The cats already have their big present: the bestest toy shop and gymboree in the cat universe! They are in heaven -- especially the young foster kitties, who also appear to have special artistic talents with ribbon. Thankfully, there are a ton of unbreakable ornaments to festoon the battable sectors of the tree. We'll be finding them under the furniture for months.
That's about it for completed holiday preparations, unless you count the big bow I put on the shiny new water heater installed on an emergency basis last week [we are all about romantic marital gestures, around here]. I've got YT's Christmas Coffee Cake recipe and a partial possible menu. Got presents, but done no wrapping for those who will be here on Christmas. The cards, they did not happen, and I'm resigned to trying to make amends at some future date.
Also, the ants have begun the annual holiday pilgrimage to our kitchen. My husband has begun the annual festive hunt for tiny cracks that he has not sealed up during previous skirmishes. It's a classic war of the wits! We've already had the first snippy little exchange over something very stupid, too, so I'm calling this holiday ready for business.
Friends, Pixies, Elves, Parents, Adult Children of Persons, and Honorable Citizens: Bring your whines and anti-whines! Pass the virtual seasonal beverage of choice, and anything delicious! Hurl the fruitcakes, offer up those needing cluesticks in their stockings, and share the good, the great, the amusing and amazing!
This week's Brigadoon is an extended session, in honor of the season's vast array of emotional opportunities. Posts close Thursday morning. Be sure to nominate fellow travelers who are deserving of awards!
PS: Here's something to renew your holiday spirit. --Miranda
23 comments:
I forgot YT's coffee cake recipe!
YT, can you post it again, please?
Oh, the whines, she are starting early.
Today, we braved El Diablo WalMarto, not because we had last minute gifts to get, but because we needed groceries. The fools are thick upon the ground, people.
While we were walking through the store, JF kicked me in my ankle. The one I broke in April. The one that's still healing. It was completely accidental and just one of those fluke things, but it made him feel like a total heel. Of course, me crying in the middle of Wal-Mart with a smarting ankle wasn't exactly the highlight of the holiday, you know?
Earlier in the day, he got a wild hair up his butt to bleach the facade of the house. As he's spraying bleach water on the side of the house, it ran down on his arm and encountered his deodorant. He apparently started a chemical reaction, and he's got a livid red chemical burn on his underarm and side.
You think maybe God's trying to tell us something?
very strong start to the whining, klee! "spouse accidentally inflicted injury on me while shopping" is old skool, and you could have competition there, but "underarm chemical burns due to holiday cleanup" may be a category unto itself. sending along some virtual aloe and medicinal brandy. and a side of mistletoe, what the heck.
Miranda, I love the video!!!
KLee, I'm so sorry 'bout your Walmart experience. I hope your ankle is okay now and that JF's chemical burns heal soon.
Christmas Morning Coffee Cake
1 tablespoon butter-for greasing pan
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour-for dusting pan
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 heaping tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream (light)-use Daisy brand light, though-it has no added crap in it.
2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
2 cups pre-sifted, all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely-chopped nuts (recipe said walnuts but The Attorney likes pecans)
4 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350EF. Grease and flour a 10-inch, non-stick bundt pan with 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons flour. Shake out excess flour.
2. Cream the sugar, 1 cup butter, and lemon peel together with an electric mixer. Add eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. Blend until everything is mixed in. If necessary, scrape down sides of bowl once or twice.
3. In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold into creamed mixture. Mix until just blended, scraping down sides of bowl when necessary. Do not overmix.
4. In another bowl, mix nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon together.
5. Spoon 2/3 of batter into prepared bundt pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle nut mixture over top. Spread remaining batter into pan, evening off top. Tap pan to settle batter.
6. Place on center rack of preheated oven. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert on a cake rack and cool for at least 30 minutes more before cutting. When cake is cool, place the confectioners sugar in a small strainer and dust atop cake.
***Very Important***
It will seem like there's not enough batter. You may have trouble putting the last third over the nut and sugar mixture. Do not worry. It is divine, every single time. Just trust me.
YT, that sounds positively sinful. Are you SURE that we aren't committing some mortal sin by making and consuming this rare treat on Christmas morning? I'm sure the church would ban it if they knew about it....
many thanks to miranda for sharing the most excellent video, and YT for sharing her very delicious-sounding coffee cake!!
i have one more run to the supermarket for those items previously forgotten, all the presents left to wrap, and some general cleanup. my beloved is doing sleigh duty, since the kids suddenly decided they should, like, go shopping or something.
Christmas Cookie Recipe
1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
lemon juice
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Crown Royal
- Sample the Crown Royal to check quality.
- Take a large bowl, check the Crown Royal again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.
- Turn on the electric mixer...Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy
bowl.
- Add one teaspoon of sugar...Beat again.
- At this point it's best to make sure the Crown Royal is still OK, try another cup.. just in case.
- Turn off the mixer thingy.
- Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
- Pick the frigging fruit off floor...
- Mix on the turner.
- If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a dewscriver.
- Sample the Crown Royal to check for tonsisticity.
- Next, sift two cups of salt, or something.... who giveshz a sheet.
- Check the Crown Royal.
- Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
- Add one table.
- Add a spoon of ar, or somefink.... whatever you can find.
- Greash the oven.
- Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.
- Don't forget to beat off the turner.
- Finally, throw the bowl through the window.
- Finish the bottle of Crown Royal.
- Make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.
Cherry Mistmas
early style entry from that mommy! many hugs to the 3 sweet peas. mazel tov!
They finally let my mom out of the hospital Friday, two weeks and three days after she hit the emergency room.
I'd been living day-to-day, cramming as much Christmas prep and laundry as possible into each, because I'd said I was going back down for a couple of days when she got out. Whenever that would be.
Then we started sharing a head cold last weekend. All three kids came down with it over about three days. And I didn't dare go see my mom when she got out, for fear of giving it to her -- someone who had just spent two weeks battling something that acted like pneumonia but wasn't exactly. And I feel like sh!t for not keeping my word, but I'd feel worse if she ended up back in the hospital because of me, wouldn't I? All I could do was hope the kids are over the symptoms by the time we'd planned to go down there the Thursday after Christmas.
And then Saturday I came down with the symptoms. So I'm throwing everything in the book at it, hoping to be reasonably healthy next Thursday.
Poop.
(Oh, drugged-up and snotsy is not exactly my favorite way to spend Christmas, either.)
(((( camera obscura )))) glad your mom got out! and hoping the germies exit the premises in time for the visit. xoxoxo
((CO)), I hope you are feeling better by tomorrow and completely healthy in time for the visit.
My Christmas here has been delightful. The children are pleased with their presents, I'm pleased with mine, food has turned out, we have an invite to friends for dinner.
My whine is this: My mother's younger brother is dying. Admittedly, he has been for 12 years now, since he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1995 and given "18 to 36 months" as his likely prognosis. Since then, he has had two more, totally unrelated cancers (testicular and esophageal). Each time he has surprised every doctor. He's his oncologist's pet patient now. He has lived his life fully and happily for the last decade.
But we are, most likely, reaching the end of this road. He's had pneumonia this month, the esophageal cancer was pronounced inoperable and can only be shrunk, not removed, and he was readmitted to ICU last night.
I just hope he doesn't die on Christmas Day. I don't think his wife could take it, because her mother died 15 years ago, today, of liver cancer.
Cancer sucks.
(((( sara )))) holding you and your family in our thoughts.
(((Sara))). Hoping he surprises the doctors again.
merry christmas, everyone!
taking a breather -- YT's coffee cake was a definite hit; we had a lovely, relaxed morning hanging out and opening presents; snacks were served and devoured; husband is walking the dogs; the kids are watching a movie, and son [age 20] is messing around with a remote control racecar he got 10 years ago; roast is in the oven and everything else is ready to go.
Roast is cooked and eaten, along with the yorkshire pudding (first time I made it! It came out great!), and brussels sprouts, and chocolate/whipped cream refridgerator cake.
I shoulda made YT's coffee cake, the banana bread did NOT fly with MM. Oh well. There's always New Year.
Presents are opened. Life is good.
We made YT's coffee cake for dessert and it was a big hit here, too.
I know I complain about my mom, and I have good reason much of the time, but she did something truly amazing this year. Our much younger sister from my father's third marriage decided at the last minute to come to my brother's for Christmas Eve. My mom wanted to make sure she had something to open so made her this beautiful Christmas necklace. It was similar to the ones she made me and the sissies-in-law but she tried to make it extra special. She addressed it "To: Sissy From: Santa." My mom really outdid herself then and my sister nearly cried.
Despite my late-arriving holiday cheer, we had a wonderful holiday. Spouse and I have avoided any fighting while the children have enjoyed their gifts. We had friends drop by over the last few days and I feel incredibly blessed by the people in my life.
Camera Obscura: I hope you feel better by next week.
((Sara))
Kathy A: I'm glad your holiday is peaceful and quiet.
That Mommy: I loved that cookie recipe. Many a celebration I have had to plan where those cookies would come in handy.
miranda, that story is so sweet! mom's earned a beautiful virtual rose. so glad your holidays are going well, especially after the last few months!
the little miracle of the season for us is that our young nephew called this morning! we have not been in contact -- SILfH lost custody and has neither mentioned him nor seen him in the months since. we sent along some presents and a card via his dad's lawyer, because we have been thinking of the little guy -- and someone at the lawyer's office was a total sweetheart and fed-xed them along. and his dad set up the call. yay!
[i'll save the SILfH rant for later.]
everyone else is snuggling with the dogs, but i'm having some allergic meltdown over the quantity time with dog fur.
so, here is my SILfH rant: she has chosen not to see her 7-y-o son for months. when the judge said she had to have a supervised visit, she yelled at him and stormed out. to quiet her angst, she has gotten a new house, a new cat, a new boyfriend -- and not fixed things regarding her young son.
she forgets my kids most years, but this year she gave them both $100 cash for christmas -- a gesture that fools them not, but hey, it's cash. for my SILfH, i propose a "money can't buy you love" cluestick. high-voltage, if possible.
Ah, kathy, I like your cluestick suggestion.
Last year my kids were the beneficiaries of the very same thing - my uncle (not the dying one) was estranged from his only child - a teenager - at the holiday. He spent what he would have spent on his child on mine, but it was Broken Family Guilt Loot, and I just felt bad even accepting it. This year, Uncle is reunited with his child and we got much smaller presents, and I am glad.
My grandparents stopped by yesterday, ostensibly to drop off some seasonal baking and meet Kid3 for the first time and ending up dropping off a Wii and piles of clothing, books and toys for the girls. Because it's just not right that they shouldn't have gifts to open on Christmas, despite the fact that my Christian grandparents are merely a blip on our Jewish family tree.
So despite our best efforts to have a religious Chanukkah and proclaim the loveliness and importance of spending time together as a family, the commercial Christmas craziness got in anyways. I truly appreciate the gesture. I just wish it had come without strings.
So far so good. We baked a lot of cookies and then ate them. No big surprise there. We made peppermint bark and did not eat it because the dark chocolate siezed a bit. I tried to fix it, and it's not grainy, but it just won't harden. But the Boy will eventually eat it as he is a human garbage can.
We went to see National Treasure 2, which kinda sucked. We had Chinese food that really sucked.
My son is a bit better. I've been monitoring his meds and he's taking then at the right times, etc. and they finally seem to be working a bit. It's not perfect, but it's better!
Had a long talk with my daughter about trust issues and she understood what I was saying, which is also a first. Wonder of wonders.
(((sara))))
Cancer does suck.
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