Sweeping Away the Year

It’s Carter’s last day home so to compound the dreaded feeling I decided I needed to start taking down Christmas. I also wanted to take advantage of Carter being able to help take the boxes out of the attic.

I didn’t start with the tree as that is it’s own nightmare. I started by taking down the needlepoint since it is the first to go up. The needlepoint gets treated better than all other Christmas ornamentation. It has special boxes that go under the guest room bed so they are close at hand in case I ever have to escape the house.

I put all the flat needlepoints in one box and all the three dimensional in another. This year the 3-D’s are in a bigger box, but there is still plenty of room to add more. I figure I can stitch for at least five more years and not have filled my two garlands.

After the needlepoint I carefully dismantled and wrapped the village under glass that takes up the whole coffee table. I had to windex the table before putting back the year-round decorations.

Then I packed the nutcrackers, Santa’s and snowmen. Lastly I dismantled the mantle. Cleaned every surface and put back the non-holiday items. Everything looks so barren even though that is not a word you would use to describe my living room.

It didn’t take that long to do that one room, but one was all I could do today. I figure I have until Sunday to get everything done. At dinner I asked what day it was today and when I learned it was only Wednesday I revised my schedule. I think I can get it all done by Friday.

I won’t have Carter to distract me. Russ has so much work he will be tied up. So I might as well get this all behind me in the next two days.

As if the putting away the sparkle is not bad enough, it’s the cleaning between packing the Christmas and unpacking the regular that I hate. Making sure to remove every rogue glitter that jumped from it’s decorations, or the dust that settled between the mercury balls on the table. With the Christmas ornaments the dust is not noticed. Once they are all gone you are only left with the dust. Not so appealing.

Regular life is going to start up next week. There won’t be time to dust or vacuum and I certainly don’t want to start 2023 out with any dirt. 2022 was a year I would like to sweep away. I am hoping that the new year brings joy, health and happiness and dirt does not go with any of those.

Inflation Hits the Mah Jongg Card

For Christmas Carter and Russ made me Mah Jongg business Cards. They secretly conspired trying to figure out what my title should be. Mah Jongg teacher was not enough for them. Instead they deemed me Mah Jongg Sage. It’s a heady title. Carter out a symbol of the One Dot on the back. So glad she didn’t use a Joker. They didn’t arrive in time for Christmas, but they gave me the mock-up.

The cards arrived today right along with the National Mah Jongg League’s yearly newsletter. The BIG NEWS from NMJL was hidden in paragraph five of the president’s letter, “the PRICE Increase of the card.” This year’s large print Mah Jongg card is $10. It has been ten dollars for a while, so the NMJL was due for more dough. The card did not go up $1 as it has in the past. Not $2, which would have been an understandable increase. No the price went up $5! That is a fifty percent increase.

I am not sure Ruth (the now deceased, long time President) would have gone for 50%. Her son Larry is in charge now.

I can make an argument that even $15 is not a hardship to play the game we love so much. The ACBL, governing body of duplicate bridge charges $40 a year to be a member and you pay dearly to play every game to accrue points that are worthless, except for bragging rights. At least at Chuck’s Cheese you get tickets when you win to turn in for a yo-yo.

There it is, Mah Jongg will not suffer due to this price increase, but I will give you one of my Mah Jongg Business cards for free.

This is just a reminder to go head and order your 2023 cards now. They won’t be mailed until the very end of March, but the sooner you order the greater your chance of getting your new card in time to play it on April 1, the start of the new Mah Jongg year.

Three days, Three Parties, Lots of Dishes

The last guests, the four Howells, just left from a very fun dinner at our house. It is hard to believe that have not lived here in twenty years. Having them at our table felt like old times and those old times were yesterday.

It was the last planned holiday celebration. It was the easiest dinner I could make. A big Antipasto platter to start and then Cacio e Pepe and arugula salad followed by the last of my peppermint ice cream. Carter did not remember the Howell since she was only three when they moved, but she knew who Roz was as she had heard the story many times of how Roz broke into the hospital just a few hours after Carter was born by saying she was “Granny Roz.”

The nurse at the desk had no idea I was not an 18 year old new mother.

After they said good night we had another kitchen full of dishes to be hand washed. This being the observant holiday of Christmas on a Sunday, I still haven’t heard back from a potential repair man for my dishwasher. My hands are already raw from washing so Russ took over tonight.

Shay is so exhausted from all these parties she put herself to bed. When I came up she did not even lift her head in recognition. Tomorrow she can recover. We can lie around waiting for the repairman to call and eat leftover so we have no pots and pans to wash. I may have to eat my meals standing over the sink so I have no dishes. My skin can’t take the dishwater.

I Believe

In the last few years we have not had the Christmases I usually like to have. Last year the three of us had Covid, the year before the world was in lock down, before that my father had not been well. The worst Christmas ever was the one I that started Christmas Eve with my father almost dying and the ambulance coming first thing Christmas morning to take him to Duke where I had to stand guard for two weeks to keep him there. Despite that string of bad Christmases I still believed we would once again have a joyous holiday.

Today was the Christmas I dreamed we would have. After a wonderful Christmas Eve we slept late this morning. Carter eventually woke us announcing that Santa had come. Those whom Santa brought presents for opened them. There were lots of games and arts and crafts to keep everyone busy all year. Russ got more hot sauces than there are breakfasts. We will see if any one of them is hot enough for him.

Late in the morning the sleigh carrying Janet, Sophie and my Mom arrived filled with more presents than I have ever seen. Margaret and Pete couldn’t make it at the last minute with all the weather. If they had come there would not have been room for us all and all the presents.

We exchanged gifts for a while, but after hardly making a dent we decided we needed to eat lunch to recharge for more opening.

Salmon, mushroom and leak bread pudding, asparagus and arugula salad refuled us for another afternoon session of opening. My favorite gift was the hand made museum quality Mah Jongg racks my father-in-law made for me. That was followed up by a custom made 2000 piece puzzle of a photo of Carter, me and Shay that Sophie and Janet gave me, but it was really Sophie. All my gifts revolved around Mah Jongg, Needlepoint, Christmas ornaments or Puzzles. Why fool around with anything else.

Eventually we depleted the pile of gifts. There were no moments where someone awkwardly did not have the words when opening a truly odd gift. There were no bad gifts. There was no fighting. No discussion of anything unpleasant or political. No one said they did not want to eat what was being served.

We enjoyed our Christmas peppermint ice cream at five o’clock and did our Christmas crackers. I looked around the table at my family all in their paper crowns and I thought this was a royally good Christmas. I believed it could happen again as magical Christmases had in the past. I knew we could break the streak of disappointing, sad sickness filled holidays of the last few years. Even though every year I said that would be the one that broke the streak.

We did miss my sister and my Dad, but we had a jolly old time just the same. I will continue to believe in the magic of Christmas. I believe in the good that the birth of the baby Jesus brought to the world. I believe that people are mostly good and that in the long run things will work out. Sometimes you just have a bad streak, but streaks are made to be broken. Merry Christmas to all you believers.

Christmas Eve Is My Favorite

Of all the days of the year Christmas Eve is my favorite. Nothing about Christmas is last minute for me. I have never gone to a store on Christmas Eve. I have never wrapped a gift, or baked a cake. Anything that could be done in advance is done. Today is all about fun.

Carter helped me with the preparations for tonight’s dinner with our friends Lynn, Logan and Ellis who are our friends who are more like family. I also prepped food for our Christmas lunch which will be with my real family tomorrow. Nothing was difficult, arugula salad with orange supremes, pomegranate and goat cheese, leg of lamb, smashed potatoes and popovers. Lynn brought her famous green beans with onions and tomatoes and so much bacon.

Since the cooking didn’t take too much time I worked on my Christmas puzzle my friend Christy gave me. It said on the box “Extra Difficult” and I took that as quite a challenge to finish it in a day, which I did. There is nothing I love more than a good Christmas Puzzle.

I was wearing my gift from my friend Mary Lloyd, the warmest cozy slippers which were badly needed since it was 14 degrees out. I know that many of you have it even colder today. I hope everyone has power and heat.

After our salad and main course we all took a pause and went to church for the candle light service. We got to sing carols we all know, except we sang one odd version of Away In A Manger. When we got home Lynn asked why we sang that weird Carol and Russ tried to explain to her about paying for copy write when the service is steamed on You Tube. Lynn didn’t like that answer, “This is about Jesus for heavens sake and a manger, OK.” I guess those copy write lawyers didn’t get the manger part.

I did lean back and whisper to Dave Pottenger that one year when it is time to sing Joy to the World we should start with “Jeremiah was a bull frog…” that got a chuckle. That is probably why he doesn’t usually sit up near our pew. It would become the pews that were most like the back of the school bus.

After church we enjoyed our dessert and Russ and Carter hand washed all the dishes. Such a fun day. I hate for Christmas to come because then I have to wait another 365 days to do it again.

It Never Fails

We are all home. Enjoying meals together. We have guests coming for dinner tomorrow, for Christmas day lunch and Boxing Day dinner. The dishwasher was full after lunch. We tried to run it, to no avail. The dreaded F12 code.

I summoned Russ to see if he could fix it. After a few attempts it dawned on him we had this code people and it required two technicians in two visits with weeks between waiting for parts.

The repair office was closed by the time we figured this out so I have no idea when a repair man might possibly be blue to make it.

Looks like we will be washing a lot of dishes by hand for the rest of the year. It never fails that the dishwasher will fail when you need it most.

Peppermint Stick Ice Cream for Christmas

For the last few years I have made peppermint stick ice cream for Christmas Eve. It is easy and the flavor screams, “Santa is coming.” I don’t have a fancy ice cream machine, just one of those kind with the core bowl you put in the freezer for 24 hours. While that is freezing you make the ice cream base and chill it in the refrigerator at the same time. As long as that core is really frozen and your liquids base is well chilled it only takes about 15-20 minutes of churning to make the most delicious ice cream. What you get is like soft serve. But if you put it in a container and put it in the freezer for a few hours you get hard packed ice cream.

My recipe uses egg yolks, so technically it is a frozen custard. I have made it without egg yolks and it is a little flat tasting. Go for the eggs and you can make meringues with the left over whites.

7 egg yolks

1 c. Sugar

1/2 t. kosher salt

3 cups of heavy cream

1 cup of whole milk

1 1/2 t. Peppermint extract

6 candy canes crushed up.

In a sauce pan put the egg yolks, sugar and salt. Whisk it together for a good minute or two. Slowly pour in the cream and milk whisking the whole time. Put the pan on the stove on a medium heat.

Stir while heating the mixture for about ten minutes. You want to get the mixture to 173° using a candy thermometer. If you don’t have a thermometer you want the mixture to be able to coat the back of the wooden spoon and when you draw a line in it the mixture stays on each side of the line.

Pour the contents of the saucepan through a fine mesh strainer into a container with a lid. Add the peppermint extract at this point. Make sure not to add too much extract because it is very strong.

Put the ice cream base in the fridge.

When you are ready to churn pour the base into the frozen core and churn until the mixture is the consistency of soft serve ice cream. Remove from the frozen core and add the crushed candy canes. Store covered hidden in your freezer so your family does not eat it before you are ready to serve it. It is extra good with hot fudge.

Pre-Christmas Cooking

One of my favorite traditions in my childhood was our annual Christmas Eve party. My parents invited all their friends and their families for a big giant dinner on Christmas Eve. Our old barn house had originally been “the party house” for another house. It fit my parents perfectly. They had lots of big parties.

As a child, my father kept my mind off thinking about Santa by having me help preparing the party food. For days we would visit the liquor store stocking the bar, bake hundreds of biscuits for ham biscuits, purchase oysters in gallon paint cans for oyster stew and roast many tenderloins. I credit this party as my introduction to catering on a large scale.

Our house, as a party house, had three kitchens. This was imperative to be able to store all the food we needed for the hundreds of guests. Since it was Connecticut it was always cold on Christmas eve so we also used a fleet of ice chests that lined the bridge from upstairs kitchen door to the land 20 feet away.

As I am preparing for the three major meals I am serving on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day to just dozens not hundreds, I miss those three kitchens. What I really miss is the ability to reliably use the outdoors as a refrigerator, although I don’t want to live in a cold climate.

Today I prepared the base for my homemade peppermint ice cream. I have exactly enough space in the freezer to put the ice cream machine core and once I make the ice cream it will take the place of the core. There is not a square inch to put an extra ice cube.

As I reviewed space in the refrigerator I adjusted my menu so that I did not need to worry about where to put a large ham. I changed a dessert for one dinner to something that did not have to be chilled. Since the weather is reported to be cold I am hoping to be able to keep ice frozen outside my house for two days.

The only good news is I don’t have to soak a country ham in the bathtub like I did as a child. I hope those of you who used to come to that party aren’t worried about that ham. The alcohol you drank killed anything dangerous.

Congratulations to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC

Forbes Magazine just released its list of the Top 100 Charities in the US. The number one charity is Feed America, which the Food Bank of CENC is one of their 200 members. That is very exciting. Even more exciting is that the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC was number 62 on the list! What an honor. We are on a list with the likes of YMCA, United Way, Salvation Army, American Cancer Society. Those are all national charities. The Food Bank is just a charity in 34 counties of North Carolina. We aren’t national, regional or even a whole state charity, and we made 62!

I am so proud of our Food Bank. So much of the credit goes to Peter Werbicki, our 20 year CEO who retired this year. When I started volunteering for the Food Bank he was the Operation’s manger. He brought the Food Bank a long way.

I owe a debt of gratitude to Chuck ReCorr who sent me to Harvard when I was the board chair-elect, to the course on Non-profit excellence. We made a lot of great changes in the Food Bank thanks to that training. Before that we probably wouldn’t have made the list of 1000 best charities and here we are today, 62.

I love to share the good work of the Food Bank with anyone who will listen. I have a fun new event to support the Food Bank coming up in March. It is a Beginner Mah Jongg Tournament held at the Raleigh head quarters. Save the Date, March 20. I look forward to hosting a great Mah Jongg Day that will support the Food Bank, the 62 best charity in the country!

Creamed Spinach

I got a bunch of requests for my creamed spinach after they saw Russ eating it in a photo two days ago.

My father was a big fan of creamed spinach. I started making it the way he did and then spiced it up as the years went on. This is a very flavorful, but not spicy hot version. It’s not healthy, but it’s damn good

2 T. Butter

1 sweet onion – minced

3 cloves of garlic- minced

1 large bag of frozen chopped spinach – thawed, water squeezed out

1 cup half and half

1 brick of cream cheese – cut into eight hunks

1 t. Garlic powder

2 t. Onion powder

1 t. Grated nutmeg

1 t. White pepper

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt to taste

In a large skillet melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic and cook on medium meat until the onion is just translucent. Add the half and half and heat.

Add the spinach and the cream cheese. On medium heat cook until the cream cheese is well incorporated into the spinach.

Add the spices. Then the Parmesan. Stir until hot and taste for salt.

Christmas Can Start, Carter is Home

Thanks to flexible work from home rules, Carter was able to come home today for Christmas. She still has to work some this week, but I am happy to have her here so it feels like Christmas.

Shay was especially glad to see her. I had stopped opening Shay’s advent calendars since she rejected most of the surprises so Carter did a big opening with Shay. Amazingly Shay liked most things that Carter gave her. It must be that special Carter touch, or perhaps the enthusiasm Carter sold thing to her.

“Look Shay, gingerbread pretzels!” Shay gladly ate them out of Carter’s hand. Not that way when I tried.

Shay still did not like the balls Carter bounced at her. She has never been very good at fetch and even worse at bringing it back to you.

The crinkly sounding gingerbread man was a hit. Perhaps the gingerbread theme was all she was looking for.

Maybe Shay just did not think it was Christmas until her girl came home. I concur.

Wrapping and Cooking

As I predicted, today was a day of lots of wrapping. Sadly I did not get it all done, but made a giant bite of the wrapping cookie. I found presents I had forgotten about. Made bows that he to be attached to presents with greening pins and used tags I bought three years ago that I hadn’t gotten around to using because they were “too nice.”

What kept me going in my wrapping den was the audio book I am listening to for my tiny book club. We picked Demon Copperhead and I am addicted. I usually listen while I am driving to Mah Jongg classes, but this book has me hooked. Yesterday I did my nails so I could have n excuse to sit and listen while my nails dried. Three hours of wrapping went by in a blink as I listened to Demon talk about his Foster parents. I highly recommend this book!

By late afternoon I had to move on to my other job today, making food for friends who will be coming home from out of town from a funeral for her father. I couldn’t make “somebody died?” fried chicken until tomorrow, but I did make creamed spinach, sea salt brownies and homemade ranch dressing. I filled two giant containers with spinach and had enough leftover for us for dinner. Russ really liked the creamed spinach and did a good job cleaning the ramekin.

I feel better about being ready for Christmas. Carter comes home tomorrow for ten days so it is going to be a real celebration. I wish I could still take her to see Santa. She always wants to know which list she is on. I think I know.

It’s All About the Wrapping Now

I have not taken inventory of my gifts. It is possible I have way too many gifts for one person and not enough for another. I can’t be sure until I start wrapping. I actually already started wrapping, but I sliced my pointer finger on my dominant hand so I took a break to let that little cut heal.

With my parties finished I can begin to put presents around the tree so they are out of my office. I used one whole roll of paper wrapping the gift I bought for everybody. I pray they like it since I am giving seven of them. Even though I got the paper on those gifts they have no bows or tags. I think I know what I will be doing tomorrow.

I want to get this done in one day so I have a little time to fill in the empty spaces, like coming up with something to give my husband.

This is the part of Christmas that makes me crazy, the shopping. I hate shopping and I especially hate shopping when other people are shopping. The way deliveries are going these days I don’t dare order anything in fear it won’t arrive. I want to get everything done and wrapped well before the big cooking has to start.

MTHFR

This is not the license plate form of Mother Fucker, but when I first saw MTHFR that is what I thought. At my Doctor’s today I found out I have MTHFR, which is a genetic mutation that means I don’t process Folic Acid.

Folic Acid is the man made form of folate. I am all good with naturally occurring folate, just not the man made version. The first thing that sprung to my mind is “I took a ton of folic acid in my child rearing years.” Having a high level of folate helps prevent spina bifida in babies.

To help prevent these birth defects the FDA regulated flour, requiring it to be enriched with folic acid. It helped with birth defects, but no one considered it hurt people with MTHFR.

Apparently something like 30-40% of people have MTHFR and most don’t know it. It’s not hard to find out, but you need your Doctor to request a blood test for it. The list of things that could be signs of MTHER is so long from Anaemia, Eczema, anxiety, poor memory, stomach pains, headaches to depression. I am lucky I don’t have most of the symptoms now of what having folic acid can do, but now I do need to try and keep it out of my system.

All enriched foods have folic acids, breads, pastas, enriched rice, cereals. It’s a lot. Thankfully most organic versions of those foods do not as well as most gluten free foods.

I took to my cabinets to look at labels. Thankfully Trader Joe’s has many Folic Acid free foods, but going out to eat is going to be fun.

I write this because I have never had one person say MTHFR out loud to me, or even in a whisper. If 30-40% of people have this genetic mutation they probably don’t know it. I can think of many people who have anxiety or stomach issues. Never has anyone said they needed to stay away from folic acid. Lots of people have turned gluten free and started feeling better. It might not be the lack of gluten that is making them feel better, but actually the lack of folic acid in gluten free foods.

As I learn more about this I will share any enlightening information. If you have MTHFR and want to share anything with me I would love to know it.

Chinese Chicken Salad

A few people from yesterday’s auction want the recipe from the auction lunch yesterday. If I don’t write down what I do when I do it I forget, so here it goes.

The salad is any combination of vegetables, but We used, Savoy cabbage and red cabbage, cut into ribbons, diced cucumber and red pepper, bean sprouts and red onion, shredded chicken , peanuts and wonton strips.

Here is the dressing

Three inch knob of fresh ginger, grated or seven cubes of frozen ginger

Six cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of rice wine vinegar

3/4 cup of dark sesame oil

1/4 cup of canola oil

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1/4 cup of water

1/4 cup of honey

1 T. Crushed red pepper

1/4 cup of white and black sesame seeds

A bunch of black pepper

1/4 cup of peanut butter

Mix it well and let it sit for at least a few hours to have the flavors marry. Mix agin before you serve.

Auction Success

My favorite activity our Garden club does is our Christmas Auction. It almost is one of my favorite things I do all year. For years Pat Joklik was the auctioneer. She was fantastic. Then she asked me if I would do it because she said she didn’t know everyone’s names as more young members were being admitted. I hated that Pat felt that way, but I gladly took over. You know I like nothing more than a captive audience and a chance to pat them from their money for a good cause. I think this was my 20th year as the auctioneer.

Today was a rollicking event. We had about sixty people, many of whom were well loved guests. The garden club members brought fabulous items to auction. It started late last night when George Littlewood showed up at our house with the largest, most beautiful white pot filled with five fabulous orchids. It was so big and heavy I had to have Russ get out of bed, get dressed and help George carry it in. The requirement of each garden club member is to bring something worth at least $25 to be auctioned. This arrangement was the item of Page Littlewood and Leslie Kirkland and it was way over their requirement. It sold for $500!

Carol Shepard brought her famous Bouche de Noel with beautiful meringue mushrooms. It went for $300! As did Holley Broughton’s Happy New Year wreath! Laura Virkler’s homemade jams and Anna Whalen’s Bolognese went for $300 each and my Turkey Curry in a red pot was just under that.

The bidding was fast and furious. People were generous and competitive. It made for a very fun auction.

I could never host this event and be the auctioneer all at the same time if I didn’t have the best group of Co-hostesses, Christy Barnes, Carolyn Sloate, Kay Peters and Leslie Brame manned the kitchen the whole day! When I say the whole day I mean from nine to three. They baked the Christmas tree cheese stuffed rolls I prepared, dressed the Chinese chicken salad, served the cranberry trifle and cleaned every fork, plate and glass! I am eternally grateful for all that they did, including the at home food prep work I assigned them.

For years one member, who I shall not name, but if you are in garden club you know who she is, has been lobbying to have wine at the auction. This year we decided to honor her request, but then she could not come to the auction. We had a case of wine, of various types. At the end of the day we assessed what was drunk. Two bottles were opened, but only half of the wine in each bottle was gone.

Our club treasurer, Missy McLeod, works all through the auction, never even eating lunch. She checks all the items in, and takes notes on all the winning bids and collects all the money in the end. After the whole thing was done she sent an email out to the club saying that we had raised $6,045 which when she collect money from the people who did not bring a auction item will be an even bigger number, surpassing our highest amount ever raised.

The member who wanted the wine wrote me a response to the big total number, “Must have been the wine!” It was not! All bidding was sober and heartfelt! Way to go Hope valley Garden club. Thanks for another great, no, even better, auction.

Auction Success

My favorite activity our Garden club does is our Christmas Auction. It almost is one of my favorite things I do all year. For years Pat Joklik was the auctioneer. She was fantastic. Then she asked me if I would do it because she said she didn’t know everyone’s names as more young members were being admitted. I hated that Pat felt that way, but I gladly took over. You know I like nothing more than a captive audience and a chance to pat them from their money for a good cause. I think this was my 20th year as the auctioneer.

Today was a rollicking event. We had about sixty people, many of whom were well loved guests. The garden club members brought fabulous items to auction. It started late last night when George Littlewood showed up at our house with the largest, most beautiful white pot filled with five fabulous orchids. It was so big and heavy I had to have Russ get out of bed, get dressed and help George carry it in. The requirement of each garden club member is to bring something worth at least $25 to be auctioned. This arrangement was the item of Page Littlewood and Leslie Kirkland and it was way over their requirement. It sold for $500!

Carol Shepard brought her famous Bouche de Noel with beautiful meringue mushrooms. It went for $300! As did Holley Broughton’s Happy New Year wreath! Laura Virkler’s homemade jams and Anna Whalen’s Bolognese went for $300 each and my Turkey Curry in a red pot was just under that.

The bidding was fast and furious. People were generous and competitive. It made for a very fun auction.

I could never host this event and be the auctioneer all at the same time if I didn’t have the best group of Co-hostesses, Christy Barnes, Carolyn Sloate, Kay Peters and Leslie Brame manned the kitchen the whole day! When I say the whole day I mean from nine to three. They baked the Christmas tree cheese stuffed rolls I prepared, dressed the Chinese chicken salad, served the cranberry trifle and cleaned every fork, plate and glass! I am eternally grateful for all that they did, including the at home food prep work I assigned them.

For years one member, who I shall not name, but if you are in garden club you know who she is, has been lobbying to have wine at the auction. This year we decided to honor her request, but then she could not come to the auction. We had a case of wine, of various types. At the end of the day we assessed what was drunk. Two bottles were opened, but only half of the wine in each bottle was gone.

Our club treasurer, Missy McLeod, works all through the auction, never even eating lunch. She checks all the items in, and takes notes on all the winning bids and collects all the money in the end. After the whole thing was done she sent an email out to the club saying that we had raised $6,045 which when she collect money from the people who did not bring a auction item will be an even bigger number, surpassing our highest amount ever raised.

The member who wanted the wine wrote me a response to the big total number, “Must have been the wine!” It was not! All bidding was sober and heartfelt! Way to go Hope valley Garden club. Thanks for another great, no, even better, auction.

Needlepoint No. 2

Separated by just a week, I had my second Needlepoint group’s Christmas exchange. It is such a highlight of my holiday. This group is smaller. We stitch together monthly and celebrate birthdays together in a big way.

Tonight we all brought appetizers and enjoyed cocktails as we exchanged the special ornaments we secretly made for each other. I was especially excited about giving mine because I free handed it by looking at the opening credits of the TV show, “My Three Sons.” There are two members of this group who each have three sons, but only one got the ornament this year. I may have to stitch another one. I wish I had made a pattern.

After the exchange and the eating we then exchange more gifts. I feel like it is the best of Christmas because each person picks out things they think we all would love that they found on their travels or something unique.

I love this group and all that we share. It is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. I came right home and hung my special ornament on my garland. Ready for the Garden club Christmas in the morning.

Preparing for the Next Party

Once my house is all decorated I might as well have lots of people over. My third party of the season is not actually my party at all. Tuesday is my Garden Club’s Christmas Auction and lunch. It is a group effort to pull this one off.

I am thankful for my friends who co-host with me. I create a menu and everyone helps prepare the lunch. Since garden club members can invite guests we get quite a crowd. This year we will be north of 60, which is not an issue as far as the lunch part of the event, but squeezing everyone into the gathering I’m for the auction is something.

Members bring things for me to auction off. Cakes and meals are popular as are homemade Christmas decorations. Years ago I had to bid quite high to get my set of flower pot soldiers. We have some incredibly talented members who make exquisite items for the auction. Not all things are homemade, but everything is fun.

I host this event every other year and have for many years. The best thing I ever did was buy 45 Christmas plates at the dollar store, back when they sold real china. They stay in a bin in the attic and only come out for this party. I add my Real Christmas china to the dollar store ones and it is just fine. I also have 80 white dessert plates that stay in the garage and only come out for parties if needed. My other most used bulk items are my 100 white linen napkins and 100 wine glasses. I have had them for at least 40 years. Having this stash is so useful. I have gotten my money’s worth out of everything, but especially the napkins.

I love setting up for a party. If you ever need to borrow anything just call.

Springing It On Russ

Late last night I looked at Russ and said, “I forgot to tell you something.”

He looked at me with that look that says, “Oh God, what could it be?”

“We have a party to go to tomorrow night.”

“What party?”

“Counter point, it’s just up at the club, you can just wear your tux.”

“What I wear is not the issue.”

Russ has loved the pandemic. No parties. No going out. Just staying home where he is happiest. But he went without complaint. He put on his old faithful tux. I tied his tie. He cleaned up great.

I pulled out some old dress, realizing I have not worn a dress in three years. Then the shoe problem came. I cleaned out my shoes earlier this year. Of course I had not worn dressy shoes in a long time so I got rid of them. I eventually found something.

We went to the party. Talked to a bunch of friends we have not seen in ages. It was lovely. We had dinner with good friends. And we left early. It was not that bad for Russ. I think next time we have to go to a party I should wait and tell him like thirty minutes before we have to walk out the door. Thinking about going to a party is the worst part for Russ, actually going is not so bad.

Chinese Auction

Christmas party number two today. Lynn and I have been having this party so many years we have lost track. We invite friends and ask them to bring a gift worth $25 and we pick, trade and steal until all the gifts are claimed. This year there’s were many favorite items with lots of stealing going on.

I had ordered a special wooded puzzle with many of special shaped pieces and it did not arrive in time, despite being ordered over four weeks ago. So last night I baked ten pecan sticky buns as my gift. It was popular, but the puzzle would have been better.

This year we had the party at Lynn’s new house. We have been waiting a long time to do it there. It is such a beautiful place and everything was so elegant. Lynn set up two tables and we served lunch on the bar of her kitchen. I made make-your-own Poké bowls, but not with raw fish. I didn’t want to kill anyone this close to Christmas. Plus I have lost enough friends this year.

Lynn made dessert which was a big hit. At the last minute she tried to get out of making dessert. Our friend Kathi had suggested that fortune cookies might be a cute dessert to go along with the theme. Lynn called me to see if it was an OK alternative. Absolutely not! Kathi ended up eating two pieces of cake and was happy we didn’t go with her idea.

Thanks to Jan and Amanda who stayed and cleaned up. The only problem with having the party at Lynn’s is I have to drag all my stuff over to her house and back again. I would say it is worth it as it is such a fun tradition.

After everyone left Lynn and I open all our hostess gifts. This year people went all out with their gifts. What sweet friends they are.

Two parties down. Now I have to get ready to host Garden club Christmas auction and Lunch at my house Tuesday. Only about 62 coming. The Christmas parties never end.

I Never Tire of Christmas

The room in our house where our Christmas tree sits is called “the gathering room.” It was named that by our architect and we found it hysterically snobbish, so in jest we continued to call it that. It is open to our breakfast room and kitchen. As our largest room it is where we gather when we have lots of people around. Now that it is just the two of us at home we tend to sit in smaller rooms, unless we are watching something that requires a big TV, like the world cup.

As the gathering room has very tall ceilings it is the place we put the Christmas tree, along with a bunch of other Christmas decorations. To be totally honest every public room in our house has a bunch of Christmas decorations.

When the tree is up in the gathering room it draws me to want to sit in there all by myself. My favorite view is from the sofa, looking through two German Christmas Carousels at the Christmas tree. I could look at the tree all day and never think, maybe I should be doing something more productive.

The tree and all the decorations have a strangely hypnotic effect on me. Perhaps it is the lights which brighten the early nights. Or the shiny sparkling ornaments that attract me like some half-witted cat.

I will never know the answer. For now I am just going to enjoy the season and not pre-morn when it will all be gone.

Happy Birthday Carter

In honor of her birthday I want to share some of the best things Carter said when she was three.

What An Entry

On this night a quarter of a century ago Russ and I could hardly sleep. I because I was two weeks over due to deliver our baby, he because he was on UK time. We were due to be at Durham Regional at 6am to check in to be induced.

We were there early. They kept us wait around and eventually got to a room. Dr. Fried came and and told me that they were going to give me drugs to induce labor and if the baby didn’t come by three they would stop, admit me, and try again the next day. I looked at him and said, “You made me wait to be induced until I was two weeks overdue. Today is the day I am having this baby.”

So they gave me the drugs and not much happened. Russ worked on his computer as I lay around. I have six different cords attached to me in all sorts of places. My hospital gown covered the front of me, but was open in the back, allowing some of the cords to get to the places they needed to be.

After a couple of hours the monitors that all those cords were attached to started blaring. Russ and I were alone in our room and a nurse and Dr. Fried ran in and told me the baby’s heart rate was going down.

“Turn over and get on your hands and knees and put your head down.” This is much easier said than done by a large heavily pregnant woman with six cords attached to all kinds of places in and in my body while on a small hospital bed, but I did it. With my hospital gown laying on the bed and me with all my glory sticking up in the air, the monitors stop blaring and apparently the baby’s heart rate went back to normal.

I was allowed to roll back over, again a Herculean feat. Dr. Fried said everything was fine, but I was not dilating enough. The labor did begin. The contractions were few and far apart. They started to get stronger so I had an epidural. Then they went to nothing. But the monitors blared again. I was already rolling over when the Nurse got in the room. By the time the Doctor was there the machine had silenced itself, but I asked how often this might happen.

Even though I was getting better at turning over with the wires wrapped all around me, I was not feeling much thanks to the epidural so I was worried I might fall right off the bed.

After the second incident Russ went to the pay phone to call my mother and explain what was going on. Back then you were not allowed to use your cell phone in the hospital. While he was gone the monitors blared again. I was alone, flipping over getting on my hands and knees, with my gown laying on the bed and the Doctor and two nurses ran in.

“We are taking you for an emergency C-section, stay in that position.” So without my husband who would have looked out for me, they rolled me out in the hall on my bed. No one thought they should throw a sheet over my naked backside. As they rolled me down the hall to the operating room a group of pregnant women and their partners came down the hall on a labor and delivery tour. I could feel the horror coming from them seeing me. Certainly not one of them wanted to come back and deliver here after seeing my naked very pregnant self out in the hall.

Once in the OR, they told me to roll off my bed and on to the even skinnier operating table. Dr. Fried asked where Russ was just as he came in the room. As soon as he was by my side they cut into me and delivered my perfect baby girl.

Her heart rate was fine. She just wanted to make a grand entrance. She gave us quite a story to tell. So tomorrow she turns 24. I remember every moment of her birth as if it were yesterday. If I had not had so much public display I might not have, but she has been worth any indignity I had to suffer. Love you Carter. I would do it all exactly the same way for you!

First Needlepoint Exchange without Ann

For eight years my group of stitching advisors has had a needlepoint Christmas ornament exchange. I was very honored to be invited to join this group of accomplished stitchers. In January we draw names and secretly make an ornament for our person. Needlepoint ornaments are works of art. Non-stitchers have no idea the time or cost that goes into making them. So creating one for another stitcher is the only way to get the level of appreciation such a gift deserves.

We were all telling stories today about how non-stitchers say things to us like, “You should sell those on Etsy, you could get like $25 for them.” We all know that they are worth ten times that but you can’t tell them that.

Last year one of the original group members, Ann Hamner, told us it was her last exchange. She had some health problems and did not want to perhaps leave someone without an ornament. We have had other people drop out of the exchange for various reasons, but losing Ann seemed very sad.

She passed away last month, so she was right in her prediction that she might not make it to this exchange. Kate Taylor and Ann always wore some kind of Red tartan clothing to the exchange every year. Ann also would wear her red wool Allbirds. Today in Ann’s honor I wore the same Red Allbirds and Kate wore her tartan vest. Kate and I knew why we did if, even if others did not.

We carried on as Ann would expect us to. We had a couple of new members to the stitching advisors. Everyone stitched beautiful and meaningful gifts for each other. It is my favorite way to kick off the holiday season.

I had drawn Kate as my person to stitch for and I made her a Mah Jongg saying I repeat to her often. She got a kick out of it. Nancy stitched for me a beautiful Nantucket basket 3-d ornament.

Somewhere I know Ann was watching enjoying the exchange as she always did.

Speak Up For Others

I am growing more and more distressed about the hate speech towards Jews and LGBTQ+ people. It’s not just speech, but also acts of violence towards these groups.

Everyone who does not agree with haters like Ye or Nick Fuentes needs to speak up against this kind of speech. You can not sit on the sidelines and say nothing, that makes you complicate.

Turning people on “the other” is nothing new. You can read it in the Bible, making some group feel less than has been around a long time. Just because it has gone on does not mean it should continue or grow as it has been lately. We had made a lot of progress in this country in the sixties through the eighties. There was most certainly hate in some people’s hearts, but they were much more likely to keep it to themselves.

Of course that one man whom I shall not name it to blame for lot of this open hostility. I don’t want to focus on him because this hostility is so much bigger than him.

I am proud to say I have many Jewish and LGBTQ+ friends. I stand with them to protect them. It is disappointing when one marginalized group throws hate towards another. Pushing others down does not raise you up.

I have heard people saying they are against Wokeness. Well I am all for people being “woke” if it means that we treat each other with dignity and fairness. You never know when your group is going to be “the other.”

For those Christians who hate on Jews, you seem to forget that Jesus was a Jew. Of course knowing your Bible is not the strong suit for people who hate anyone. Hate is one of the big things Jesus never did. Who are you to judge others? Stop the hate.

Please don’t be a bystander. Take a stand against hate. I know that loving your neighbor is the hardest commandment, but you have got to try.

What to Give Me

My sweet father-in-law is a world class gift wrapper. Consequently he likes to give real gifts. He works months in advance. Wants lists, tips, ideas. I always am on the look out for things I can tell him that might be a good gift for Russ since I know I am going to get a call asking me what Russ wants. He wants nothing, but that does not stop his father.

It is a little easier for him to come up for gifts for Russ on his own since he is intimately familiar with all power tools and their various uses. Consequently we have a world class collection of drills, sanders, saws, power screw drivers, electric levels and stud finders.

Finding a gift for me is much harder for him. A gift certificate for my Needlepoint store is a favorite gift of mine, but not his since there is very little wrapping needed for that. See it’s all about the wrapping.

Today UPS delivered a box of Christmas presents from him. Not only are the gifts in the box well wrapped, but the card board box is also and engineering feat. He cuts down a larger box folding the extra card board to make double walled protection of the gifts inside. Then everything is tightly packed so no movement can happen which might disturb a well placed bow.

When the box arrived I alerted Russ. He said we must open the box now since there was a gift I had to have now. There were two, clearly marked “OPEN NOW.” The first was a Christmas tea towel, always a welcomed item from him. The second was a beautiful silver and gold finely glittered pine cone Christmas decoration. BIG HIT! There is nothing I like more than a beautiful Christmas ornament. As you might already know about me, you can not have too many ornaments on the tree. Even though one might think I have enough ornaments I can always find a place for a new one.

Amazingly there was a slightly bare branch right next to a red pine cone of a much less fine lineage than the one my father-in-law sent. This ornament is a much better present for me than a power screw driver. I am thrilled with my early gift.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Yesterday I had a lovely lunch at CCC with their Assistant General Manager and the lovely Marty Peterson. Marty had been the one who originally brought me to CCC to share Mah Jongg with her friends. Her friends turned into friends of friends and eventually multitudes.

Then CCC put a halt to lessons and I was graciously invited into people’s homes. The wave of Mah Jongg could not be stopped. Apparently enough loyal followers of mine kept asking CCC to bring me back. So I got a call to come have lunch and discuss when CCC can resume classes.

Starting in January I will be back one week a month in January, February and March for Beginners and Advanced Beginners. I will also be doing a giant new card orientation class in April. If you are a member of CCC information about classes will be published soon. They are taking just members for early sign ups and if there are open spaces, non-members can sign up the week before.

I look forward to being back at CCC. For those of you who are interested in classes other places, January dates are booked, but there may be a seat at Benvenue in Rocky Mount the first week of January and Greenville CC the last week of January. If you want a class for your own group contact me about February forward. I will be at Dunes Club May 16-18, Coral Bay June 13-15, July 11-13 and August 8-10. Sadly all the spots are filled at Lyford Cay in the Bahamas.

Thanks to Marty for all her promotion of Mah Jongg. I look forward to seeing my Raliegh

Start Your Advent Calendars

Happy December first. It’s time to start your advent calendars!

As a child one of my great Aunts, not sure which one, but I would bet my Aunt Maize, my grandmother’s twin, would sent us a paper advent calendar. We would punch open the little door each day to reveal a tiny picture of things like an angel or a trumpet. There were not gifts or candy inside. We were just excited see what the picture would reveal. It always had a religious theme. In fact the big window was often behind the baby Jesus and it was usually a star.

The fanciest those advent calendars ever got was when they had a bit of sparkle on them. Of course glitter was not really a happy addition since it became a plague on the house.

Later on, well after I was grown, advent calendars became a chocolate delivery system. Why should Easter, Valentine’s Day and Halloween hog all the chocolate? Those were the advent calendars that Carter had. She was not much of a chocolate fiend so doors would often get opened late. I think I sent her an advent calendar last year that had beauty products in it and she opened all the doors as soon as she got it. So much for the anticipation of the coming Christ.

Now we have two advent calendars in our house to start today. Both are for Shay. When I asked Russ to bring them in from the garage he looked at the giant one and said, “Who needs grandchildren when you have a dog?”

Before dinner we will open both little doors and give Shay her treat. She really likes the traders Joe’s dog advent calendar’s sweet potato teats. I am certain that Jesus will be Ok with Shay being the only recipient of the advent treats. Dog is God spelled backwards after all.

Finally Learning

Christmas is my time of year. I love the decorating and the entertaining. I could do without the presents. I hate shopping. I think everyone has too much stuff. I am happy to give children things like books or experiences. I like to give people what they want and need, but most of my people don’t need anything.

When I travel I like to get Christmas presents, but then I end up having to many things for one person and none for another. Russ hardly ever gets a present.

Year after year I leave the wrapping to the last minute. I like to wrap. I love to make beautiful presents. My grandmother Mima was the best wrapper. She always had little decorations on the presents like a swag of pine or a small ornament. No one else in my family ever does anything like that. I have one unnamed relative whose wrapping is so bad I want to tell them not to bother, but it usually fits the gift. Enough said.

Today I had a free morning before I had to go to work. I decided to get a jump start on my wrapping. I hardly put a dent in what I need to wrap, but it felt good to get started. I am at least three weeks ahead of last year’s initial wrap. I consider this great progress.

One thing I decided to do was use my very best paper, boxes and ribbon I had. I even found cute tags I had been saving. What I am saving them for I have no idea. I am certain I will not not outlive all my ribbons.

Giving Day

Ten years ago some thoughtful person decided that after Black Friday and cyber Monday, days all about buying, it might good idea to give back. So Giving Tuesday was born. There are countless charities that deserve your support. If you went to Dickinson College today is a good day to remember how important your days spent there were to your personal development.

The new year brings me to my 40th reunion. I am happy to be helping with the planning and support of that exciting event. One of the goals of the class of ‘83 this year is to increase the participation of giving from our classmates. You can give today and have it count as a gift for our reunion gift. You can also make a pledge towards our reunion gift. If you want to really go big you can make a three year pledge and the whole amount counts towards our reunion gift, but you have three years to pay it off.

Today I made a three year pledge by emailing Lindsay McCauslin. She set up the pledge and added it to our reunion totals. It’s a great time to check off making that pledge and making your plans to come back to Carlisle in June. Email mccausll@dickinson.edu to make a pledge.

If you can’t make a pledge today you can make a one time gift today at https://giving tuesday.Dickinson.edu It will still count towards our reunion gift as long at you put our graduation year in the box.

I am thankful for all the friends I made at Dickinson and hope that I will see you in person soon. Happy giving Tuesday!

Vacation Dreams

I got a beautiful surprise from my friend Kar today in the mail. She visited me this summer in Maine and took some gorgeous photos. She turned them into cards. The images bring back such happy memories of a wonderful month in Maine.

I am already dreaming of going back next year. One would think that a month any where would give you plenty of time to do everything you want, but that was not the case for us in Maine. On the other hand sometimes we go someplace for the weekend and I can hardly wait to get home. Maybe that is because Shay was with us in Maine, but not usually on weekends away.

As the days get shorter I start to dream of travels for the next year. With one month already booked I am not sure how many other vacations I can get Russ to take, especially if they don’t include Shay. For now I am just going to think about Maine as I gaze at Kar’s darling cards.

Throwing Up Christmas

Three days of throwing up Christmas and I am mostly done. The tree took longer than it should have, but here are some pictures of it in progress. The lighting is poor, but you get the idea of how long it takes to completely disguise a tree. The last photo shows you a close up of what the ornaments actually look like.

This is my first Christmas with the green living room. I took it from Mexican Fiesta to full blown Christmas. It is the perfect color to scream holiday when all the decorations are out.

It seems I still have plenty of room for more needlepoint ornaments. I will have to move something round when I receive my two ornaments from my two needlepoint exchanges. I can hardly wait to give my ornaments to my people.

I love the new color of the dining room with the Christmas village. I still need a bunch of wreaths and command hooks. I never knew that the command tape would go bad, but it did.

Decorating weekend is in the books. Now I have to turn to party cooking.

And Just Like That

It was a great week with Carter home. Adult children are such a pleasure. I wish someone told me this when she was in middle school.

We had brunch this morning with her sister E and Baby chick. I think the last time they saw each other was last Christmas. There is just not enough time to catch up on everything that is going on with each other.

By the time we finished brunch and went home so Carter could finish her laundry and pack it was time o take her back to the airport to fly home to Boston. I no longer say, “When are you coming home?” Boston is her home now.

The only good thing about Thanksgiving is it is only three weeks until she comes back for Christmas. Then we will go lord knows how long before she visits again.

I will take whatever time she has to come back to our house and spend time with her puppy. For now we just say farewell. Se you at Christmas.

A Slow Start

The older I get the longer it takes me to decorate. It’s not the physical moving, but the time spent reliving where I got or made each ornament. I guess I am getting more nostalgic.

Russ and Carter did their jobs in precision. They got all the boxes out of the attic. They brought the tree in and set it all up. Russ even programmed the lights to come on with a voice command.

I on the other hand took quite a while to put up my needlepoint garland. I had to look at each ornament and figure out where I was when I stitched it. Going up and down the step ladder took a while. I eventually got that job done, then I moved on to decorating the rest of the living room.

I have to remove all of non-Christmas decorative items, clean everything and pack them up. Then I got to putting out the Christmas ones. Decorating the mantle and setting up the Christmas village under glass took a while thanks to lots of cleaning. I have not quite finished the living room, but I was exhausted from that one room and gave up for the day.

Carter and I watched some TV together and I just couldn’t bring myself to start on the Christmas tree. Despite the 20 hinged crates sitting right in front of the tree I was not having any of it.

I predict it will take the whole next two days to finish the decorating and I will be lucky if I can do it in that amount of time given what else I also I have to do this weekend. Thank goodness we have an extra week of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am going to need every bit of it.

The Eve of Christmas Decorating

Some of you call today Thanksgiving. Some call it the eve of Black Friday. In my world today is the eve of Christmas decorating. Yes, we gave thanks today. Carter and I cooked up a storm for a meal for four that could have served 20.

“Mom, why did you get an eighteen pound turkey?”

“Because it takes the same amount of time and work to make it and once I have done it I will have all those leftovers to make turkey dishes for your father to eat all through the holiday season, while I am busy cooking for holiday parties that he won’t be going to.”

“Why won’t he be going to them?”

“Because they are for needlepoint, or garden club or other ladies things he is not part of.”

The real reason is I don’t want to be bothered with cooking anything else for the next three days so I can throw Christmas up all over our house.

Russ and Carter consider tomorrow the worst day of the year because they have to take all the boxes out of the attic and help get the tree up. The tree is so much easier than it used to be, but that does not alleviate their disdain for the day of decorating, even though neither of them hand one ornament or wreath.

I hope you all had a gentle day of giving thanks with loved ones. No fighting, bickering or disappointment. I hope your turkey was juicy and plentiful. I hope your travels were uneventful.

For me it is a day to rest up. To prep for the sprint of making magic appear. The race of decorating the whole house in three days begins in the morning. So farewell pilgrims and turkeys. So long cornucopia and pecan pies.

Tomorrow is peppermint, sparkle and lights. Pine, festive bows and garland appear. Heralding the happy season I wait for all the year.

My family does not like to start Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I think if I were not around they might wait a very long time. I on the other hand am just waiting to finish Thanksgiving so I can get to Christmas.

A couple of weeks ago I got a call inviting us to see Harry Connick Jr.’s Christmas show last night. Thankfully they included Carter so I excitedly accepted the kind invitation.

As the DPAC was full I knew I was not the only one who thought it was never too early to start listening to Christmas music. Connick did a great job and had a very entertaining band. The most hysterical member was Harry, the sax player. He looked a little like a character from the hobbit, but he could really play.

It was a festive way to kick off the season and even get my whole family in the mood. When we left the building a snow machine was blowing flakes on us. Yeah for Christmas! We just need to eat all that Thanksgiving food we cooked today and I can start decorating.

Surprise Packages Keep Coming

My crazy sister Janet and her partner Sophie are not coming for Thanksgiving. It is Sophie’s big birthday so they are going on a nice trip. Yeah for Sophie! We wish her a happy birthday.

We are sad not to see them, but truth be told, they don’t usually come for Thanksgiving. So it came as quite a surprise when three separate boxes arrived today with gourmet treats for us. First a box of very special biscuits. I thought that was very nice.

Then a while later a box of an assortment of smoked salmon. Yum. Now we are getting fancy. And a final box of lobster Mac and cheese arrived. We have reached the highest of decadence.

Only my sister Janet would send such extravagant surprise gifts. Well actually it is just like something my father would have done, but don’t tell Janet that she is as superbly generous as he was. It was his best trait and one I am glad she got.

I am not sure when and where we are incorporating theses yummies into our holiday, but we will.

The good news is Janet and Sophie will be coming for Christmas so we can spoil them in person then. Until then, have a fun birthday celebration. We love you!

Work From Home Works For Me

Last night Russ and I stayed up late to pick Carter up at the airport. She has a flexible Work from Home job and so she has come home for the whole Thanksgiving week. It is such a treat. I had not realized that she has not been home since last Christmas.

We have see her plenty, graduation, trips to Boston, Maine, but she has not come here. With my Mom in Durham it makes it easy for Carter to spend time with her.

Today for Carter’s WFH lunch break she took my mother out to lunch. She had a great surprise there when she saw our minister Chris which was a bonus for her.

After she finished her work day she went to Costco with me. It was so helpful to have her extra hands and good eye for gifts. We laughed about our shared love of appliances. We had a simultaneous reaction to a refrigerator and burst out laughing about it.

I hope that you and yours will get to spend some quality time over this Thanksgiving week. We never know how much time we have together. I hope that the flexibility of being able to work from home does not disappear. It also helps not having to travel on peak days.

$120 for Head

Yesterday Russ got the mail as we were on our way out to do errands. As I was driving, he started to peruse the catalogs that filled our box.

“Apparently Sharper Image really likes you,” he said. “They sent you two catalogs.”

As he flipped through the pages he commented on the many useless items. The winner of then “stupidest gift” was a $120 beer dispenser. The thing that made it so ridiculous is a human must open a can of beer, put it into the machine and then put a cup under the spout, pull a lever and dispense the beer.

The copy reads, “The canned bear draft system uses ultrasonic vibrations to create a dense micro-foam that boosts the flavor of any canned bear.”

I laughed as Russ read this to me. “So this machines gives better head,” I said. “That’s all it does? You do most of the work, but it gives head.”

Russ nodded. “Well the copy writer missed the boat on this one. The headline should have been “‘Better Head, just $120.’ Men would buy them by the thousands.”

I went on, “If the headline was ‘Give yourself Better Head’ women would buy them for their significant others in droves.”

Now I wonder what is in the video.

Sweet Ann

When I picked needlepoint back up sometime a decade or more ago I was warmly welcomed into a well established group of accomplished stitchers. Many of them had been stitching their whole life and they would sit around the round table at Chapel Hill needlepoint and talk and needlepoint.

When they first invited me to stitch with them I was very intimidated by their skills and their long term friendships. One woman was incredibly helpful to make me feel at home, Ann Hamner. We shared similar feeling on politics and dogs. In those first weeks of stitching with the “stitching table advisors” she made me feel like however I was stitching was fine. “I only do basketweave,” she used to tell me as I looked at the intricate stitches of others.

Eventually I was invited to join a special group and we would stitch Christmas ornaments for each other secret Santa style. I liked having the ornament exchange as a lunch party at my house and all the stitching advisors would come and stay all day.

Ann could be counted on to show up in her red plaid turtle neck and red vest, no matter how warm a December day it ended up being. Our friend Kate often wore her vest that matched Ann’s turtle neck.

I loved hearing about Ann’s dog Splash or where her grand children were going to college as we stitched. Covid ended stitching at the round table and I missed being with Ann regularly. Then she had some heart problems, but after a long illness she recovered.

Last year she announced it was her last year in the ornament exchange. I was sad, but understood. I thought we would still have the table. But stitching at the table has not come back and I was more often than not teaching Mah Jongg.

I recently sent out the invitations for the ornament exchange, which always happens the first Monday in December. Paperless post asked me if I wanted the same guest list. I had to modify it, but what I didn’t know is that Ann would not be able to make it this year, even if we just invited her. Ann passed away this morning.

Although she was older than my mother I considered her a contemporary. She was a young spirit who was kind to everyone, human and canine. Her passing will leave a big hole in the stitching advisory.

I’m certain we will be telling lots of Ann stories at the exchange this year. I pray for all her family and friends who will miss her sweet smile. She was the best.

Ripping Through You Kale Salad

As we are about to enter the eating season I am doing my best to reverse what usually happens to me at this time of year. I know that I can’t just give in to the sweets and carbs that seem to be everywhere during the holidays. My best defense is to just say no. I have said yes too often in the last two years.

Part of cutting out the types of foods that seem to stick to my bones means I have to up the flavor profile of healthy foods. So tonight I made a kale salad topped with salmon. The ingredients I added as bombs for the tastebuds were, tart apple slices, shaved fennel, almonds, red onion, lemon and Parmesan.

I started with some dark Dino Kale and massaged it with a bit of very green olive oil. I added the other ingredients and a lot of black pepper. I let it marinate for a bit while the kale softened from its treatment. Topped with a bit of pan roasted salmon made it an almost perfect dinner.

The quality that held it back from perfection was the tendency of the kale to get stuck between all of my teeth. It takes a lot of jaw action to break down kale. So after dinner I went right to flossing. I first used a floss pick and when I broke the notoriously strong bit of floss I turned to regular hand-held floss. Five minutes of dentist worthy flossing and I still had kale between a few molars. I brushed my teeth, first with my firm tooth brush and then with my soft. Back to hand flossing and I think I got it all.

I really didn’t want any of that kale to go to waste between my teeth because I wanted it to go to work ripping right through the rest of me. It was delicious and it was good for me. I am not saying it was as good as a piece of pecan pie, but it will do.

Can’t Wait for the Holidays

Today was my last day of classes until the last day in November. I love the flexibility of my work to take off as much time around holidays as I want. I purposely only scheduled one class in December so I can fully enjoy my favorite time of year.

It seems like the holidays have snuck up on me. I have hardly bought any presents and I have not made a single one. I have some ideas, but haven’t fulfilled them. I am in search of good experiences to gift to people on my list, as opposed to more stuff.

There are four main entertaining events I am hosting and I have made a couple of lose menus. Thankfully Carter has volunteered to make the Thanksgiving menu and wants to help with the cooking. I need to clean out the freezers to make room for food for parties.

Thanksgiving is as early as it can be this year which means we have a whole week after turkey day before December first arrives and the parties begin in earnest.

Before any of the party food can be made, the big thing that must happen is decorating my house. Everything must be thoroughly cleaned and non-holiday decorative items must be put way to make room for the sparkle. I can hardly wait.

Last year there were very few parties. All of my family got Covid over the whole 12 days of Christmas. This year must be better. Wishing for a healthy holiday season, with a few parties and a lot of happiness.

Ethel Walker’s Memorial Chapel

Today was the autumn memorial Chapel at The Ethel Walker School, where I went to high school. The school had let me know that my friend Stori’s name would be read and bells would be rung for her. A link to the live stream was provided so I could watch the service.

This is the second year in a row I have been sent the link to the service since they rang the bells last year for my father as he was considered a friend of the school and included in that memorial list.

Just before the service was to begin I got a message from Stori’s sister Lilea telling me she was logged into to watch. I was happy to be able to message Lilea through the service so it felt like we were there together.

When I was a student at Walker’s I was the head of the Northfield League, which was the group who ran the bi-weekly chapel services. Seeing the familiar chapel on my screen and hearing the beautiful organ music made me feel right at home. The chapel is where I developed my love of public speaking.

There were some familiar parts of the service which have been the same since I was a student. The choir sings the same song in the same way. The student body and guests sing “For the beauty of the earth,” my favorite hymn. And the Names of the Alum’s who we had lost in the past six months are read first, then the friends of the school.

Today Stori Stockwell Cadigan was the first name on the list and the youngest alumna by 20 years. It did make me feel good that all of the others were at least 80 years old and much older than that.

One thing that was different at this Memorial Chapel from one’s in my day was the main speaker. Harrison Shure, the assistant head of school, gave the remarks about the loss of his father in 2011 when he was a teenager. The new and refreshing part was that he is a gay man who spoke openly about being gay and how he was sorry his father had passed before he had come out. He was sure his father would have been an excellent parent of a gay man giving many funny examples of what he envisioned his father would have done as an ally.

It was a pleasure to listen to Harrison speak and I felt confident that he is an excellent assistant head of school. I am even more happy that an all girls school embraces him as an important part of the community. Diversity at Walkers is very important and it is valuable to have diversity of every kind this day and age.

The chapel service was beautiful and I am thankful to have been able to watch it. Stori was a supportive alumna and friend of the school. I will miss having her beside me in the pews at reunion chapels, but know that our classmates will hold her in our hearts.

We Need a Break In Politics

I’ve enjoyed exactly one week of only one political campaign still texting and emailing me, rather than the hundreds I was getting hourly two weeks ago. Yes, Georgia still has one more run off which means I am not totally politically free from people begging.

Now the great pumpkin is ruining all the peace by making some lame announcement tonight. I am praying that he comes to some sense of reality that his consistent losing ways are only going to continue now that most republicans are blaming him for the dismal showing in the midterms. Running for office in no way is a get out of jail free card for past crimes. I think we should all blame monopoly for creating the idea that there ever could be a get out of jail free card.

I am sure I am not alone in my desire to have a few months free of political campaigning. How about a few months of actual legislative work? Biden has been diligently working with his head down actually getting laws passed. We need to keep up this pace and fix things like legal immigration, and smart gun reform.

I am hoping republicans will realize how tired people are with school shootings and that the places with the least gun control have the most shootings. I’m looking at you Texas.

Please politicians, just get to work and stop just running for office. Running is not working and we pay you to work.

Tea Bracket Needed

There is no event I like better than afternoon tea. I love the listing of many teas you get to chose from. It is often a difficult decision to chose between fruity herbals or classic black teas. I like a citrus tea but usually want some kind of caffeine.

Today I had the pleasure of going to a friends house. She offered a cup of tea as an afternoon treat. I gladly accepted. Then she guided me into her butler’s pantry where the most extensive display of teas were laid out. Easily there were fifty or more choices. I could have spent an hour reading all the descriptions. I really needed a tea bracket in the style of the NCAA basketball brackets to help me decide. A rooibos versus a classic green. Rooibos versus and Darjeeling. Darjeeling would advance.

In the end I chose an apricot tea. It was a lovely caramel color with a citrus tang. I was very happy with my choice. Thanks to my darling friend for a beautiful tea experience. She may not cook, but she can really put on a beautiful tea display. I am available every week to taste them all!

We Skipped Fall

Friday it was 70 degrees. It’s been a very hot fall. It’s been confusing about what to wear. Then last night a cold front dropped and it was 26 degrees. We woke up to a good covering of snow in the mountains. It stayed cold.

So what could we possibly do? Work a puzzle! Jan and I both love a puzzle and she has the best set of trays to sort pieces by color. If you don’t know that is how you do a puzzle you are taking too long to do it.

Rex thought we were crazy to start a 1000 piece puzzle, but we assured him it was a fairly easy one and sure enough we finished before lunch. What a fun mountain weekend. Thanks Jan and Rex, we had a great time.

Thankfully the snow had melted on the mountain road so getting down the mountain was not too hard. Now we are home where it is also freezing. We skipped having fall nd have moved right into winter.

Siamese Mah Jongg

Our day at the mountains has been all about football and Siamese Mah Jongg. It was a good day for the Tennessee Vols which was the spotlight game here. Jan and I perfected playing the two handed version of Mah Jongg.

Siamese means each player plays two hands at the same time, trading tiles between racks as you want. You only win when you get both hands. It is a very fun way to play Mah Jongg if there are only two of you. Since neither Russ nor Rex play Mah Jongg we had no choice.

If we weren’t so enthralled with foot ball we might have gone outside, but by the time the Tennessee game was over it had started raining and the temperature has dropped precipitously. Now they are forecasting snow for later tonight so we might be forced to play a lot more Mah Jongg tomorrow until we can get the cars down the mountain.

Now we are getting the puzzles out for tonight. As far as I am concerned this is a perfect weekend.

Off to Owl’s Roost

Our friends Jan and Rex invited us to come to the mountains for the weekend. There is no better place to spend the weekend than Owl’s Roost in Todd, NC. There certainly are no better hosts.

Jan encouraged me to get here as early as possible, which meant in day light hours, because the mountain road, which is the last twenty minutes of a three hour drive, was next to impossible when the road is covered in leaves. As I have been here a few times I understood why she was saying this. The “road” is pioneer like. Meaning there can be sharp drop offs on either side and heaven forbid you have another car, or worse a truck, coming at you. Even if you are driving with the mountain on your side, the gully between the mountain and the road made by rain runoff is between three and six feet deep. If you are driving on the non-mountain side the drop off is closer to 30 to 600 feet.

Tropical storm Nichole had some serious rain bands coming through North Carolina today. There was a lot of rain this morning, but the sky was blue when we left Durham. It only took until Greensboro before the rain started again. I would say there were only about 25 minutes of scary driving, when the rain was so hard that my fastest or fast wipers made no difference. Thankfully Russ and Shay were asleep in the back of the car for that part.

We got to the continental divide and I knew that the turn off for Todd was not much further. Leaving the highway, we traveled the last twenty miles on small winding country roads, which took forty five minutes. A good portion of that trip we were on the Todd railroad grade road which ran right beside the South fork of the New River. The New river is supposedly the oldest river in North America. I am not sure who is verifying the birthday’s of rivers, but that is the claim the New river makes. (I do think if it were named the new river that might mean there was an old river, but I’m not going to argue.)

The storm had caused the New river to flood over it’s banks. As we drove along looking at how far the breach of the river had gone I was getting worried that we might come to a point where the river covered the road. I had been worried about leaves covering the road and had not considered the worse water emergency. We were really out in the middle of no where so when I saw a car coming towards us I took that as a good sign that the road was not washed out ahead.

After about six miles the road finally split from the river as the river made a big bend. Now I felt like we were safe, until we came to the much smaller river that flows under the bridge to get into Jan and Rex’s neighborhood. Thankfully that creek, now more like a river had not crossed the bridge.

We made it up the mountain, I think with fewer leaves, thanks to the big rain washing them off the gravel road. We arrived safe and sound at Owl’s Roost with a few minutes of daylight to spare. Let’s hope that’s the biggest adventure of the weekend.

Favorite Maintenance Day

There are very few jobs in home maintenance that make me as happy as the day I get my windows cleaned. Getting a new roof, no. Replacing an HVAC, no. Regraveling the driveway, definitely not. But paying four tiny men to clean the inside and outside of my windows, Yes, Yes, and Yes.

If I thought I could afford it I would have my windows cleaned four times a year. Alas, that would be a huge waste, but I would be so happy.

The week after daylight saving makes perfect sense as a time to clean because I want whatever afternoon sun there is to get in and I want my windows clean for all the Holiday parties.

While those tiny men were here, they cleaned off my roof and my gutters and cleaned up all the cobwebs with dead leaves that were around the doors and windows.

I am amazed how fast they are able to clean the storm and screen windows as well as my regular windows.

Getting my windows cleaned by others is a luxury I did not know about until I was older. I owned a house in Washington DC and not once did I get my windows cleaned. There was city dirt I am sure should have removed, but I had no idea that I could hire people to do this.

Most young homeowners don’t know how much money you need to have set aside for annual home maintenance. The rule of thumb is you are going to spend between one and four percent of the value of your house on big maintenance, not things like cleaning or yard up keep.

I was lucky that when I first bought homes I did not have any major replacements that came up unexpectedly, but that was just luck. My advice now is to young people is to have a deferred maintenance fund that you contribute to annually so when you need something major replaced you don’t worry about where the money is coming from.

Cleaning your windows is not something that falls into the deffered maintenance category, but it does help you enjoy your house so much more.