Recipe For An Enjoyable Day

1 Teenager skiing

2 Middle children, occupy them with friends

1 Toddler, combine with Thomas the Tank Engine Trains

50 birthday cookies baked for a friend

A dash of Dickens

4 hours housecleaning (optional)

4 hours of time spent with cousins (Nicky, husband Shawn and twins Mari and Ryker)

Whip all ingredients together for an enjoyable treat.

And To All A Good Night......

Tell left some cookies for Santa. Atira wrote a Santa note for Tell. The presents are wrapped. The eggnog is made. The stockings lay on the end of the beds and the last banana bread is cooling on the stove. A soft bed and cool pillow await me. Merry Christmas, and to all a good night.

Just Men

This morning Atira and I made a quick shopping trip up to Cook's Corner. Two things were on her list, one Christmas gift for Jim and one for my dad. (I can't mention what they are on the odd chance that Jim may actually read my blog.) The men in her life apparently rate a bit higher than the women right now. What can I say? She's a daddy's girl.

A random quote from Atira yesterday:

"I miss 2005. That was a great year, wasn't it?" (She was born in late 2001.)

I'd really love to know what goes on inside that girl's brain sometimes.

Conservative Goes Progressive

OK.....I haven't completely changed my political views. Our house was the last stop of the youth group's progressive dinner tonight. It was a great night despite my flopped pavlova attempt.

When Life Hands You Lemons......

Or, more precisely, when the cashier hands you lemons after you've purchased them........you make lemonade, of course! Nolan, my resident chef, has been asking to make homemade lemonade lately, so yesterday we gave it a shot. In order to begin, we needed to find an easy recipe. When I said this to Tell, he asked, "Are you gonna fine it on the puter?" I answered in the affirmative, to which Tell responded, "Maybe you should try lemalade makin' dot com." Well, I didn't find one at that address, but Allrecipes.com had one that looked good. We don't have a juicer, so I soaked the lemons in hot water for ten minutes to soften them before squeezing. Jubal was proud to employ his teen muscles for the job and between all five of us, ten lemons were squeezed in ten minutes. Nolan dissolved the sugar in boiling water and when that was chilled we added all ingredients together and enjoyed some excellent lemonade!

Where Do They Go?

What is missing from this photo? No, not Jim's hair, although a case could be made for that. I am referring to the three hanging stockings on the fireplace. When I unpacked the Christmas decorations I found the two stockings on the left, Atira and Nolan's. The train stocking I just bought for Tell last week. That means there are three stockings for six people. Sadly, I know the fate of mine. At this time last winter, I found several Christmas decorations that had been gnawed by mice, including my red, plaid stocking from childhood. That leaves two missing stockings which have simply disappeared. Now, as most of you know, the loss of items in our house would not normally warrant a mention on the blog. You are aware of my belief in the invisible wandering vortex that randomly picks up items from my home and deposits them in other rooms, homes or even the odd parallel universe. It's a daily occurence. The difference is that my Christmas items actually get put away and live in a box for eleven months of the year. So, where did Jim and Jubal's stockings run away to? I am forced to conclude that, as relatives of my socks, these two have joined their smaller cousins, who have escaped the dryer and are now adventuring in the great unknown .......only the vortex knows.

Atira's Duet

Atira has been anticipating this evening's Christmas program at our church for several days. Ever since she volunteered to sing a duet with Stephanie Jones, she has been diligently practicing during the waking hours, and each night falling asleep to the CD. When performance time arrived, she didn't look or sound nervous but did admit afterward to some shaky legs and a racing heart. I'm very proud of her hard work and the resulting beautiful song.