What’s your favorite holiday tradition this time of year?
Feel free to Share & Tell…..and I’ll tell you, initially, why I enjoy this time year so much:
First, there’s seems to be a struggle and a challenge on the West Coast to find the feeling of family, given so many of us are newcomers living far away from our roots (That’s me raising my hand as high as possible.)
For example, it was with great chagrin and regret that I bid my first cousin goodbye a few years ago when she and her wonderful family moved to Kansas City from Novato in Marin County, CA where we both lived.
So now Linda and I are without any immediate family in Marin County, though it’s nice her folks are 60 miles away to the south.
Seeking more and ongoing connection and bonding with community, we’ve found surrogate replacements, such as the Swing Dance community (lots of fun!) and (for me) conservation volunteering (local Audubon chapter).
But none of it replaces true family……which is why my vote for a favorite holiday tradition is to send out a plenitude of holiday cards, each with a current photo of our little threesome tribe: me, Linda and our Dogter: Sierra, a sweet-sweet, 12-year-old black labrador.
Getting together with friends at holiday time is also heart-warming…….This year, Joan Walsh, kicked off the holiday cheer in a special way a couple nights ago by inviting us for her Tree Trimming Party. Thanks Joan (!) – and Linda and I enjoyed meeting your daughter, Nora, your siser, and your friends, in addition to marveling at your cool and elegant abode. Great to see you!
Daniel Edelstein, who better get busy with the holiday card sendout (i.e., this year’s version has an artistic Snowy Owl on the cover, one of your Wisconsin winter rare visitors……)
Feel free to Share & Tell…..and I’ll tell you, initially, why I enjoy this time year so much:
First, there’s seems to be a struggle and a challenge on the West Coast to find the feeling of family, given so many of us are newcomers living far away from our roots (That’s me raising my hand as high as possible.)
For example, it was with great chagrin and regret that I bid my first cousin goodbye a few years ago when she and her wonderful family moved to Kansas City from Novato in Marin County, CA where we both lived.
So now Linda and I are without any immediate family in Marin County, though it’s nice her folks are 60 miles away to the south.
Seeking more and ongoing connection and bonding with community, we’ve found surrogate replacements, such as the Swing Dance community (lots of fun!) and (for me) conservation volunteering (local Audubon chapter).
But none of it replaces true family……which is why my vote for a favorite holiday tradition is to send out a plenitude of holiday cards, each with a current photo of our little threesome tribe: me, Linda and our Dogter: Sierra, a sweet-sweet, 12-year-old black labrador.
Getting together with friends at holiday time is also heart-warming…….This year, Joan Walsh, kicked off the holiday cheer in a special way a couple nights ago by inviting us for her Tree Trimming Party. Thanks Joan (!) – and Linda and I enjoyed meeting your daughter, Nora, your siser, and your friends, in addition to marveling at your cool and elegant abode. Great to see you!
Daniel Edelstein, who better get busy with the holiday card sendout (i.e., this year’s version has an artistic Snowy Owl on the cover, one of your Wisconsin winter rare visitors……)
31 comments:
Dan,
After reading this I got that warm feeling like you get on a rainy day when you curl up on the couch with a cup of hot tea and watch movies all day.
Back to the question...
I am a big nostolgic sap when it comes to the holidays (sorry Claudia). And there are certain things (other that the decorating, etc.)that I have to do every year.
I love to wrap presents on XMas Eve after everyone goes to bed. And while I am wrapping, I watch The Christmas Story and drink Irish Cream and coffee.
I have to listen to David Bowie and Bing Crosby sing the Little Drummer Boy / Peace on Earth at least 1000 times.
My sister from Albuquerque flys in every year and stays with me for a week. She is very funny and makes me laugh the entire time.
I spend way too much money on Christmas trees and every year I tell my husband I spent $30.00. (And every year he believes me).
I love to wake on on Christmas morn and open presents (favorite part!!).
this year is a great Christmas (and holiday season) for the friends I have reconnected with and the good things we have done in our lives thus far... God bless. AEN
Happy Holidays to all of my new friends again!
I love this time of the season, I love fireplaces and Christmas trees.
On Christmas eve all of my family that is here comes to dinner and the kids open presents from them, and then on Christmas mornings we open all the presents from Santa and I make a big breakfast, later in the day who ever wants to come for dinner, friends and all will usually come around 4 and we have a big turkey dinner. That's our tradition around here. The only thing that can really make me depressed is if the temp outside is in the 80's or 90's! THAT really pisses me off!
Nice Laurel....Sounds marvelous. I envy your 80s and 90s. Please give me some of those temps up here in MeatLocker Frigid N. CA where we're in the 30s every night this week. Popsicle Daniel......
Hey popsicle Dan, 2 of my kids spent the week-end in Napa and said it was cold, I told them to take their ski jackets, but no did they listen, they were freezing, until the Mom they were with went out and bought all the kids jackets! It was 80 today, but now the temp has dropped to 50, so I will quit whining for now.
Stay warm. L
I too have to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" and also "White Christmas". My Daughter and Grandkids come Xmas Eve. Of course we have to put out cookies and milk for Santa.
After the kids are in bed she stuffs their stockings, then when she goes to bed I still stuff one for her. Also, every year I buy my Daughter and I matching P.J.'s, we get a kick out of it (Well I think she does). By this time I have to rouse my Husband from his comfy chair to scoot to bed.
I stay up late to wrap the remaining presents and enjoy sitting with just the Xmas tree lights on and being grateful I have a Family.
Of course the best part is watching the grandkids run to the tree in the morning yelling Santa came!!!
Hello to Andy N. and Daniel E. nice to be reading you both on the Blog :)
hey-- no whining about 30's during the night-- it's 30's here during the day and 20's at night. This is good, because when the 8 inches of snow fell, it was really light weight to shovel
Hi Anita, I can't keep track of where everyone is, I need to write it down, menopause and all (sorry boys)
are you in Kalamazoo?
Yup-- Kalamazoo, Michigan, where the snow is still falling, and everything is white--
So cool that Joan and Dan got together, wonderful way to reconnect, (again all thanks to Gary & Claudia).
Great reading.... amazing how simular my holidays are to all of yours? Our Midwest background perhaps? But no Christmas Eve wrapping for me; my family lives a thousand miles away, got to wrap and ship NOW!
Christmas in New England can be intimidating - living up to the Mystique and all? I do try, but it is 50 degrees out today, so no snow yet!! Watching "White Christmas" helps!
On Sunday Santa does come to our town, and into the harbor on a Boat, where he gets picked up by 4 Clydsdales! What does Chevy Chase say? "Cue the reindeer"??
Along with cookie baking, decorating, and bell ringing for the Sal. Army, my favorite tradition is the "Yankee Swap". Everyone brings their worst gift(wrapped), to regift, or if you only get taseful gifts, buy one that is funny, useless, and totally ridiculous, for a gift grab! Last year my 15 year old son got stuck with the Easy Bake Oven, not even the original, some cheapo knock off!. It always makes for many laughs! This works for a New Years Party too.
Good luck everyone with all your holiday prep! Take time to stop and smell the tree, (or coffee)!!
Brilliant
A Cheese Bra for my Yankee Swap Gift. Perfect tacky gift. I'll have to get my sis to mail me one of those. Hope they aren't obsolete yet?
Deb-- just go online to PackerTime.com
Hey, is Jodie back in Milwaukee yet? Is the computer fired up? We're still blogging on the coffee clutch below...
and the food blog
Wow, Claudia! You've come up with the perfect picture again!!
Thanks, Anita. I'm putting up pictures and running, though. I'm out of town and need to call my kid! love c
Thanks Anita, will do just that. Did you get more "lake effect" snow yesterday?
Again love the picture Claud.
Claudia-- in what town are you now?
Deb-- the lake effect just keeps coming and coming!!
At least it's real fluffy-- the ICY temperatures keep it light. It's a whopping 18 degrees this morning!!
Hi All, it is so good to be back in Milw., it's taken about a week to resolve the jet lag. So hearing all your xmas plans and traditions has helped me get into the swing of things. Xmas eve is usually at my place and involves mostly italian food that I cook and everybody brings a little something. Calamari, eggplant caponata, grilled baby artichokes for starters, then on to a baked pasta dish with speidini, of course plenty of wine and finishing with italian cookies. The cookies are the most traditional part and I have to tell you a little story why. I'll try to make it brief.
Anyone that was at my house growing up has had these, Story you know them well and so does Thalia. When my Mom died, of course there was not a recipe and my sister tried making them once but she didn't get it. About 2 cookieless years later, my younger brother visited the Dr. and the nurse, recognizing his name said she took care of my mother when she was sick and she has been making the cookie recipe my mother gave her ever since! She had a hand written recipe from my mother which she gave to us. It was truly a gift. My sister and I make them every year laughing and crying and our kids, who are all young adults, think they taste just like Nanas did. By the way Anita, my Mom was born on December 7th. And Joan, I am glad to have timed a SF visit with one of your tree trimming partys - it was a great one.
Cool!
Sounds like you have a recipe you could share on the recipe blog-- even complete with heartwarming story!
Hey Jodie what's that eggplant capaonata?? I'd love to see a recipe for that on the blog.
username: slackercooks@yahoo.com
password: shorewood
hint hint
And welcome home, too!
Jodie, it's great to hear from you. You brought back many good memories for me. Remember when we would go to your house for lunch and your mother would have a homemade hot pizza waiting for us, all I could think of was ok, this never happens at my house and my mother is Italian!
I also remember your brother saying to you " sorry to late ", Is'nt it wierd how all these memories come flooding back? I also remember Ingrid, you were the first two people I met when I moved to Shorewoood, from Chicago.
Merry Christmas!
Laurel, I love that you have that memory, was it 4th grade when you arrived? What a concept - kids going home for lunch. I ran into Margie Stemper awhile ago and she was going to Ingrids 25th wedding anniversary!
About the recipe Claudia - I'm a little slow and just getting the hang of this blog. I'll work on it. Should I be going to the most recent post to comment, or do I just keep checking them all, or is it conversation specific.....very challenged here.
Hi Jodie! I think most people just sort of scan the sections they've commented on, or whatever looks interesting...for me, I have a blog feed, so I see everything. It comes to my email and I read it -- there were days I got 40 emails or more, I'm sure, of just conversations people were having on the blog, but I am often too busy to comment. I should check to see how you can get the feed. I'll try and find out.
Jodie, stick with the most recent one, we rarely stay on one topic for very long!
Where is Ingrid and do you still stay in touch?
Yes, it was fourth grade when I came to Shorewood, first I was at Lake Bluff then Atwater.
Claudia, had already pressed send to Jodie, then saw what you said about the feed, let us know about that when you figure it out, I'm not sure how that works.
All I can find so far is a place where I can insert a single email address to receive new posts, but not the whole blog. I can't believe it would be so hard! I'll keep searching and see what I can find...
Hi Jodie, what a wonderful story (and recipes) you have to pass down for generations to come.
Glad your back home safe and sound for the Holidays.
Merry Christmas :)
Claudia, you know how Gary's Guestbook has a place that you can check off to receive email notifications of new entries? Is that something like what you are talking about putting on the blog?
Yes, Anita. Just like that. I have to find where/how to do that, though. Does your husband know, by any chance?
ChangeDetection.com
I gave them your email address
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