Tools of the Trade/Making memories

( This photo is of our dear friend, Ed, or crazy Uncle Ed, as our kids call him, helping the grands decorate  Christmas cookies.)

This time of year, lots of baking is going on in houses all over the world. Everyone has their own favorites to make during the holiday season.  Perhaps its a recipe that has been in your family for as long as you can remember.  Perhaps you're starting new traditions with your family and want special foods to be a big part of the celebrations.

Whichever applies to you, you need the right tools to pull it off.  There are wonderful, time saving tools on the market today.  Mixers that do everything but the dishes, chopper-dicers to save you the time consuming task of chopping up nuts, fruits or what-evers.  Aren't they amazing?  Well, yes they are, but they're not for me.  I have a lovely stand mixer, a fancy little chopper-dicer, a bread making machine, all those time saving appliances.  And, I use them throughout the year.  But, you know what?  I find I don't use them this time of year.

During the crazy hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I find myself going "old school".  I have found that the simple act of kneading bread, sifting flour (yes, I still do that!), or chopping nuts is therapeutic. It forces you to slow down and enjoy the tactile sensation of hands on baking.

Now, before anyone starts saying "What?? Are you crazy?? I don't have that kind of time!  I have kids!  I have a job!  I have a life!"  Precisely why you should take the time to do things the old way.  Invite your children into the kitchen, have them help!  Will is be messy?  You bet it will.  Everyone may be covered in flour or powdered sugar before you're done. (Heck...I'M covered with flour and powdered sugar and I'm baking by myself!)  But guess what....it will be a memory that each of you will carry throughout your lives.

I too, had a full time job.  I too, had children.  I too, had a life.  To my regret, I didn't take the time that I should have to include the young ones very often.  You only get one shot at their growing up.  Don't waste it on things, make memories instead.

So dig out your mixing bowls, your wooden spoons, and your pudding steamers.  Dig out your elbow grease and DIG IN!

This time of year is special for so many reasons.  We each have the power to make it even more special and more memorable just by taking the time.  The time to slow down for a while, the time to feel, the time to engage with each other and enjoy each others company.

From our home to yours, Merry Christmas.

They say that your home is your castle.  It's where you reign with absolute authority.  Sure, right.
It seems that lately, our house has been the one calling the shots.  You see, this winter, part of the ceiling in the girls bedroom collapsed.  Bad enough, but it was covered with back mold.  (Side note; my hubby is extremely allergic to black mold.)  Within three days, his vertigo reared its ugly head.  We contacted our insurance company, only to find out that they don't cover the type of damage we sustained.  "So sorry" they said.  We had a few choice words to say.  (Alright, ALOT of choice words).  But the bottom line was, what were we to do about the situation?
We were renting out my parents house to a couple that were in the process of going their separate ways.  So we made the decision to move into my parents house.  All it needs is some cosmetic work right?  A little paint, a little elbow grease and it should be good to go!
Oh, the life of a naive person. 
Little did we realize that time had taken its toll on that house too.  We still had to do the paint and elbow grease parts, but there were buckets of elbow grease needed.  We've replaced floors, sections of ceiling, ripped out carpets, repaired water damage, patched holes, and  re-sheetrocked.  And painted......and primed and painted some more.
When you move into a new house, you want the colors and "feel" to reflect your taste or lifestyle.  That doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with another person's choices, they're just not YOUR choices.  The wall coverings had originally been selected with my Mother in mind.  Not bad, but not us.  Our tenants had changed up some of the colors.  Again, not bad, but not our taste.  So we get to pick and choose.  Something as simple as "How about yellow for the kitchen?"  turns into a maze of color chips, samples and lots of praying.  For example.....I had selected a color for the master bathroom that I thought would compliment both the bedroom colors and the existing dusty rose colored countertop.  (Remember dusty rose and country blue?)  So we primed and we painted.  When we finished, I stood there looking at the finished product and said  "Oh no.....I can't live with this color!".  It didn't turn out at all like I had envisioned it.  My Mom probably would have loved it, but me?  Not so much.  So, plan B.  Back to the store, new paint and let's try this again.  Luckily, I was happy with how it turned out.  (You all know the old adage....."if Momma ain't happy..." )
We're still working on getting our new "castle" finished.  There's still lots to do, but at least I feel like progress is being made. 
The photo for this blog is sort of how our castle looks at the moment....a bit rundown and surrounded by water (thanks to all the rain for the past few weeks) but, it's our castle and once in residence, we shall reign with absolute authority.  (Unless you ask the dogs......)

Another Christmas rolls around.  Today, the snow is falling gently outside my window, setting the perfect Christmas card scene.  Colored lights twinkle on trees and in windows.  The smell of holiday baking fills the house with wonderful aromas.  Friends and families begin to gather together to celebrate this most magical time of the year.

We each have family traditions that we proudly carry on.  Perhaps it's an orange in the toe of your stocking.  Candy canes that Santa hangs on the Christmas tree.  Certain cookies or baked goods that, while they would taste wonderful any time of year, are only made this time of year.

Christmas, for me, is all of those things.  Is it crazy?  Sure is.  Is it hectic?  Very much so! Will it be crowded in your kitchen,  or around your tree?  I do hope so!

As we prepare, we remember.  The Christmases past, spent with the people (and critters) that we hold so dear. The very people who gave us the traditions we carry on today.  Now, that's not to say that we haven't added a few new traditions to the list, but these are our foundation.  Our roots.  Our beginnings.

This year will be difficult for many.  They will be spending their first holiday without an important ingredient to their family equation.  In our family, it will be no different.  While we celebrated many wonderful moments this year, we also grieved for the loss of  dear ones.  For some of us, this year is bittersweet.  Yet, as you uphold your family traditions, take a moment to "talk" with your loved ones who won't be sitting at your table.  They will be there with you, heart and soul.  I know that we'll have a gathering of very special angels at our house.  We remember each of them with our little traditions, quiet reminders of Christmases past.

If you have a moment during this season of hustle and bustle, try to listen to a beautiful song, "Christmas in Heaven" by Scotty McCreery.  Be sure to have a kleenex or three with you.  It is a heartwarming song that sums up todays blog perfectly.

Take the time, this year, to hold close those that you hold dear.  Welcome them in, welcome them home and carry on the traditions that make this time of year so special.

May you each have a magical, beautiful and blessed Christmas.

Shall we dance?

"Stifling an urge to dance is bad for your health — it rusts your spirit and your hips." ~Terri Guillemets.

That being said, we've been keeping our hips "rust free" for a few months now. Why did we embark on this journey?  What made us decide to forgo any sense of rational thought?

Because we wanted to!!

Rick and I have always loved to dance.   We both come from families that love to dance. Maybe we weren't the snazziest couple on the dancefloor, but we always had fun.  When the "happy feet" urge would strike, we'd head out to find a place that played music we could dance to.  Not the grinding, dance club type music, but the classics.  You know, Frank, Bing, 40's style big band.  It suited us just fine.  We used to joke, while dancing on a crowded dance floor, that we had to watch out for the movers and shakers.  Those couples that had obviously taken ballroom dance classes.  The ones that would run you over if you got in their way.  We would laugh and move away accordingly, all the while thinking "That could be us".

So, for Christmas, our son Josh gave us a gift of ballroom dance classes at the local Fred Astaire studio.  Fred Astaire.....they must be good, right?  Wow.  Little did we know the first time we walked into the studio that we would be having so much fun.  

Has it been easy?  Not always.  Many is the evening when our brain is overflowing with new dance moves.  The hardest part is remembering which dance those steps go to!  Was the "grapevine" in the foxtrot or was that the rumba?  Do we do a "twinkle" in the waltz?  Does this dance have a heel lead or are we on the balls of our feet?

"Muscle memory" is the term our instructors use.  Eventually, it will become second nature.  For now we practice, practice, practice.

The classes are private, meaning it's us and our instructor for 45 minutes.  That's not to say that there's no one else in the ballroom.  Sometimes it's a bit like 690 at rush hour!  But that's part of learning.  How to be a mover & shaker without any major crashes!

 We have seen our dancing improve. We have watched while friends of ours have made great strides in the ballroom.  (No pun intended!)

Bottom line?  If you enjoy dancing, go dance!  There's no need to take lessons, just go dance.  If you want to learn more, find a class.  It can be a locally sponsored class, like at the "Just Dance" studio in Chittenango.  Those classes give you a taste for all different dances and is fun.  I'm sure wherever you are, there are classes like that available.

But if you want to take it to the next level, find a Fred Astaire Studio near you.  the instructors are phenomenal.   They make you the best dancer you can be, all while you're having fun!  And for us, fun is the bottom line. 

The photo on this blog says it all...dance is enormously entertaining, irresistible, we give it two thumbs up and when we dance, it can be a charming comedy!

Will we ever be as good as the professionals you see on Dancing with the Stars?  Ummmmm....probably not.  But, that's okay!  I could hold my own if Maks or Tristan ever shows up and ask me to dance.  And since the likelihood of that happening is pretty slim, I'm not too worried.

Rites of passage

The summer of busy, crazy, wonderful is waning.  The main event for this year was our son Joshua's wedding.  As in life, he (and his lovely bride, Tori) decided to do things their way.  To say that their nuptials were "outside the box" would be an understatement.  They completely blew up the box!
Now, don't get me wrong.  That's NOT a bad thing.   Many people have beautiful weddings.  They follow the prescribed wedding agenda .  We have attended many, many of these weddings and have enjoyed the beauty and pageantry of each and every one.  That being said, I must admit that Josh & Tori's wedding was so "them".  There was beauty, pageantry and a sword-fight.  Not what you'd normally expect, but if you know these two amazing people, you wouldn't have been surprised.
While Mother Nature had different plans  than they did for the day, everyone rolled with it like seasoned pros.  A little rain was not about to put a damper on this celebration.  Eventually, even Mother Nature decided that she would grant them a boon on their wedding day, and stopped the rain.
Perhaps those raindrops were the tears of joy from loved ones, no longer with us.  Their way of saying "We're watching, we wish you could see our happiness for you.  We love you."
Whatever the reason, the day was beautiful.  Not in the sunshiny way, but in the dreamy, dewy, "soft focus" sort of way.

As a parent, you wish for your children to be happy, whatever or whomever they pursue in life.  The happiness and love that shone in Josh & Tori's eyes on that special day is a testament to their happiness.  And, in the end, that's all a parent could want.

Our wish for them is that they continue to be the team that amazes the world every step of the way.

Happy trails to you......

The title of today's blog is a reference to a song by Roy Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans. For the youngsters in the audience, just Google them. For the rest of us, we know who they are and can probably all sing that song. And sing we did.
Tuesday we celebrated the passing of my Aunt Eva. She had lived for 100 incredible years. (Yet any of us would tell you she's gone too soon!) Eva was my fathers oldest sister. The family matriarch for many, many years.
As with any passing, family gathers together to share the grief and the love. With our family, we also share the stories and the laughter. Maybe that is what makes our family so special. We have a difficult time staying somber for very long. That's not to say we can't.....we just don't! Many things in life can be depressing. Many things can get you down. Our family has always had the ability to look on the bright side. No matter how bad, there's always a bit of blue sky to celebrate. Something good to bring us out of our funk.
Aunt Eva summed it up best. "Life is beautiful" was not just her signature saying, it was the core of her belief. And we all believed. We still do.
It's for that very reason that when we all gathered graveside to bid our final farewells, we gathered close, held each other and sang "Happy Trails".
The memories, the stories, the life lessons will live on. Most importantly, the love lives on. It runs through each of us, connecting us by a golden thread. Our family tapestry is beautiful to behold. Thank you, Aunt Eva for helping us to weave. We love you. Until we meet again, happy trails.

Another Christmas, come and gone

The presents have been opened. Vast quantities of food has been consumed. There's miscellaneous bits of ribbon and wrapping hiding in strange places. That can only mean one thing.....Christmas, once again, has come and gone.
As usual, it was a wonderful day. Actually, our celebrating spans a couple of days. Trying to work with everyone else's holiday schedule makes it more like an open house for a few days. This year, the holiday continues for a few more days. Tonight we'll celebrate with neighbors. Tomorrow, Josh should be home and we get to do the gift thing all over again!
As I get older, I see Christmas from a different angle. Gone are the days when Christmas Eve meant staying up late to be sure Santa's gifts were wrapped and the stockings were filled. Now everything is wrapped and ready to go way before the day arrives. No longer do we struggle with the "slot A into tab B" instructions. The milk and cookies are shared by everyone, not just left for Santa.
While some of the chaos has been removed, it's been replaced with a wonderful feeling of family. Having the kids here for Christmas still makes the day for me. As they have gotten older and moved away, their visits mean even more. It's a time to catch up on their life. A time to just look over and see their faces. To know, that for a brief while, our family is together again, under the same roof.
While some things change, others remain the same. There still has to be a new ornament on the tree with their name and the year written on it. There had better be egg-nog to drink. Certain cookies are baked only at Christmas. (Although I don't know why...they could be made any time of year!) But if these things weren't present at Christmas, there would certainly be a void.
Our family has expanded. We now have the joy of grandchildren! But, over the years, our "family" includes friends near and dear to us. While not related by blood, they are just as much family. I'm sure you have special folks like that in your life too.....the ones you can call, anytime day or night. Good news or bad, they're there to share it with you.
To me, Christmas boils down to blessings. The blessing of family. The blessing of health. The blessing of wealth. For although we may not have monetary wealth, we are the richest folks on earth.
Wishing each of you a happy, healthy and blessed New Year!