Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Christmas has been particularly wonderful this year. As many know, when children grow up, and create their own families, it becomes rarer to have everyone in one place at one time, especially for Christmas. We feel so blessed this year to have one of those years.

Some of our highlights of this year's holiday (to add to the trip to the Natural History Museum):

1) watching The Apartment, one of B's favorite movies (1960 with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLain)

2) remembering lots of old songs and singing all the lyrics we could remember

3) looking at old family photos and home movies from the 1960s and 70s

4) eating really, really good food (and spending lots of time preparing it - thanks C and B!)

5) (and this is a lowlight, not highlight) not going to see The Hobbit, nor hiking in the foothills, both which were on our to-do list

6) playing Legos, Carcassonne, and some wii u, although we didn't get to Citadel

7) watching people get just what they wanted (headlamps, indoor/outdoor thermometer, Legos, Danskos, yoga mat, shaver, cookbooks, dino slippers, and a vacuum cleaner, among other things, including donations to favorite charities)

8) just being together - the best part of all!

H and C (C Mc, to be precise, since it is hard to discern from the context here), assembled H's birthday present - a Lego version of the UN Building. See post from last year….

LA Natural History Museum

What I learned at the LA Natural History Museum today:

California teachers get in free. Not advertised... Students still have to pay. 

The plesiosaurus, a large sea reptile, had one baby at a time and it was a live birth. The baby was 40% of the mom's size at birth. This skeleton, found in Kansas, is complete with fetus. I already knew that Kansas was under water at one point. This skeleton was nearly complete, only the head and the top of the neck are fabricated.

The T rex grew rapidly and did not live particularly long. These two skeletons show a two-year-old and a juvenile, about 13-14-years old. Huge size difference.

The museum has a very cool miniature replica of downtown LA, a WPA project built between 1939 and 1940. 

We had not been to the museum for many, many years, and I enjoyed seeing how more open and bright the dinosaur exhibits are. Unfortunately, C was not feeling well, so she and B did not accompany us on this trip. However we did make a stop in Arcadia to pick up a friend of L and C's (a student at the U of O) who is home on vacation.

Together Again

All the chickies are back in the nest! L and C arrived from Oregon by train last night to join us with C and B for some family time. Hooray!

Methodist Nativity

Here are some shots from the Claremont United Methodist Church nativity scene (see my post from last year). This year I actually took the time to read the explanation (and take a photo of it) before I drove off. Click on the photos for a larger view.

Christmas Tree Lot

In the 27 years we've lived in Claremont, I don't think I've seen anything on the lot of the northeast corner of Indian Hill and Arrow Hwy. Well, I have seen the Pilgrims from Pilgrim Place on Friday afternoons with their signs promoting world peace, but nothing else. Just before Thanksgiving I noticed that a Christmas Tree Lot had appeared. Meaning, the fence and signs were up, but it wasn't until after Thanksgiving that the trees appeared. 

Disclaimer: Daughter C took the first photo on the day we were out shopping for groceries for Thanksgiving. I took the second photo while stopped at the red light after the trees arrived. 

Christmas 2012 Wrap-Up

Reading over my past years' posts on Christmas, I see how helpful it has been to make note of what we did to celebrate since we are entering the years of new traditions, or no tradition at all. This blog post is purely for my own benefit, and I thank you your indulgence.

When I woke up and checked Facebook, I was not surprised to see so many posts about what people had already done - kids with presents, stockings, etc. Now that we have no one in our family under the age of 24, we can take a very leisurely approach to the day. H and I went to the gym and saw about 2 people the whole time. By the time we had returned and showered, it was time for C and B to arrive with muffins, and by 11:30 we had finally managed to open the stocking and gifts as well as have a nice Skype chat with L and C in Oregon.

It was time, then, to have a light lunch of cheese from the Cheese Cave and other delightful nibbles, and then we were not hungry, so we put off working on the turkey to later. We chatted with the family in Iowa, played some Words with Friends, heard that our Colorado family had been stricken with intestinal flu and were lying low for the day.

One thing we enjoyed about the day were looking at old photos from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Here are a few gems from Christmases past.

Santa brought me a new 50 mm lens for my camera, so I had fun taking pictures of the food. C and B really worked on the turkey, hacking at it to "butterfly" it, and when it was all done (in just a few hours), it was quite delicious. 

All in all, I was just happy to have a relaxed day with people I love so very much.

Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Christmas Eve in the Kitchen

After a rousing yoga class this morning (27 people in one small room! - that's what you get for offering a free class...), daughter C and I put aside the afternoon for baking for tomorrow. We tried to use every baking dish or bowl at least twice. I think we succeeded. First we started with the zwiebach (pictured here), making only a half batch since there will be only four for Christmas dinner tomorrow. We also made our favorite company potatoes (dairy products with some potatoes thrown in for good measure) and started the pumpkin pie. Tomorrow will be the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and brussell sprouts.

If it sounds a lot like Thanksgiving, then you get the idea of what we like around here....

Small Town Life

Having raised our girls and lived in Claremont for over 25 years, it has been fun to see our daughters' friends and peers grow up and become their own people. There's nothing like Christmas to see all these young adults come home (if they aren't here already) and to check in with them.

This weekend I talked to friends whose daughter I knew as a child who is now a new mother herself. I will soon be attending a wedding of a friend who I've known since he was 4. Two of my daughters' very good friends are living in Claremont and singing in the women's choir at church with me. I spoke tonight with one young woman who is in her second year of a PhD program in chemistry and her brother who is living in France doing physics research. Etc.

In church this morning we were treated to the singing of Devon Guthrie, who I've known since her childhood. She is a recent graduate of Julliard and is now a professional opera singer who is happy to be back in Claremont with her family for the holidays.

Methodist Church Nativity

On my way home from Trader Joe's this morning, I noticed that the Claremont United Methodist Church has put up their nativity scene. At first I thought that the man in the hoodie was someone looking very closely at the scene until I realized he was part of the scene. Then I thought that the fence around the manger was to thwart vandals (given what happened last year), but then, of course, I figured out that the fence is representative of the borders keeping out the undocumented. Now that I look at the photos, I see that there is a sign with some kind of explanation that I did not bother to read. I will have to go back to check it out.

Christmas in a Very Warm Climate

Mauna Kea Beach on the Big Island of Hawai'i.  Yup, that's where H and I spent Christmas morning!  A few months ago we knew we'd have our family Christmas at Thanksgiving, so we made plans to spend a week in Hawai'i over break.

This is the view we had while chatting with our families in Iowa, Texas, Colorado and California on Christmas morning.

Ten years ago, right after 9/11, we took our daughters to Maui over New Year's. After that trip, H decided that he wanted to go to the Big Island some day, rent a camper van, and roam around the island. Before going to Hawai'i the first time, we thought that Honolulu was on the island of Hawai'i.  However, Hawai'i is actually the name of the largest and most southern (and geologically newest) island in the chain. Hawai'i has two distinct sides (wet and dry) and a great variety of topography.  The island consists of 5 volcanoes - one is extinct, three are somewhat dormant, and Kilauea which is active.  The Hawai'i Belt Road circles the perimeter in about 250 miles.

We landed in Hilo (the wet, east side) in order to pick up our VW Vanagon from Happy Campers Hawai'i. For the next seven days we drove most of the perimeter, stopping at various campgrounds, seeing volcanoes, exotic beaches, wildlife, cultural history, and trying out as many different kinds of food as we could find.

Now, back home, the task is to go through over 600 photos.  Some I'll post, some I'll put in this blog, some I'll try to remember just where we were when I snapped the shutter.  After all, there are many, many beaches in Hawai'i.

Christmas in Warm(er) Climates

As long as I have been traveling down memory lane, visiting the ghosts of Christmas past, here is a shot from Christmas 1976.  My family was on sabbatical from Kansas where we were used to cold, and often white, Christmases, but this year we were living in Berkeley.  My Idaho cousins came out to visit for the holidays, and we went to the beach.  Now, you can see that we were wearing coats, but it was still amazing to me that it was possible to be at the beach at Christmas.

Order of Gift Opening

1990

1970s

When my girls were small, we started a tradition of opening gifts in the order of the shortest person to the tallest.  Of course, the girls went first, then me, then H.  I knew that by biding my time, it would all work out to my advantage since it was clear to me early on that my children would tower over me.  They do.

Now it doesn't really matter to me who opens a gift when since it's the joy of giving and being with family that mean far more to me that what is under the tree (although I do still like gifts....).

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Eve / Christmas Morning

When we got married, perhaps the biggest debate we had in the first 6 months was when we should open our Christmas presents.  I grew up with the German tradition of opening most gifts on Christmas Eve and then saving Santa's gifts for the morning.  I loved the feeling opening gifts in the dark evening.  It was a quiet and comforting time of day.

My husband firmly believed that this practice was sacrilegious. End of story.

Ends up, we (sort of) compromised, and opened one gift on Christmas Eve, saving the rest for the morning.  Of course, now it doesn't really matter to me the time when we gather together as family and share gifts.

During my childhood we took few pictures at Christmas, but this photo tells me a few things.  1) We did not lack for number of presents. 2) We apparently did not have a tree (nor a fireplace in our apartment). 3) We had really, really ugly curtains.

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

Marx Dollhouse

Sorry about the glare...

Last week when I was wandering down Yale, I looked in the window at Stamp Your Heart Out and saw this dollhouse.  It is very similar to the one I owned as a child.  It was probably a Christmas gift, and when I ran across them on eBay a number of years ago, I was flooded by nostalgia.  Seeing one all set up in the window revived that nostalgia.

These dollhouses were made with thin metal (tin?), and I believe that they arrived flat (like Ikea furniture). The owner (or rather, the owner's parents) assembled theirs by putting tabs into slots.  I'm sure that they were in the Sears catalog, and while I have no idea how much they originally cost, I am sure that it wasn't the $70-$500 (for mint condition) that eBay sellers can now get.  Sold separately, one can also buy all kinds of plastic furniture and people and pets to fit in the five rooms.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

This is the version of The Night Before Christmas that I grew up with.  I have no idea where the actual book that I had resides today.  About 7-8 years ago I decided that I wanted to collect some of the books that I had or loved as a child, and I set out on quite an internet journey.  If you do not know the illustrator of this particular poem, it is much more difficult to find, and fortunately I stumbled on a photo of this book on some website by accident.  

Once I knew the illustrator, I found copies of this book on eBay for about $100-$150 and even higher.  I was not about to pay that amount, but I was diligent and found this particular copy for a Buy It Now price of $33, and I hit the buy button as fast as I could.  Now I have a Ghost of Christmas Past - a friendly ghost.

Letters to Santa

Here are two of my favorite letters to Santa in my Christmas folder. Claire was 4 and wanted a unicorn.  She also needed some double A batteries to make one of her toys run.  Can you guess which wish was fulfilled? 

Liesl was 7 for this letter, and, unfortunately, she did not write her letter soon enough.  Santa had already filled his sleigh with Legos for her, so he wrote her a note explaining that he ran out of stuffing in the stuffing machine by the time he got to the tigers this year.  She was okay with that and enjoyed her Legos very much.  I am sure that Santa DID like her picture.

Journey to Bethlehem

This morning brought the annual Journey to Bethlehem to CUCC. During Advent we have been focusing on angels, and the addition to this year's pageant were four teenage girls as angels.  They preceded the Holy Family, surrounded the manger, and then took their place behind the lectern. These angels read the scriptures for the morning.

Voyagers Christmas

Usually I cannot make the annual Christmas party for our social group at church since I have a concert to play.  This year the Voyagers had their party on a non-concert day, so I was rarin' to go!  We have a White Elephant gift exchange which has turned into bringing a consumable gift.  This year we came home with this Holiday Soda 12- Pack with sodas I've never had.  They look like a nostalgia pack, but not from my childhood (think Nehi).  Looking forward to trying these drinks which probably contain real sugar and not high fructose corn syrup.

Study Break

Time once again for the annual HMC Chemistry Dept. study break during finals.  (Where does the time go?)  Here are some of last night's entries in the cookie decorating contest.  Faculty judge the cookies in four categories: Best Holiday Theme, Best Illustration of Chemistry, Most Creative, and the Grand Prize.  Winners receive gift cards - this year from Starbucks or In 'n Out.