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The nice thing about short days
Is having more time to look at the stars. I know Winter Solstice is bringing us longer days… but it’s still pretty dark around here. Here’s an article from my newspaper column. I saw no stars on that cloudy night at the Perkins Observatory. Instead of stardust, the astronomers there sprinkled my mind, and the minds of the first- and second-graders there, with wonder. They reminded me that when we look up, we see the past; the light is already billions of years old. They reminded us that our vast galaxy is just beginning its life. Our 4.5 billion-year-old sun is still less than halfway through its life. The future…
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Good Things Come In Brown Packages
In college, a UPS man’s appearance at the front desk simultaneously aroused curiosity and surprise. The UPS man was nothing other than a harbinger of joy, as he dropped off his cardboard package of, what else? Cookies. We could find cookies on campus, especially on Thursday nights in the dining hall — but they weren’t Mom’s cookies. And they weren’t pre-meditated cookies. Cookies that were baked days earlier with kindness, thoughtfulness, and set aside (i.e. not eaten by everyone else in the house) to be packaged in a box, and driven to the UPS store to be mailed to a specific person. Cookies that came from some other place —…
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All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put a smile on his face again. He was the one who woke up first – two hours before everyone else, as he “ohhed and ahhed” over the packages left by the man he really doesn’t believe in if you ask him; but couldn’t help but wonder as the lights twinkled across the packages, and his face, as he examined all the loot left behind, if he was real after all. At 7, he somehow has enough empathy not to wake us up, waiting for a decent hour. We gave him the honor of going first. With wide-eyes and excitement, he tore off the wrapper and no longer held…
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Eggnog French Toast Without a Mixing Bowl
For breakfast, I whipped up a quick brunch on Christmas Eve. Steel Cut Oatmeal was soaked overnight, (here’s how) so that all I had to do was heat it up in the morning. But, the topper was this eggnog french toast — incredibly easy and so, very good. All you do is pour the eggnog over your day-old bread, and then bake it. No egg cracking or mixing! I did let the eggnog soak into the bread overnight — but you could pour the eggnog over the bread in the morning, and be just fine. Here’s how: 6-8 slices day old bread 2 c. dairy eggnog 1/4 c. butter Maple…
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Accidentially Snooping
“Mom, I wasn’t snooping or anything…†“Yeah, but… what?†“Well, those Under Armour shirts that are under my bed are too small for me.†Not only was he looking — but he tried things on?! “Why in the world were you looking under your bed last night? After ski club? Weren’t you so tired that you just dropped into bed?†“Well, I was bouncing a ball, and it rolled under my bed, and I reached under to …†“The reason the presents are in your room is because your little brothers found them in my room, so I had to come up with a new spot real fast – and…
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Three point five ounces of magic
Today my mailbox was filled with two complete polar opposites of emotion. The first was a white envelope that contained the words, “I’m sorry, but…†End of story. I had suspected that if such a letter was coming, they would have held off until after the holidays – now I realize that is simply not the case. “Four days before Christmas, and we’re sending off a letter that will make you feel as if you just got kicked in the stomach.†“And,†I can hear them in my head, “We have no problem doing that, because this is just business.†Now I’m grinding my teeth during the day too. There…
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Snow Angels Inside
Almost as if I’m going through a mid-life crisis, I’m turning my back on those traditional patterned big rugs I’ve had scattered under my furniture and tables and I’m going for something more serene. The bold, colorful patterns are a great way to hide juice, wine, and graham cracker spills, which was why I was originally attracted to them.Yet, the rugs are almost threadbare, and I was at a crossroads. Now, I’m suddenly ready for a clean, simpler look. In fact, I’m ready to trade in my traditional colonial for a Brady-Bunch style house. (Almost like a mid-life crisis). So, instead of the house, I’m starting with the rugs. Shags,…
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City Sidewalks
The stores are dressed in holiday style, and in the air there’s a feeling of Christmas. So, in that spirit, I decided to take each of my boy’s shopping for each other, alone. I wanted them to truly think about what the other person needs; I expected nothing more than a pack of gum, or a toy they just happened to want for themselves. (Here’s an open door for that.) Four days later, my feet ache. Over the last four nights, I have driven in a circle, spent time walking up and down the aisles of the stores closest to our home, and have completely tired out my legs, feet…
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Festive Trees
We had no time to make a complete Gingerbread House, so, we just made the trees instead. These were simply made from a box of sugar cones, thin licorice, red hots and royal icing. Royal icing makes such a great “cement” for these projects, but unfortunately, it is made from raw eggs. Much better to use meringue powder — which I think you can find at cake decorating stores and Michael’s — two stores I rarely visit. As much as we remind the kids not to eat it, there’s no stopping those licks. Recipe for Royal Icing: 2 large egg whites 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 3 cups confectioners subgar…
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