Nice weekend

60°f, or 15.5°C this morning! 

Crazy December weather! This morning was cloudy after showers in the night. Then this:

What beauty! It was soon followed by rain and showers all day, but still ridiculously warm. Then around 5pm the wind began to howl, and is still blowing hard. Which makes me a little nervous after that tree fell a few weeks ago...but so far  so good. An outage was planned for tomorrow, but there are so many places without power this evening I am pretty sure the outage will be canceled. There will be a lot of repairs needed tomorrow. Right now our lights are still on, but that could easily change.

Oldest son and his wife and daughter made the 4 hour drive across the state to visit this weekend. They arrived in time for lunch Saturday, so I opened a couple jars of the tomato soup I canned last summer, and pulled out the leftover cheese ball, cranberry spread, crackers, fruit and so on from Christmas.  It made quite a feast. Then we ladies went to shop an after-Christmas sale at one of the malls where I have a booth. 

We all found something, of course. Sandy bought a truck! Well, not a real truck, but a pretty good-sized one that even has solar headlights, which she wants to put on her front porch. She can change the decor year-round, and at 40% off it really was a good deal.

We got home in time to pick up the guys and go out to dinner. It was a lovely evening with good food and conversation. Granddaughter Grace is 26, and so interesting to talk with. I do enjoy our grown-up grandkids, one of the perks of having children young-- you get to be around as they reach adulthood.

This morning I made breakfast with help from Sandy and Grace, and then we just sat around drinking tea and coffee and chatting. I sure hated to see them leave, but they had to go to a wake for a former minister's wife, so back on the road they went for the return trip.

The rest of the day? I have done not one thing, except to throw in a load of wash. Tomorrow, I suppose we will work at our booths, since the van is all loaded up. So I don't feel at all bad about resting today.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

And So It Came

37°f, about 2.5°C, I think? Overcast all day. Warmed to 45°.

And finally, it is Christmas day. We slept in until 8:30 this morning, and just had pastries for breakfast. Then coffee by the tree to open gifts from each other, and it was time for Larry to take the dogs for a long walk while I started preparing for our visitors. 

They arrived promptly at noon, and I was just about ready! I do love it when people come hungry.

This is my favorite punch. It is non-alcoholic but of course could be spiked. It combines apple cider, orange juice and ginger ale, and I float fruit slices and cinnamon sticks on top. I didn't think to take photos til it was half gone. This evening I added champagne to mine. Delicious. 

Derek took over with the ham, helped by Haley.

The desserts end of the table.

I had fun making a couple cheese balls. I have never bothered with them before. And the cranberry spread (in the center top of the photo) was a big hit. 

Larry did the meat and cheese board, and the pickle dish for me.

So, good food, much talk and laughter, gifts, more food...lovely.  Now everyone has gone home, we have finished cleaning up, I have got my feet up, and the house is quiet.

Christmas Eve

34°f, about 1°C, overcast and raining. Most of our snow has melted

Not a creature is stirring...except Larry, Buddy and Little Boy, who are out for their morning walk, in the rain. 

But here is Clyde the cat, who rarely stays still long enough for a picture.  At 15, he's a pretty spry old fellow. 

And here is the couch, boobytrapped because someone seems to be getting up there at night! Not naming names, but it's probably Little Boy, since Buddy claims Larry's chair. I have given up on that front, but am determined to keep dogs off the couch. Will I win that battle? The odds aren't good.

We don't have much on the agenda today. The house is clean, laundry caught up, the porch mopped and the yard tidied yesterday. My pies and tarts are done, and I just have a few things to make this afternoon. So maybe we will have breakfast in town, pick up olives ( which I forgot the other day), and enjoy the last minute bustle of shoppers. Or maybe just stay here? We shall see what Larry wants to do when he returns from his wet walk.

Merry Christmas Eve, friends!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Favorites

You may have seen this photo of my tree that I posted earlier this month. 

Yes, I stuff it full. It is a lot like the Christmas tree I grew up with, just smaller. Mom and Dad always brought in a huge tree, usually reaching the top of our 12' ceiling. And it would be loaded with ornaments. I think the last year they had the big tree there were about 1000 ornaments on it. When they moved to a smaller house, the ornaments were mostly divided up among my siblings that wanted them. Since I lived so far away, I didn't get any and actually didn't know that until after my parents passed away. At that time, some of my sisters gave me some of the old, cherished ornaments, and I began searching for more of the kinds I remembered from that long ago glorious tree. Here are some of my favorites:

This ornament isn't old, but it certainly reflects my love of tea.

An English choirboy, bought at Ely Cathedral when we were visiting England for the first time.

A WWII era Shiny Brite ornament, which was missing its cap,  so I improvised.  There were many like this one on my parents' tree. (Shiny Brites have an interesting history, which you can read about here. I often included this story in my Christmas presentations.)

A vintage Polish "indent" ball, and an ornament from Salisbury cathedral, purchased when I was there in 2019.

More vintage Shiny British.

A lady named Rose Pullen from our county handpaints and beads these exquisite ornaments. I have 2 or 3, and hope to add another this year.

It is supposed to be good luck to have a nut on your tree, so I have this little carved angel holding a walnut. I have had her so long I don't recall where she came from. 

Another good luck ornament: a pickle! And behind it a beaded ornament my mother made.

The handpainted delicate heart was brought back from Germany by my son after one of his tours there.

Another of Mom's beaded ornaments, and to the left and barely readable is the red glass ornament I wrote "Susie" on with glitter in 1962 or 63.

There are so many more favorites on the tree! It is always a pleasure to discover them again each year. Do you have favorites that you put on your tree each year? Or do you change it up, or do a different color scheme from time to time? And are there any "good luck" talismans on your tree?

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.