Day 19. Party Review

After the party, because why would we think to take a picture BEFORE the party?

It seems odd to post the party review as the blog entry for the 19^th day when the party was on the 20^th  but you need to over look that if I am going to get caught up in a timely manner.  How was the party?  Amazing stupendous fantastic seems like an apt description.

So many people showed up!  We didn’t have a guest book this year but our best count is about 82 people.  We ran out of plates and Tony Lawrence-Harjo had to run to get some, and Ashley Glover had to bring more with her when she came.  I am in their debt! 

Best thing that someone brought to eat?  Right now I think it was the gingerbread cookie bars that Summer Witt brought. ALL THE WAY FROM COLORADO!  She drove up for the party and surprised Kat and I both.  We miss our Colorado peoples and this was a nice treat.  Other out of state guests were Elizabeth & Doug Worley who drove up from Abilene Texas, and Kortney & Andrew McQuade who actually just moved back to Oklahoma this week just in time for the party.

Korney, don't tell Najah!

I did forget to take pictures of the table scape and decorations this year.  I regret that because I really likes the gingerbread house theme. The best party decoration though was the photo booth back drop.  Matthew suggested it (thanks pinterest). I wasn't sure when we were setting it up, but when I see the pictures people took I am really pleased.  

If you missed the party I am sorry that you did, because I missed seeing you there and hope to see you at some other occasion soon. Any rumors that I may have started about people who didn't show up... well lets just agree your lives are more interesting the way I tell them.

Is it too soon to start planning for next year?

Day 12. St. Lucy's Day

Today’s guest blogger is Rebecca Mize Harrell.  When we were at OBU together she was Becky Mize, Jodi’s longsuffering roommate, “the nice one”.  After OBU she worked for the Shawnee News Star.  Then when my Paul was 18 months old or so Becky married Kendall.  From all accounts he has done a great job of keeping her happy and entertained. You think boring Nina Garcia is bad? Boring Becky Mize Harrell was the fastest way to get kicked off the island back in the day.  Becky and her family live in Japan. Yes THAT Japan with the earthquakes and nuclear plant disasters.  Last year we tried to persuade her to get Kendall to borrow an aircraft carrier to fly the family back this way for the Christmas party.  Apparently the military frowns on that?  

She looks EXACTLY the same as in college. How is that even possible?!?!? 

In any case this is Becky’s entry about St Lucy’s day… It has nothing to do with the Peanut’s gang as it turns out. 

Happy St. Lucy’s Day! It’s time to light candles and eat braided sweet bread as we mark the feast day of a saint whose name means light. Recipe included for anyone who would like to join in this tradition.

With our first child growing into more of a person each day and limited memories of my own childhood, I felt that our family needed some traditions planted in our minds, and I set about finding us some.

I think these little repetitions help keep us on solid ground. Sometimes life feels a bit shaky, but our traditions give us a pattern to follow when everything around us seems so changeable. In particular, I wanted Christmas to be more memorable and less focused on what’s under the tree. What we have ended up with probably looks like no other Christmas ever, but it reflects our family and I like that.

For the holiday meal, I kept some childhood foods that were always a family must. Homemade noodles made extra yellow with food coloring, now dubbed the neon noodles by a brother-in-law, and a salad of apples, cheese, raisins and mayonnaise. I used to think this salad came from German forebears, but now, I think its origin is the 1950s love of mayonnaise.

We added in some Christian bits early on that were unfamiliar to us at the time, but sounded fun and meaningful. Advent wreath, a chance to enjoy candlelight (play with fire) and talk about peace, hope and love – yes, we’ll take that tradition. Ditto, for St. Lucy’s Day on December 13^th – more candles – and themes of light and hope. This observance comes via Sweden, a country we have no connection to, but we enjoy making and eating a bread crown, although we do forego the part of the tradition that involves someone wearing lighted candles on her head.

On December 6^th, we mark St. Nicholas’ day with a small gift and thoughts and plans about giving to get ourselves into the spirit of the season. There’s also a bread moment with this one, too, but sadly, no fire.

After this, our Christmas started to move in new directions as we embraced things based on where the military had us living at the time and with the addition of a child by adoption.

In Corpus Christi, tamales are a part of Christmas, but I’m too lazy to make them, so we left that one behind. In London, we added Christmas crackers, roasted chestnuts, no open fire, unfortunately, and Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. My attempts to incorporate traditional English Christmas cake (think fruitcake) into the scene were not well received, so I moved on.

I was also met with resistance to making The Nutcracker an annual event since my people were always ready to leave by halftime.

After London, we landed in Illinois. It took me some moments to figure out why on earth the neighborhood next to us really decorated for Halloween, and then, dead silence for Christmas.

Satanists? A not helpful voice from my Southern Baptist past suggested. No. (shut-up, voice) Jewish. In what is probably the height of our holiday syncretism, we’ve been using Hanukkah candles on the St. Lucy’s day crown for a number of years now to remind us of those days. Hanukkah candles have only one prohibition: they must be used for pleasure, and not for work, so I think we’re OK.

Next, our youngest came to us by way of China. Homemade Chinese dumplings entered our lives, too, and we attached those to the December festivities as well. Now, nothing says Christmas like cookie sheets full of dumplings ready to be dropped into a simmering pot of water.

Then, we were off to Japan. Here, Christmas Eve is a big date night, and the Japanese associate the holiday with fried chicken because of a successful 1970s KFC advertising campaign. KFC in Japan takes reservations at Christmas, and it’s usual for there to be a line to enjoy their fried chicken goodness. Don’t laugh. So sometime during the Christmas season, I fry a chicken. And I might giggle a little.

We have also always enjoyed holiday light displays, and happily, Japan really gets into this with many beautiful holiday illuminations. http://www.mustlovejapan.com/subject/tokyo_german_village_illumination/

However, in a country with earthquakes, the candles of Advent and St. Lucy’s Day have become something requiring more caution. You just never know when the earth might start shaking. But that’s OK. We continue to enjoy these traditions even if the ground is a little unstable around us because the traditions help make us stable.

Here’s hoping that you, too, have tradition. Tradition! To help make memories and to give a solid foundation when the world starts shifting around you.

Recipe

St. Lucy’s Crown

This recipe is adapted from A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz

1 cup lukewarm milk

2 packages dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cardamom

1/3 cup butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

4 cups flour

Grated rind of 1 lemon

4-5 tablespoons almonds, finely chopped

Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze (see below)

Thin Candles

In a small saucepan warm the milk. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Set the mixture aside for 5 to 10 minutes, or until frothy.

Stir the rest of the sugar into the milk and add the salt, butter, and cardamom. Stir until the butter is melted. 

Let cool to lukewarm. Stir into the yeast mixture. Add the lightly beaten egg. Stir in the flour gradually, mixing well. Add the lemon rind and almonds.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. While you are kneading, add more flour if the dough is sticky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Punch the dough down. Cut off one-third to make the top braid; set aside. Divide the remaining dough into three parts. Roll each part into a rope about 25 inches long. Place the three ropes close together on a buttered baking sheet and braid them together. (try starting from the middle to make this easier) Form the braid into a circle, pinching the ends to seal.

Divide the reserved dough into three parts. Roll each part into a rope about 24 inches long. Proceed as above; place the three ropes close together on a buttered baking sheet and braid them. Form the braid into a circle, pinching the ends.

Cover both braids lightly and let the bread rise for 30 to 45 minutes, or until almost doubled in bulk.

Bake at 375 degrees. The smaller braid for 15-20 minutes and the larger for 25-30 minutes. If they start to get too brown, cover with foil.

After baking, place the smaller braid on top of the larger. Drizzle it with Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze. Place candles into the crown and light them.

Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze

2-3 teaspoons lemon juice or milk or water

½ to 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Stir the lemon juice into the sugar; mix well. Add more sugar or lemon juice as needed to produce a proper consistency for drizzling.

Day 8. From My Paul

My Paul shared this sweet, sweet story with me tonight.

In the last few weeks since the play was over I have been walking myself home and stopping at the McDonalds to get a coke zero on the way home.  Since I have been in there a few times I have been noticing some of the same people are there too.

There is this one old man and old lady that come in together when I am there.  They are very old, and very sweet to each other.  I noticed that he always gets the food, one of everything and brings it back to the table where she waits, sitting next to the big Christmas tree they have there.  Then after they say a small prayer he sits with her while she eats.  He doesn’t even eat a french fry until she is done. Then he eats.

The last time I held the door for them as they were leaving and I told him I thought it was very nice how he always treated her so kindly.  I asked him why he always waited for her to finish eating before he eats.  He just laughed at me and said “I wait because they are her teeth we are using!”

Do me a favor? Floss really well tonight!

Day 7. Have yourself an Odd little Christmas...

Today I am featuring another guest blogger.  Today’s entry comes courtesy of Tony Terry.  I have known Tony for a while.  I met him at OBU when I was young and idealistic and naive, and Tony was a former HS wrestler from South Dakota.  Then he went to China, lost his hair and married someone who is probably too good for him and now they have a bunch of kids.  I thought they were still in China but as it turns out they have been back living in Oklahoma for a while.  What qualifies Tony to write a blog entry? He was one of those English major writerly types of people back in college, he was an avid reader of the OBU fashion question, even though he didn’t follow the rules (wrestling shoes worn as regular shoes and a weird leather hat).  Plus. Apparently he likes odd things, which might explain our friendship.

Guest Blogger with questionable music tastes

I have a liking for the odd.  Christmas kind of lends itself to that.  Angels sing to shepherds.  God gets born - in a barn.  There is just loads of odd stuff.

I started thinking about this when I was a senior in high school and chatting with a very pretty girl at the Dairy Queen.  She was on her way home from junior college and couldn’t miss Christmas Eve.  This was her favorite part of the Christmas season.  Her family would put the last touches of decoration on the tree and the house while making lasagna together.  Lasagna was a doubly-odd choice because she was Swedish!  Go figure.

People in Caracas roller-skate to Christmas Eve mass.  If I did that, I would need a priest for a whole other reason.  KFC did a bang-up job inserting a different bearded fellow into the Christmas tradition in Japan in the `70s.  Even now Tokyo crowds the colonel’s place on Christmas Eve.

I find it odd that people serve ham on Christmas.  That seems like a really strange way to celebrate the birth of a Jew.  I eat the ham.  I just think it’s odd.  I am also happy that I am not celebrating in Greenland as they will be eating fermented birds.  If you have to have a bird, go with the Japanese. 

Hope and love are out there in the odd.  Maybe we will start some weird tradition this year.  It would help us fit in better.

***Just a thought, Tony could bring his family to the Christmas party on the 20^th. I promise to come up with some odd food choices for him.~J

Day 6. Let it Go! Let it Go! Let it GO HO HO HO!

Christmas is the season for doing too much.  90% of the time I am ok with that.  Kat and I are certainly guilty of that.  In 1997 a pregnant Kathleen and I purchased our tree, brought it home and hung lights on it on a Monday night from midnight to 2am when we both had to work the next morning.  Why? Because Kat’s Tuesday night bingo group was coming to house after work.  Too Much?  A few years ago after we were living in Colorado and we decided to have our Christmas party back in Oklahoma not only did I decorate our home in Colorado, but I transported boxes, bins, and bags of decorations to decorate the hall where we were having our party.  I also transported a silver punch bowl.  When Kat expressed concern that not everything would fit, I volunteered to only take 2 pair shoes if that would help. TOO MUCH!

I have said before I am something of a mad genius at engineering these ‘perfect Christmas memories’.  They key is obsessive planning and the set up.  If you do that correctly, then when the actual moment arrives something will happen, and you just have to be there for it.  If you are lucky it is magical.  Or it is a disaster, in which case you have a hilarious holiday memory instead.  See? Mad Genius.

Tomorrow is our annual children’s ornament party.  I thought a great deal about it this year.  My boys are on the upper end of childhood, what if they and their friends are all eye rolling teenagers making jokes at my expense this year?  I am not sure I could handle that.  Lucky for me, when I asked Paul’s BFFL (Best Friend For Life) Katie about it she said we should definitely have it, because of course Hilda and Kyle are still kids and it’s usually fun even for the older kids.  Reason #1.  Now that we are back in Oklahoma I could invite my Niece Elisa Gail to come and bring her children Ella and Aiden. Reason #2 (Although her drill schedule interfered with this year).  Another benefit of being back in Oklahoma is my nephew Baby Scott (who just turned 25) could come with his wife and baby Seamus. Reason #3. 

How adorable and sweet and perfect would that be?  Scott came to the first ornament party and his child will be coming to this one.  I love that so much!

What does this have to do with letting go?  The plan for this year is gingerbread houses, and yes we are cheating and doing the graham cracker houses for the kids.  I also wanted to do 2 bigger houses and let the kids work together to decorate those.  I asked Kat if she could make the gingerbread houses for me.  And of course she agreed, because she is Kat and amazing.  So I borrowed a gingerbread house cutter kit and got the recipe for Kat.  Her plan has been to do it this week.  And then suddenly it was Friday.  Right after dinner Friday we went to the store for eggs so Kat could come home and make the gingerbread house pieces.  But then suddenly it was 10 pm and still no houses. So Kat made a plan to get up early today and make the gingerbread houses and the 9 batches of fudge she has orders for.

But of course things don’t go as planned, and the gingerbread houses didn’t get baked. Fudge yes, but houses no.  We had an event tonight and Kat said after the event she would make the gingerbread houses.  So when we stopped at the store for Diet Coke I purchased the pre-made kits.  Is it the same as homemade gingerbread houses? Of course not.  Will it smell as delightful and Christmassy? No probably not.  With either of those things interfere in any way with the fun that the children will have tomorrow or their memories of it? Absolutely not.  So that was me letting it go ho ho ho.

2013's Gingerbread House

Do me a favor? Bite the head off a gingerbread man for me!