Christmas decor

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Christmas Check In

Well. As Carla excitedly informed me this morning, we have TEN DAYS until Christmas! 

Let’s do a little check-in to see where we are:

Décor: We have still not put up our tree, BUT Carla did inspire me to put out some of our other Christmas decorations after school one day this week, so it’s moderately festive in here. I would still like to figure out some sort of ribbon/garland/pine bough situation for all the many doorways in this house, and also the railings, but I have yet to do more than just think “I want to decorate the doorways” so it may not happen this year. We also have two mostly dead mums on the front stoop, and I would love to replace them with something more Christmassy/alive, but that may not happen either. Setting up the TREE is the priority. I did bake the menorah today, so that’s all nice and shiny for next year and stowed safely in a drawer, so that’s something. 

Gifts: I am pretty sure that everything is ordered? And, if not in my house, on the way? That feels suspicious; I hope I haven’t forgotten anything. I am STILL dithering about the espresso machine, but dithering toward not ordering it. Also: all the gifts for all but one of the out-of-town recipients have been wrapped AND mailed, so I’m pleased with that. Lots of wrapping yet to do, but there is time. Oh! I do still need to buy gift cards for a few people (Target gift cards for the mail person and the garbage and recycling people, all of whom gave us holiday cards with their names, so I think that is a sign that we should return the favor; a Dunkin Donuts gift card for Carla’s music teacher) and deliver gifts to my hair dresser and Carla’s other music teacher. We also have a Toys for Tots gift to deliver to the appropriate place. And I would like to pick up a few extra small stocking stuffers. But this all feels DOABLE, which, again, makes me suspicious because apparently I can never just feel okay with a thing.

Meal Plans: My parents and I have figured out the meals for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. My mother is handling Christmas Eve; Christmas Day will be at my house, but my dad will make his traditional spice roast. (We’ll also have goat cheese and garlic mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, sticky toffee pudding cake and a yule log.) The roast and yule log have been ordered. I guess I need to figure out what to make for breakfast for Christmas Day… but there’s time for that. 

Holiday Baking Projects: Carla has requested that we make cookies again this year instead of chocolates, which is fine. So now we need to figure out WHAT we want to make. I am making cranberry crumble bars for a holiday open house we are attending, but beyond that I’m not feeling pulled toward any cookie in particular. What do you think we should make?

Music: I found a radio station that plays nonstop Christmas music, so I’ve been listening to that. I find I’m mostly in the mood for traditional stuff, so there’s a lot of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald on rotation. What I REALLY want to listen to are Christmas hymns: Joy to the World and Carol of the Bells and Hark! the Herald Angels Sing and O Little Town of Bethlehem. I’m not quite sure where to find these specific songs, though, except in church. 

Holiday Events: So far, we don’t have a ton of things planned, which feels good and doable. We are going to an open house, put on by one of our new neighbors. Carla has two playdates scheduled. An out of town friend and his husband will come by for cookies and tea the week after Christmas. We have dinner plans with friends the night before New Year’s Eve. Add in some fun with my parents and that feels like plenty of special get-togethers with lots of time for relaxing. 

Weather: Currently, we have sunshine and blue skies which I refuse to complain about. But if we could get a nice dusting of snow right around Christmas, I would be very pleased. 

I feel like I’ve made pretty decent progress since Monday. How are you faring with your Christmas plans?

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A Bit of Christmas Angst + Dinners This Week

I seem to have fallen off the blogging wagon entirely, after NaBloPoMo. Well. Writing is like that, isn’t it. Sometimes the words flow freely; sometimes the well is dry. As the prolific Louis L’Amour said, “The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on,” so I am sitting here at my computer with my fingers on the keys, hoping something will come out. 

Part of the problem, maybe, is Christmas in all its impending vastness. I feel like I have done NOTHING, nothing at all to prepare for the holiday which is nonetheless marching toward me at a steady pace. The only piece of Christmas décor I have up (still) is the wreath my mother sent me the day after Thanksgiving. I have also been receiving a few holiday cards, here and there, and have been arranging them on the molding above the doors and windows in the kitchen. I like the way this looks, but the cards keep falling down and the door frames are very tall so I am spending a lot more time on my tiptoes than I would otherwise prefer. My husband and I finally sat down and got presents squared away. I ordered the roast for Christmas dinner, and my mother and I figured out our plans for getting together (they will come to us for Christmas Day, but we get to go to their house for Christmas Eve! I am so excited!) and settled on a menu. So maybe I am in better shape than I feel like I am??? But I really feel like I am in very poor shape indeed. 

Well. Writing does not make any sort of dent in the Christmas chaos. But I can at least use a blog post to help me figure out what to eat this week. Because, of course, we need to eat despite the many other things that require attention. 

Dinners for the Week of December 11-17

  • Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tacos: I feel like someone suggested this recipe to me; was it Birchie? In any event, this sounds delicious and simple and I plan to make extra so that we can have leftovers. 
  • Lemon Chicken (inspired by Elisabeth): YUM. Some sort of green vegetable will accompany this. Maybe some leftover latkes as well.
  • Short Ribs with Wine and Cream: My husband and I had a little getaway a few weekends ago, to celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary. (FIFTEEN YEARS OMG.) We went out to dinner and each ordered a dish that purported to be beef stroganoff. But it was unlike any beef stroganoff I’ve ever had – cream based, with a lot of rosemary flavor – and was so decadent and delicious that I have been thinking about it ever since. This recipe sounds like it could be similar? Although I’m not sure about the capers. Well. Maybe worth a try.
  • Ground Beef Tacos: Yes, this means two different kinds of tacos on the meal plan this week. But I could (and sometimes do) eat tacos every day, plus I am trying to plan a playdate for Carla and a friend this week and I think they will both eat tacos. I am TERRIBLE at planning playdates, but Carla assures me that “kids who are almost teenagers, like me,” do not need a mommy to plan some sort of activity for the kids to do. They will just “have a dance party or do a fashion show,” she informed me. Excellent. I am wildly in favor of that kind of playdate. 

That seems like enough meals to get us through. We can have Ham Sandwich for the other three nights I haven’t accounted for. (In my case, leftover tacos.)

Are you suffering any holiday angst, or do you feel like you’re in good shape? 

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Seven Snapshots on a Sunday

Carla has been home with me since the Friday before Thanksgiving, and finally goes back to school tomorrow. My husband took Thursday and Friday off. We’ve been watching movies together and playing games and doing our separate creative pursuits. It’s been lovely spending time with them and I know I’ll feel a little sad when the house is empty. But we have all of today together, although I think it will be mostly a day of laundry and cleaning and preparing for our houseguests.

Here are a few snapshots of what started out on a low note, but ended up being pretty lovely. 

`1. Carla decorated the table for Thanksgiving.

We put out a selection of cheeses to munch on while cooking. I am partial to the caramelized onion cheese (right most) from Trader Joe’s. And yes, those are Hanukkah plates we used for the cheese and crackers.

2. We were in the car and Carla was marveling at how gorgeous the sky was.

She asked me to hand her my phone and this is the photo she took. I love that she is so attuned to the beauty of the world around us.

3. The only finished room in our house.

My husband and I finally hung artwork up in our bedroom and it finally feels finished. It’s smaller than our previous bedroom, but I love it. I am also loving our flannel sheets, which are SO soft. It is very difficult to get out of bed in the morning when I’m so cozy in these sheets! I still don’t have a lamp for my bedside table, but my husband ordered some this weekend.

4. A funny tweet (if one with questionable grammar) that I sent to my best friend and her other best friend.

My best friend and I have slowly been rebuilding our friendship and it’s such a relief and a comfort to me. The three of us are going to plan a Zoom call, 2020 style, later this month since we all live in different states. I don’t know why we don’t do them more often, but we got out of the habit.

5. My breakfast for the past three days.

These are the only Thanksgiving leftovers I care about: garlic goat cheese mashed potatoes and gravy. (With plenty of pepper.) For some reason, the gravy didn’t turn out particularly well this year. My mother saved it, but it wasn’t the rich, dreamy gravy of Thanksgivings past. Some combination of me messing up the proportions and our new oven not cooking the turkey and pan veggies to the deep caramelized brown necessary for developing rich, delicious pan drippings. But Past Suzanne was smart and ordered a container of mushroom gravy from Whole Foods, and it is QUITE delicious. Especially when paired with mashed potatoes.

6. I can hardly believe it, but our holiday cards are IN THE MAIL.

The only reason we pushed to get them out so soon this year is because they are serving as change-of-address notifications, too, and I’m hoping they reach most people before they send their own cards. We’ll see if that calculation works in our favor. But they are OUT. Woo! This is literally the only thing I have done to prepare for the holidays.

7. The very first hint of Christmas around my house.

My mother is much better at being on top of holiday planning than I am. This beautiful wreath arrived the day after Thanksgiving. It smells like Christmas! That doesn’t mean I am ready yet to decorate, but I am ready to think about decorating, which at least is a step in the right direction.

Happy Sunday, Internet!