabinets in an attempt to find something suitable? Do other people with young adult kids have the same issues? I feel like a part of ours is due to the fact that we are spread out into three different states. I think my girls should just move closer to home, what do y'all think?

I know we'll get it sorted eventually. I also know there will be a few more phone calls and emails exchanged before we do but its December and I am determined to capture a bit of the Christmas spirit around here today. Susan is hosting a little December photo project and I am going to join in on the fun when I can. The idea is to take one photo a day for the next 25 days and post it on your blog. She has a prompt for each day which you'll find here. I may not get to all of them but today's prompt is something red and I think I can manage that one.

It seems only appropriate to include this sweet little ornament Daughter2 made for me when she was in kindergarten. Which was yesterday. Makes me forget my aggravation and remember all that is precious in this world.

"In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary." Luke 1:26-27 (NIV)

Greetings of the Season from the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 55

I see Volume 55 and I think AARP and speed limits. Since I can't seem to tie either of those two thoughts into the Hodgepodge today I think we'll just get on with the questions. Be sure to link your own post at the bottom of mine and then go visit some of the friends and neighbors who have also played along today. Here we go-

1. Do you send Christmas cards? If so, about how many will you send this year? How do you display the cards you receive? Or don't you? (gasp!)

Definitely. I love Christmas cards, both the sending and the receiving. I especially love the cards with a photo enclosed. Our friends and family are scattered far and wide so I enjoy seeing how everyone has grown up during the year. I'm not a letter hater either so go ahead and brag on your kids to me because I truly don't mind. Call me nosy or call me curious or maybe just call me a blogger.

I have a cute little card holder I keep on my kitchen desk and that's where the opened cards go. I'd like to do one of the cute displays I've seen on Pinterest but haven't had a chance yet. We send roughly 100 cards and receive about the same.

2. When do kids become adults?

Interesting. My girls are in their early 20's so I guess they're adults. Okay yes, they're adults. Sigh. Sometimes I like to pretend they're still 8 and 10. I'm a mother, what can I say? My girls are independent, thoughtful, compassionate women I am proud to know.

I'm not sure chronological age is always an accurate measure of adult-ness. I know plenty of people who left their 20's behind a long time ago yet they still manage to have lots of growing up to do. I think we reach adulthood, hopefully in our late teens and early 20's, but the process is started much earlier. We need our parents to be parents and nudge us in that direction all along the rocky road to being a grown up.

Its not easy making your babies stand on their own two feet when what you'd really like to do is swoop in and make their way easy, but how are they to become adults if we don't let them test the waters? Have confidence in the children you've raised (staying on your knees doesn't hurt either).

Did you come here for advice today? Sorry-it just kinda spilled out onto the page.

3. Does your 'beauty regimen' change with the seasons?

How many people do you think will begin their answer to this question with the phrase-"Beauty regimen? What beauty regimen?" More than a few I suspect. I guess the biggest change for me is in hydration...winter means slathering myself in lotion a couple of times a day and upping the moisturizer on my face because the indoor heat tends to really dry out my skin. I also apply lip gloss in abundance because chapped lips=ewww.

4. What's something you like to eat that might cause another person to turn up their nose?

I love picking crabs and the process does involve a little bit of the gross in that you have to scrape off the lungs and some gooey mush before getting to the good stuff. I also love escargot cooked in a garlic butter sauce, mussels in white wine, and grilled octopus. There are people who turn their noses up at that but I say they don't know what they're missing.

When I was a little girl I went through a phase where I put ketchup on my rice. I don't do that anymore but I know it did kind of disgust my fellow diners.

5. Gloves or Mittens?

Depends on what I'm doing...gloves for winter walks, driving around town and of course for just plain style...mittens for playing in the snow. I can wear either for skiing. Mittens are supposed to keep your hands warmer but I'm a little dorky with a ski pole so for the safety of everyone around me gloves are probably the better option.

6. What's the longest queue you've ever been in? Was it worth it? Queue=line but doesn't queue sound so much nicer?

The longest queue I've ever seen was the one at the entrance to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Seriously it went for miles. Or kilometers. Whatever-it was long! We were with a tour group going thru the museum and I recommend that to anyone considering a visit. We bypassed the ultra long queue and pretty much went straight in.

The longest queue I've had to stand in was probably outside St. Paul's Cathedral in London on Christmas Eve. You had to get there early in order to get inside and in spite of arriving at a ridiculous hour the line was still wrapped around the block. Was it worth it? It was St. Paul's Cathedral on Christmas Eve...of course it was worth it.

7. Besides Christmas, what is one thing you are looking forward to this December?

Hubs, daughter2 and I will be attending a wedding later this month. We know the bride and her family from our years in the UK. She and daughter2 went all the way from grade 8 thru high school graduation together. They also spent quality time bonding in scouting and Young Life so we definitely want to be there for her big day. Daughter2 is excited because a few friends from high school will also be attending and she hasn't seen any of them since her last Christmas in England which was 2008. I love weddings, even those that fall the weekend before Christmas in a city famous for its crazy snow.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I mentioned last week that hubs made a deliciously creamy wild rice soup as a starter to our Thanksgiving meal. Several people asked for the recipe so I'm posting the link here-

It came from the November issue of Family Circle magazine and I would definitely make this again-it was wonderful.

Questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 55

Here are the questions for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge...see you back here tomorrow to share answers.

1. Do you send Christmas cards? If so about how many will you send this year? How do you display the cards you receive? Or don't you? (gasp!)

2. When do kids become adults?

3. Does your 'beauty regimen' change with the seasons?

4. What's something you like to eat that might cause another person to turn up their nose?

5. Gloves or mittens?

6. What's the longest queue you've ever been in? Was it worth it? Queue=line but doesn't queue sound nicer?

7. Besides Christmas, what is one thing you are looking forward to in the month of December?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Happiness Is...

Years ago there was a cute little Peanuts cartoon that featured Snoopy hugging Lucy with a caption underneath that said-'happiness is a warm puppy'.

Do you know what else happiness is?

It's a day spent outdoors...

with little girls all grown up still walking arm in arm

on a beautiful blue sky day.

Happiness is sweethearts...

both the young and the 'not so young'.

It's an afternoon movie and a game of cards around the kitchen table.

It's bowling balls and laughter.

Happiness is daughters and a day set aside to give thanks.

It's a football game...

won in the literal last minute of play.

Happiness is a red velvet cupcake and a million dollar smile...

It's fathers...

and sisters...

and family...

and yes, happiness is most definitely a warm puppy too.

Full.

Thanksgiving might be my favorite day of the year. It definitely ranks right up there anyway. We had our usual feast with the addition of a wonderfully creamy and delicious mushroom soup the hubs added as a starter to this year's menu.

We woke up to beautiful sunny blue skies that stayed with us all day. Sunshine makes even the best days better.

So does pie. Daughter1 baked our traditional well-loved angel pie and Daughter2 made the pumpkin. She added a fancy crust this year.

Everyone hung out in the kitchen mixing and stirring and washing dishes...doesn't it seem like you wash the same mixing bowl ten times on Thanksgiving morn?

We watched bits and pieces of the parade and a lot of football. After dinner and dishes we dragged ourselves out to the firepit. Someone was in all their glory here...just sayin'.

When the fire burned down we moved from the outdoor couch to the one indoors for the traditional 'kick off to Christmas' showing of Home Alone. We've seen it at least 20 times but an iron in the forehead never gets old.

It was a day for full stomachs and full hearts. I hope yours was the same.