Wonderful Memories

I have just about recovered from the family party. Perhaps the fact that I had to work the day before and after made it tougher than usual. I went straight to bed after dinner yesterday. Still, it was oh so much fun visiting with everyone. I am especially intrigued by watching the future generations develop. Families are growing, and children are growing up. Melissa is driving now, for crying out loud!

I wish we had time to get together more often than we do. I may just have to add some visits to my list of New Years resolutions.

Another Project Done

I have finished the snowman blanket for my yet-to-be-born grandnephew. It was really fun making this one. The toughest part was weaving in all the loose ends from the color changes. I am not a big fan of weaving. I try real hard to get the back to look like the front (too much of a perfectionist, I guess). I think it came out real cute, though.

The Hubs took a picture of it for me.

I hope to give it to Tyra when she comes over today for our holiday party. Everyone will start arriving in about an hour, so I guess I had better get to work.

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time

We have had such a wonderful Christmas so far. The boys came over on Christmas Eve, along with their girlfriends. I have so few recent pictures of them, I made them pose in front of the tree. They both hate having their pictures taken, but they cooperated.

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Chris is now officially engaged to Jenna. They haven't set a date yet. My brother-in-law joined us for dinner, and we had tamales, chorizo con huevos, beans, and mexican rice. It was great (especially since the Hubs cooked!)

The boys put so much thought into their gifts this year. I was impressed when they presented me with a collection of the top 100 masterpieces of classical music, which they had burned onto 10 CDs. It is in date order, and includes so many of my favorites. It begins with Bach's Tocatta in D Minor (1685), and ends with Ravel's Bolero (1928). I'm sure it was a lot of work putting it together. Maybe some of my love of classical music did rub off over the years. I didn't even know they were paying attention!

On Christmas Day, the Hubs and I spent the whole day at home together. We sat around and read the paper, opened some gifts, watched a movie together, and ate mexican leftovers for dinner. I even baked some Christmas cookies (the only ones I have made this year). It was delightful.

Tomorrow I host the party for my family. It will be great seeing everyone again.

God Rest Ye Merry Diet

I won't delude myself into thinking I can stick to my diet for the next two weeks, but I sure hope I can maintain some level of control. There are packages of goodies at work from every vendor imaginable. The in-laws sent us a box of baklava last week (that we managed to finish off already). Over the weekend, the hubs and I went to a vintage candy store. The idea was to find some Brach's neopolitan coconut squares (for Sara at work). While we were there we couldn't help but notice the Jelly Nougats (my favorite), the Squirells (his favorite), and the Nonparells (Mom's favorite - so of course I had to get some). We were literally like two "kids in a candy store"! Then there are the tamales (we brought home a dozen yesterday, and there will be more at the posada on Wednesday).

For as many years as I have been watching my weight, I haven't quite figured out how to make it from Thanksgiving to Christmas without indulging now and again. So far I haven't gained anything, but then it is only December 21...I had better get on the treadmill!

Making Tamales

Now it really feels like Christmas.

Today I helped the girls make tamales. This is a classic example of "working the foundry", as Dad used to say. It reminds me of the times we used to gather around the dining room table and make sauerkraut or schneiderboner (I'm not sure that is spelled right). Just change the ingredients and add a couple bottles of wine.

This is a mexican tradition, and must be done every year if you are going to have tamales ready for the "posada" (which, this year will be on Wednesday, at our friends house). It is quite a process, that takes all day.

First you make the masa (mixing the corn meal with lard, chili peppers and pork stock)

Then have a glass of wine.
Once that is done, the masa is spread on corn husks... stop for a sip of wine.

then fill it with shredded pork and chilis....more wine....

Then it is rolled up and steamed for an hour. The result? Mighty tasty!

But this is one of those things that takes many hands to make light work. It is back-breaking at best, since it involves standing for hours. A true labor of love, but worth every bit of the pain.

Christmas Party With a Twist

On Sunday we met up with friends for our annual Christmas get-together. In past years we have exchanged gifts, but this year we agreed it would be better to do something for charity. The economy being what it is, and all of us being at least solvent, it seemed like the obvious choice. So, we each drew a name and our assignment was to picture them at age 10 and buy a toy that would fit their personality. I got the new version of Rubik's puzzle. Something like a three-dimensional octagon. (Yeah, like I could almost do that...I couldn't even get one side of Rubik's Cube to a single color!)

Anyway, we had so much fun guessing what each person would get, then enjoying the joke when they unwrapped them. Good thing we couldn't open them, since several of us were tempted to actually play with them. But we had to consider the kids they were going to.

All were donated to Toys for Tots yesterday. What fun!

Jann's Handiwork

Yesterday, my neighbor gave me some beautiful coasters she had made. They are cut from glass, and edged with copper. I just love them.

It is difficult to get a close up without a massive reflection from the flash, but I did my best. This one shows the beautiful handiwork.

They will be the perfect compliment to my cup of Christmas Cocoa!