Ten to One Meme -- Day 1

Arwen created this as a reaallly long meme, but since it has ten parts, I'm doing one a day for ten days. (And with any luck, getting back in the habit of blogging.)

Someone gives you TEN million dollars, but you have only TEN weeks to spend it or it's lost (and it can't be invested in any sort of accounts - you've got to spend it on services or material things). What TEN things do you do with it?

1. Buy out all the houses in my neighborhood. We have been sitting under the shadow of a major public-works project for six years now, and they just announced another delay. We all want OUT; I’d make that happen. The state could reimburse me or not, when it finally gets its act together.

2. Buy at least a nicer house for us. AWAY from the project zone. And furnish it lavishly.

3. Make big ol' charitable donations. Lots of them. This should really be number one, but I’m too lazy to move it.

4. Plan and fund a family reunion for my husband’s family. They live all over the country, and the cousins never are all in the same place. And add an extra week for my family!
5. Buy some really beautiful shoes and clothes. And some leather handbags that won’t wear out in one season. I’m picky, though, so I’d probably have these custom made. And maybe the shoes and clothes, too.
6. Buy a HUGH freezer, or maybe two, and load it up with top end meats and seafood. And stock my dream pantry.
7. Spend a lot of money on kitchen equipment, linens, drapes, wall hangings, and other domestic appointments.
8. Hire a cleaning service that does contracts, then pay ahead for as much time as they'll let me. (Thanks, Arwen. Who could mess with this one?!)
9. Replace all the aging technology in our household – computers, cars, stereo, third generation iPods. Also all the appliances.

10. Use the remainder of the money to buy some beautiful and very valuable jewelry, which I can sell off as I need more cash. I would use Arwen’s cheat here, but frankly my guess is that I’d be about broke by now.

Coming soon.....

To a blog near you (or one you've almost forgotten about) -- ten days of meme!

Courtesy of Arwen, except that I'm too lazy to do it all at once..... (but you knew that.)

Katie #3 -- The word's "Tenacious!" Really.

I have been seriously deficient in finishing off this NaBloPoMo-inspired series about each of my kids, including going back and giving a Mom's-eye-view of Arwen. I can't promise a post every day until next November, but I am going to work very hard at finishing at least one per week. Call me on it if I don't!

When our children were born, one of the first things Roger did for each of them was pray for them -- hand on tiny head, -- a personal blessing, which then became that child's bedtime blessing. Most of the blessing is the same for all the children, but there's a different special word for each one of them. (".....May God give you strength, and peace, and _______ all the days of your life....") George's word is "courage." Rosie's is "joy." Katie's -- "tenacity."

I have no idea how Roger came up with the specific word for each child (revelation? luck? randomness?) but it is clear that being prayed for in such a way has given each of them the quality named in their blessing. Of course in Katie's case, it's quite possible that she'd have had it anyway. At least we have a nice word for it. "Tenacious" is so much more positive than "pigheaded."

I've already called Katie stubborn, independent, and feisty. To that list you can add, in capital letters, CREATIVE. She's our only left-handed child, which indicates a differently wired brain, and while no less intelligent than her siblings she shows it much more in artistic rather than academic arenas. It took me a while to adjust my mothering style to her. I would walk into the room she shared with Maggie, see the mixture of scissors and paper scraps and ribbon and what-not and begin to yell -- "Katie, clean up this mess!" (Maggie's my tidy one; I knew it wasn't her mess.) Only after years, and a breakthrough in understanding, did I learn to look around first, and say "Oh, Katie, what a lovely mobile! Now don't you think it's time to clean up the stuff you used?"

Katie had some adjusting to do as well. Kindergarten went just fine for her, but when she got into first grade and began to have spelling words -- oh, my! I had gone over spelling words with all the older children, but with Katie... I'd ask her to spell "then", she'd think for a minute, and triumphantly pronounce "T-E-N-H!" A long argument would follow about whether that was right or not. From Katie's point of view, she'd said all the right letters; what was wrong? Getting them in the right order was an unnecessary waste of time.

(This has been in my drafts folder for too long. .. To be continued....)

Quick hello!

I am working on my third post about Katie. I would like to get through all the kids' biographies before anything major changes! But I am dealing with a Katie-induced flurry of costume production and modification (stay tuned for details) and I simply can't do as much as I'd like to.

However, several people have gently inquired as to how I can read in the shower. There are two facets to this: 1) non-valuable lightweight books and 2) long arms. I hold the book in my left hand and wash with my right. I don't usually read while I'm washing my hair, but since it's almost to my waist and is rather a production to wash, I only do it three times a week.

I honestly didn't know this was strange until I was out of college and mentioned it to my roommate. I had always read in the bathtub at home -- we didn't have a shower -- and kept it up in the showers in college, because it was always smart to take a book along anyway since you might have to wait for the few showers per floor. And I couldn't carry a big, heavy textbook down there, so light reading was permissible!

Actually, I guess I should just admit that I'm a book junkie. I have even read while kneading bread dough. (Not such a good idea. Do not try this at home!) If you have any further questions, just ask! And I hope to be back shortly with Katie #3.

Book Meme

Rosemary tagged me for the book meme that's been going around.

Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.

The nearest book to me is almost always whatever novel I'm working on. I read everywhere -- while cooking, in the bathroom, even in the shower! Since I have a free minute and I'm sitting here at the computer, my book is right by me..... The Grilling Season by Diane Mott Davidson. This is the seventh book in a series of mysteries-with-recipes; the main character and detective of sorts is a caterer.

Alas, page 123 is the end of a chapter, and only contains four sentences. So I'm moving to page 124.

"The interior consisted of a large space, fancifully called "the Ballroom," and a more intimate adjoining space known as "the Octagon." Both rooms provided unequaled views of the lake. There was a kitchen, too."


All the books are set in "Aspen Meadow", a theoretical suburb of Denver. This is a very typical place description. It goes on to mention that of course the kitchen doesn't have a view!

I tag Jen, Lindsay, Arwen, Tracy, and Kim.

I seem to remember that some of you have done this before, but not in the last six weeks -- I checked! Surely you must have a new book around by now. ;-D

Eleven and a Half!

Roger and I have a tradition that goes back at least five years and maybe longer. Whenever one of us has had too much same-old-same-old, or when things are crazy busy, or when we suddenly get a burst of the "I'm so glad I married you feeling", we will say to the other one "Nine!!", or some other number. This is a reference to how many months it is until our next scheduled Stratford visit.

As I said in my last post, we have been going there every January for ten years now, and I don't think I can possibly convey how many good feelings come with every repetition of "Six" or "Four". It doesn't even have to be a small number; just knowing that our Stratford week is coming is a guaranteed day-brightener. In fact, when I was seeing a counselor for my anxiety-panic disorder, one of my best relaxation scenarios was going mentally step-by-step through settling into room 201. (Yes, we are such creatures of habit that we ask for the same room every year. We've only had a different one twice, and one of those is exactly the same layout, just one flight up.) The window to 201 is the one right above the sign on the picture of Bentley's Annex above. The pictures in the link are actually of room 201 :-D !

And what do we do after we've settled into room 201? (The candles go here, my underwear goes in this drawer, put the DVD's on that side of the desk.) NOTHING!!! Or at least, as little as possible. We go out for breakfast and dinner, and sometimes for coffee if they haven't done the room while we were out. (Actually, as a person who likes coffee best as a flavoring, I always have a caffe mocha -- theirs are the BEST.) Sometimes we do some shopping -- we have a bookstore we're partial to (Callan Books on York Street; they don't seem to have a website.) -- and sometimes we take a walk through the snow. (There is almost always snow, but that's OK. It wouldn't be OUR Stratford week without snow.) But usually we spend our time in the double Jacuzzi reading books and drinking ginger beer. When our skin starts to pucker, we get out and read some more, or play Trivial Pursuit, or watch a movie. (This is usually a "chick flick" -- I have the best husband in the world, who humors me. He watches "guy movies" with our sons.) If we get hungry, we eat some cheese and crackers, (or kippers for Roger!) or have a piece of shortbread. Three full meals a day would be too much when we're not doing anything. And this year we did even more nothing than usual, because we were still getting over the flu. Some nights we went to bed at 8 PM!

This year our shopping was curtailed a little bit by the strong Canadian dollar. Some years when we exchanged our money at the border, we got half-again as much Canadian. This year, it was a tiny bit less than our US amount. But we made sure we had enough for Callan's, and two of our other favorite places, Rheo Thompson Candy
and Distinctly Tea.

Rheo Thompson is a Stratford institution, and while all their candy is wonderful, we tend to over-indulge in mint smoothies and dark chocolate ginger. And Distinctly Tea ...... well, I think I've already mentioned that I've raised a family of tea snobs. Cold water brought to a rolling boil (but not for too long), brewed exactly so long in a warmed pot, and has to be good tea. Currently Katie and I are on an "single-estate tea" kick. It's a really good thing that American tourists who stay more than 48 hours in Canada can bring back a lot duty free!

So that was our week in Stratford -- sleep, eat, rinse (in the Jacuzzi!), repeat. And all I can say is -- "Eleven and a half!"

Off to Stratford

Anybody who lives in this (eastern Great Lakes) neck of the woods has probably heard of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. It's hard to miss the aggressive advertising (Canada wants your tourist dollars!), and the hokeyness of the fact that the town really is named Stratford, and really is on the Avon river. (Lots of places in Canada are like that, actually; named for the old country by homesick immigrants.) Although the quality of the theatre productions is excellent -- or so I've been told; I've never seen one -- Stratford in summer is a tourist trap of the highest order. Where else could a simple diner-class restaurant call itself "The Elizabethan" and serve spaghetti with meat sauce and salad (on the same plate!) as the lunch special and be loved by budget-minded theatre-goers?

Stratford in summer is definitely avoidable. The theater season lasts from late April to late October. The streets are crowded, hotel rooms cost big bucks, parking is hard to come by. And then there's January! In January, Stratford is a pretty, snow covered small town. Hotel rooms are half price, even the premium ones like in Bentley's Annex. Not every interesting little shop is open, but the ones that are are nearly deserted. You can hold a conversation with the proprietor, if you like. The posh, expensive restaurants shut down for the winter, but there are wonderful options like Bentley's proper, or Fellini's, or York Street Kitchen. Roger and I have been going there for at least a long weekend every January since the winter of 1999. And we leave tomorrow!!

FLU!

I hate it! I thought I was exhausted before, but then flu hit our household, and I haven't been able to do ANYTHING for 48 hours. Just typing this is exhausting. I'll be back when we're better.

Christmas makes you feel emotional ....

...and it also makes you really tired! I've been working on this post for a week; the original opening paragraph is below...

..It may bring parties or thoughts devotional.
Whatever happens or what may be
Here is what Christmastime means to me...

This is the practically unknown opening verse to a rather well-known song. Big round of applause to anybody who figures out which one before I tell you at the end! (And please let me know in the comments if you did.) I learned it in the eighth grade in glorious SSA harmony, and sang with a hand-picked small group at the school Christmas concert. I'm very grateful that forty years later my children's school still has Christmas concerts, not "holiday" or "winter" concerts. (Well, the "winter" concert is in February.) The choir director actually uses a great deal of religious music year-round; it's just that half or more of it is in languages other than English, and therefore has an "educational" purpose. The band director, who has an easier time because there are no words, does things like use the Mannheim Steamroller arrangement of Patapan, (what could be more secular than Mannheim Steamroller?), and only a few of us hear "Thus the men of olden days came the King of Kings to praise..."

I am always affected by music, and my first realization that this year Christmas was making me feel emotional was a tendency to tears every time I heard I'll Be Home for Christmas because all my kids were really going to be home.

As I mentioned to my kids several times during the week, no Christmas is perfect, but this one rated 99 and 44/100! (For you young'ns, that was the reputed purity of Ivory soap.) I had everything well enough under control to go out for a relaxed lunch with my daughters and SIL on Christmas Eve. This was a present I had specifically asked for, and since Rosie and Anthony had to head home on the 26th, the 24th was the best time. It was wonderful! We went to a funky local coffeehouse/cafe with a full menu and eclectic decor, which was as empty as I've ever seen it at lunchtime. I guess not everybody had it as together as we did :-)

That evening we had our traditional "pig leg" dinner. We buy a country ham from Burger's, and the first time Rosie saw one -- she was about five -- she said "That looks like a pig leg!" So grocery store ham is just ham, but the special holiday hams are "pig leg." I buy it cooked, and heat it on top of frozen green beans, and they are the most-eaten vegetable I ever serve. This year I did five pounds (of beans!; more like 15 of ham), and had a few leftovers. But the consensus was to go back to four pounds, so that the flavor would be stronger. As long as they don't fight over them!

After dinner we had a fire in the fireplace, evening prayers, and readings (all the way from the Grinch to the Gospel of Luke), and then we hung our stockings. The mantel barely can hold 14, if you put one on each end. We need a bigger fireplace (and house!). Katie and I went of to sing in the choir for 10 PM mass, the babies were put to bed, and everybody else went to work on putting the presents under the tree. It took close to two hours, and some nifty stacking by Arwen, to get them all fitted in. Then everybody turned in to get as much sleep as possible.

Christmas morning was stockings and prayers starting at 7:30, breakfast at 8 (grapefruit, sausage links, scrambled eggs, and Roger's amazing home-made sticky buns -- he got up at 6!), 9:30 mass for all, and then the presents. As Arwen mentioned on her blog, we open one present at a time. The presents are picked out in age rotation, youngest to oldest, and the only rule is that you can't pick something that's for you. (We relaxed that rule once, years ago when Katie was a toddler, because she kept picking out presents for herself. It took us a couple of rounds to realize that although she couldn't read, she could recognize her first initial! :-D )

Although one present at a time is slow -- almost three hours this year -- it gives everybody the most time to enjoy seeing others enjoy. My favorite mental picture from this year is really-cool-almost-fifteen Tommy bouncing up off the couch to hug his aunt and uncle when he realized that they'd bought him access to a much-desired online computer game. I suppose when we get up to 20 grandchildren, as Rosie's in-laws will do this year, we might have to change the system, but I'll miss it!

After Arwen and Bryan had departed to do Christmas again with Camilla's other grandparents, the rest of us lazed around, cleaned up the living room (which was a mess despite the three black trash bags of paper, tags, etc. we had filled while unwrapping), and eventually ate the tamales I made earlier in the month. In the evening we discovered that my sister-in-law, who is a bit of a movie buff, had never seen the original National Treasure, so we watched that. And then we dragged our weary selves to bed.

Most Christmas posts would end here, but since we are old-fashioned sticklers who observe the twelve days I'll give skating highlights. Day 2 -- Rosie, Anthony, and Daniel returned home. I got crabby (sorry, family) because routine chores like laundry were piling up, and nobody wanted to pitch in. Day 3 -- the female contingent went to see Enchanted. I've now been to it three times, and all I can say is GO!

Day 4 my brother and SIL departed for home in Pennsylvania. They had originally planned to stay another day, but my brother, who is a hunter, hadn't gotten his deer yet, so he wanted to be able to hunt on Saturday. On the same day Tommy's friend "Evan" arrived. Evan is also from Pennsylvania, and he and Tommy actually became friends on an online forum, but over the past year we've met up at places like state parks and confirmed that neither he nor we are whackos, so he flew out for a couple of days over break.

Evan is great, but his presence meant that for the next few days Tommy did most of his sleeping in the daytime .. they were on the computer all night. And since computer-geek George was hanging out with them AND with his local pals... much daytime snoozing!

Days 5 and 6, in addition to snoozing boys, included housecleaning, mass on Sunday, and a lot of granddaughter time. Somewhere in there most everybody but me went to see National Treasure 2. I would have enjoyed it, but stayed with Camilla so Arwen and Bryan could go together. I'll see it on video, most likely.

Day 7 was a lot of cooking. Ever since most of our kids can remember we've hosted a kid-and-teen-friendly New Year's Eve party, consisting of some games, singing the doxology on the front porch at midnight, and MOUNTAINS of food. This year I took the radical step of changing the menu, and it was a good idea. There were still lots of leftovers, but they were different leftovers. And nobody minded too much, since I left in the stick pepperoni and lots of olives! We had 29 people, only 5 of whom were over 21!

New Year's Day -- Christmas Day 8 -- is also the feast of Mary, Mother of God. So we stirred out the whole crew (some of whom had had only two or three hours of sleep) and attended 9:30 AM mass. Then almost everybody went back to bed! And in the afternoon Arwen, Bryan and Camilla headed home.

Day 9 was a hard and crazy one. Roger and Tommy headed out early in the morning to drop George and Evan at two different airports, with a stop to see Rosie and Daniel in the middle. While they were gone, we got 6 to 8 inches of snow in about 3 hours. This is one of the "benefits" of living "near a Great Lake" (within walking distance, actually) -- you sometimes get "lake effect" snow. I had to go out during the snow, and it looked and drove like a blizzard all the way, but by the time Roger returned it was sunny and clear. Ah, Michigan!

Days 10. 11, and 12 were more-or-less normal household routine, except that Maggie, Katie, and Tommy were all home instead of at school or college. I spent as much time as possible sitting and reading near the Christmas tree, since I knew it would soon be gone. And Camilla and her parents returned on Saturday, because there was a surprise 85th birthday party for Bryan's grandfather.

Sunday was the feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord. The choir sang at 11:30 mass. One of the things I love about Epiphany is that you usually get to sing ALL the verses of carols like We Three Kings, instead of just the familiar verses of many Christmas carols. (I have a garbage-can memory, and know all the verses to everything, almost, or at least my kids think so.) And so our Christmas season came to an end.

Actually, Monday should have been called the 13th day, with all the negative connotations of that number. I spent twelve hours taking down the tree and other decorations. No wonder I'm exhausted!

(The song is Silver Bells. I also know all kinds of rarely-heard little echo bits, which I will spare you!!)

Emmanuel!

"O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God."

So this is the last of the O Antiphons. Everybody, probably, has heard the Advent carol O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. And this antiphon is its origin. It pretty much sums up what the antiphons have been leading us to pray for days -- You, who have all these characteristics, and merit all these titles, come! Because we are eagerly awaiting that awe-inspiring mystery God-with-us!

(This is probably my last post until Thursday or so, so to all of you --and you know who you are!-- have a blessed and happy Christmas day, full of love and joy!)

King and Keystone

" O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart: O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust."

The O antiphons are coming to an end! Every year when they start, and it's clear that Christmas is soon, seven of them still sounds like a large number, that will take a while to get through. But this is number six. And I am "not ready". This means that the wrapping is not all done, and a few more things should be bought, to fill in holes in my list that I didn't realize I had.

But that's my Martha side coming out. The antiphon doesn't refer to "the day everything has to be done by." George came home last night, a day earlier than I expected him! (Apparently the whole rest of the family was in on it.) And even though he was early, and everything wasn't ready (like making Tommy clear his stuff off George's bed) I was overjoyed to see him. How much more should I welcome "the only joy of every human heart"!

Radiant Dawn

" O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death."

The references to "darkness and the shadow of death" in yesterday and today's antiphons are quotes, from the prayer of Zechariah after the birth of John the Baptist. (It's found in Luke 1:68-79.) In the translation I know best, the end of it goes:

In the tender compassion of our God
The dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.

In the last few days I've learned about a number of people who are literally living "in the shadow of death" -- the son of a friend who has melanoma on his liver (discovered through an X-ray for pneumonia!), an elderly friend who's been on oxygen for years but now can't keep his blood levels up, a woman whose elderly father (who lived with her) just died who has such an intense job that she has no time to grieve. All of these people know and love God, but that doesn't stop them from bearing the weight of the darkness. But God has tender compassion for all of them, and us, and the "dawn from on high" will break. No wonder we await His coming!

Key of David

"O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of heaven: come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom."

I had never noticed before I started this posting on the O Antiphons just how much they refer to freedom. I think we all tend to forget, because our lives are so comfortable (especially compared to most people through most of history), how bound we are. I'm bound by customs that have become law in my head, and by my own pre-judgements of things and situations, and by choices I've made in the past, and many other things I'm rarely aware of. Just because there are no chains on my ankles doesn't mean I don't need the Lord to come and set me free!

Flower of Jesse

"O Flower of Jesse's stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid."

Wednesday is never my favorite day of the week. I do too many of my least-favorite chores on Wednesday. But if I get them all done, I get to go to the Barnes and Noble cafe, sip a decaf mocha, and read for a while. Fortunately, Christ's coming doesn't depend on my working hard. I just have to be ready to stand silent in his presence.

Lord of Might

"O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free."

The title I gave this post is a phrase from O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Because I've known that longest, I tend to remember the antiphons in its phraseology. But it's really more about freedom. I could sure use some strength and freedom these next two days. I have all my regular chores, plus wrapping still to do and a few final decorating touches. And Maggie is even now in an airplane, winging home from her semester in Austria!

I am very excited to see her, but since her best/cheapest flight package was from Chicago -- a six hour drive -- Roger has already left to pick her up, and they won't be home until tomorrow. They'll be stopping to spend the night at Arwen's house, which is almost 2 hours closer to Chicago, and then swinging over in the morning so Maggie can see Rosie and Daniel. So tomorrow afternoon! And George flies in on Saturday. Christmas is coming!!

Wisdom

"O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, You govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation."

Today is something our family has been waiting for all year -- the first of the "O Antiphons". For our family evening prayers (and also some people's personal morning prayer) we use the Liturgy of the Hours, the official daily prayer of the Catholic church. (Bet you thought that was the Rosary! Nope, that's considered a "private devotion", --which is of course how we use the LotH ;-D ) Every day at evening prayer we recite the Magnificat, Mary's song of praise in response to the greeting of Elizabeth. Each day of the liturgical year has its own antiphon, a sentence or so which is traditionally recited between sections of the prayer. We just read them at the start of it.

Some of the antiphons are simply quotes, from Scripture or from the Magnificat itself. But starting on December 17 and running through the 23rd (because evening prayer of Christmas Eve is the start of Christmas), the antiphons are translations of very old (fifth century AD?) Latin ones. The Wikipedia article I linked to above has an excellent analysis. But you've certainly heard them; the verses of O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and many other Advent hymns repeat them.

For our family, the O Antiphons are many things. For the kids (especially when they were younger), they just mean Christmas will be here soon. But for someone like me, who is always struggling to balance the "Mary" and "Martha" parts of Advent, they give a "theme of the day", something to meditate on while running at full tilt. So I'm going to post them here each morning, and with an effort maybe I"ll be able to slow down and prepare my heart.

Shop 'til You Drop! (out of the blogosphere)

Most years I start my Christmas shopping in January. I did, in fact, buy a few items this year. This is all facilitated by two things.
1) Finances. We set aside money each month all year toward the following Christmas. If I see something perfect in August (or January!) money is available to buy it. And we NEVER have post-Christmas debt, because when the money is spent, that's it for this year.
2) Stratford! The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is a summer highlight of this little town in Ontario, about a two-hour drive from us. The town is geared toward tourists and more tourists, with lots of fascinating shops and intriguing restaurants. But the festival only runs from April to October, so many of the hotels have specials designed to attract winter visitors. For the last ten years Roger and I have taken a winter get-away, spending half-price for premium accommodations and doing a little shopping and a lot of nothing. (Double jacuzzi, bottle of bubble bath, two books and two beverages of choice -- bliss!) About one shop in four is closed for the part of winter we're there, but the rest love to see people carrying actual money. And I always get a Christmas present or two for the upcoming year.

Most years I try to do the bulk of my shopping in October and November. Peruse the internet deals, figure out what I'm going to grab at the local mall as soon as the markdowns hit, wait for the major retailers' "$10 off a $50 purchase" coupons. But somehow this year it just slid by.

My excuse is that I got out of the habit last year. George was in boot camp, I was waiting for him to get home for Thanksgiving and gearing toward that. And then he was "rephased" (for lack of ability to do enough pushups fast enough), and I wound up being able to go to New Jersey for the graduation, which set back my shopping another week.

As my children will tell you, I am not a big house-cleaning whiz. Tidiness, yes. I go around every morning and put things back in place, straighten the slipcovers, load the dishwasher. But dusting and vacuuming, not so much. The only time I really CLEAN is right before the Thanksgiving/Christmas season, so that I can decorate a clean house. Last year, I decided that something had to give , and cleaning was it. So the shopping got done, a little late. And we had a lovely Christmas in a dirty house.

This year, skipping the cleaning was not an option. The house was a year dirtier. As you read here, Rosie helped me with a couple of rooms while she and Daniel were visiting. We did the downstairs, the rooms we'd use for Thanksgiving. The upstairs rooms were left for me. And I finished the last one on Monday. Christmas cleaning was over!

But despite the Stratford purchases, and a few other things I picked up over the summer, my Christmas shopping was barely begun. I had ideas. (Some things, like new sleep pants all round, are practically set in stone!) But the getting of the stuff -- nope. I had missed the coupons. The markdowns--due to the economy here in Michigan--were still there, and deep.The internet sites were offering free shipping. But I had to DO it.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I have put in 8 hour days. I have not posted here, I have not commented on your blogs, yesterday I didn't even read them! But I'm done. And today I'm hanging out on the computer. Tomorrow -- we get the Christmas tree!

Tamale Update

We prepped and assembled about 10 dozen in four hours, not counting steaming time. (They need to steam for a couple of hours after assembly.) So I've got plenty for Christmas, AND a couple of bags for the freezer. Easy dinners, hurrah!

By the way, Andrea says she distinctly remembers that our first tamale day was in my not-yet-remodeled kitchen. Since the remodeling was done in the summer of 1993, that means this is at least our 15th year doing them. I'd say that definitely qualifies as a tradition!

Tamale Day

What do you have for Christmas dinner? In some families it's set in stone. In some families it changes every year. In our family, though the side dishes may vary, the main event is tamales.

Some of you may be thinking "I didn't know she was Hispanic!" Well, I'm a nice German-Scottish girl from Pennsylvania, and my husband is a British mixture from the Midwest. But we know good food when we taste it!

One of my good friends (also of British extraction) grew up in a small town in Arizona. Two doors down was a Mexican-American family with kids about the same ages. "Andrea" remembers watching tamale making from very early on, and by the time she was in middle school. she was helping. (For any of you who don't know, tamale-making is a somewhat tedious process of preparing seasoned meat, masa dough, and softened cornhusks. Then you smear some dough on a cornhusk, add meat, roll, wrap and repeat. It is much more fun when several people talk while they work -- kind of on the quilting-bee principle.)

About fifteen years ago Andrea, who had at that time been living in Michigan for a number of years, got homesick for tamales. She remembered enough to get a close approximation, and has been tweaking the recipe ever since. But she also remembered the camaraderie of tamale-making, and asked me if I'd like to help her make a batch. We were hooked!

So for the last 13 or 14 years, one day in December has been set aside as tamale day. (They freeze beautifully.) We've gotten better at pre-prep, so it's not as tiring as it used to be. And the smell of steaming tamales has no equal. And today's the day!

(For those of you who wonder -- yes, the tamales taste authentic. We knew that for sure eight or so years ago, when one of Andrea's cousins was hosting a Mexican exchange student who hated it here. Too cold, weird food, etc., etc. But when Andrea gave him a couple of tamales, he proclaimed them "Just like abuela's!" The ultimate compliment.)

Template Time

Now that I don't "have to" post every day, I'm having fun messing with the template. Eventually I'll get it the way I want, but you'll probably see lots of changes along the way. And so much cheaper than redecorating the house!