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Musings on anything. |
 My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| If we believe Dr. Seuss, Christmas is not about wrappings or food, but can't be stopped from coming around. And if you believe Ebeneezer Scrooge was truly redeemed, then you know a worthy goal is to live every day all year long like Christmas Day. To do that without buying presents or too many groceries, we could try remembering the four candles of advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. And not just at church or in religious contexts, but in every aspect of our lives. The Christian has hope for a better tomorrow, so she does not give into despair for long. Joy is something we can share with others or all alone in our manner and on our faces. Peace is not just something to talk about or pray for. We are to be peacemakers, at home, at work, at play, at church, on the highway. (And it's hard sometimes to feel peace, much less be an instrument of peace, when driving in traffic.) And then there is love. The birth of Jesus, the man, is a story of God who set aside his divinity to become a frail human like us. He came at Christmas to show us God loves us, to show us how to love each other and others who don't believe, and how to love God. If we think about Christlike love, then justice and mercy follow. So this year, we can be vigilant and ask ourselves each day, "Am I observing Christmas in my heart and actions today?" |
| I hadn't wanted to entertain for Christmas, but some family members invited themselves and told me what time they would be here. So I planned a meal and adjusted the furniture to accommodate a crowd around the tree. Then on Christmas Eve, 24 hours before they were due, they told me they had other plans and I was invited, too. I was disappointed. I had spent a lot on groceries, a menu was all planned, napkins folded, shrimp was thawing, etc. Now the rug was whipped out from under me. I wasn't sure the other relative meant for me to be included in the new plans. But I went along. My brother and his small family were thrown by the last minute invite as well. I felt like we were intruding on the host relative's in-laws, although we are all acquainted. However, it turned out to be more fun than anything I had planned. There were games and prizes for the kids. We ended up outside in the cold because there were so many kids and friends late in the afternoon, and they were very physical in their competitions. It was more memorable for the kids than any sit-down dinner and gift exchange would have been. I'm not a serendipitous person. I do have food that will probably be tossed out (the ham will last if stored properly). But the spur of the moment venture was new and a little exciting, something new to do o future occasions. Sometimes throwing in a monkey wrench is a good idea. Besides the first Christmas was anything but routine. Why not shake things up a little bit? The value of family, laughter, and fun outweighed well laid plans. |
| It's a quiet and cold night. All my gifts are wrapped, although I am short two. There is no where to shop at this late date and I don't know what to get them anyway. Dinner is under control. I'm not expecting company until 2 pm Wednesday. Tomorrow, I go to church for a low key candlelight service. I will open a can of soup afterwards and get everything ready to cook the next morning. It's a simple menu, since one family will going to brunch first. I fixed a batch of fudge for some reason. It doesn't look like it will truly harden, I'll check in the morning. I didn't over-decorate this year. It seems like such a waste when I don't get that much company any more. And my health just interferes too much. But I intend to have a good holiday, and be as cheerful as I am normally. I'm a positive thinker. I know that Christmas is not about getting or entertaining, but it's a reminder, like Scrooge said after redemption, to keep every day as though it were Christmas. |
| On Saturday, my great niece and nephews came to my house to make cookies. I had everything ready in advance, since I knew they had somewhere else to go for the afternoon. One table was set up with flour and a cutting board with roller pen. The dough was chilling in the refrigerator. The royal icing had just been made and sat on the kitchen counter. Cookie sheets were lined with parchment paper and sitting on top of the stove next to the table where cookie cutters in various shapes waited in the flour. The dining room table was lined with wax paper and cooling racks and many kinds of sprinkles for decorating. First order of business, everyone had to wash his or her hands. Then I set them to rolling the sticky dough and getting a feel for what was too much pressure on the dough. We lifted the cookies over to the pans and put in the preheated oven. When they were done, I handled the hot pans and moved them over to the racks. While one or two painted cookies, one would keep rolling and cutting. They moved finished ones over to plates to finish drying. My intention was that they would eat one or two each, take a few home, and share the rest with the kids group at my church. That didn't work. They did refrain from eating them up. However, each one insisted on keeping the ones he or she decorated. There was no sharing this year. I got out plastic containers for them to avoid smearing the icing that wasn't quite dry. They had to go to a soccer game. I didn't have time to argue, and I didn't want to be the Grinch. I had no cookies to take to church except a few not quite burned ones. It was a good project to have with kids under 12, but I still felt disappointed. I thought we had done a better job of teaching them the spirit of sharing. I I don't believe they hoarded the cookies for eating, but because they were pretty. They were their own little works of art, and they just couldn't part with them. Still even works of art are sometimes meant to be shared. I failed in the lesson of giving as its own reward. They only said thank you to me because their mother forced them. |
| Once a year, we have a dinner with the kids from the housing project down the road. We pick them up on the bus for activities twice a month. For the dinner, some parents com and regular church members. We had volunteers cook ham, and sides, with mac'n cheese for the kids, and store bought dessert. We had a jam session, in which 4 guitarists and one saxophonist, performed a few numbers for us. Then we played a game of charades, with each table acting out Christmas songs amongst themselves. My table finished first so we got some cheap candy prizes. The highlight is the unrehearsed Christmas play. The director found years ago that kids get too nervous and uptight about memorizing lines and following directions. So they run through the story, while the adults play music and games. Then they come in in costumes and follow the directions of several adults stationed along the way. The sheep were bouncing all over the place. The angels almost missed their entrance. The wise man (only one last night) passed by the stable. We sing traditional carols at key points in the Bible story. At the end, without ever having said a word, they come back and take a bow. They are rewarded with a bag of candy and can take an ornament of their choice off a special tree. It really is fun to watch. I find myself looking forward to this each year. It is as entertaining as a play rehearsed since September. |
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These days I just have houseplants and one lonely portulaca that came up by seed and has bloomed this past week. I've been "home" for three months and the plants have responded well. But, I long for Thailand.
. Isn't it funny how we take things like electricity and plumbing for granted... until we don't have them. Happy for you!