Family/Food/Love

I am at home alone, very unusual lol and i am sitting here thinking about family, My ex husband Kevin's twin brother ( i hate that title....... ex ..... I wish there was a different way of saying it, as he deserves better then that) Kieth is in town the boys are going bow hunting, now these boys love hunting together and have come and gone to each others houses for years to hunt as a team. Which brings me to this week,  the boys are getting together for the big hunt and its time to make the family special diner's (aka)  Gramie's meatballs and Lavon's treats,  so the call comes (text) first for the Norwegian meatballs and gravy............. yes......  yes it will be my pleasure to make Gramies special dish for you boys,  so off to the store my husband and I go to get the supplies (yes I have an amazing husband who shops with me) we gather all the supplies lean burger, my favorite sausage, cream, real butter and so on, the best ingredients ( yes it makes a difference) then I remember a special cookie recipe that Lavon used to make for Kieth at Christmas time and I gather the ingredients for that also to surprise my brother in law, okay... okay.... technically he is my ex brother in law according to the world, but to me he and his children will always be my family as will Kevin and the extended family.
Anyways back to cooking for the boys, I have to say it is such a joy cooking old family recipes,  I started with the Norwegian Meat balls and gravy and the special cookie recipe, you know there is something about cooking old family recipes that connect you with the past and the ones you love especially those whom have passed on, they live on with the traditions and memories of the food your cooking.
Grammies Norwegian meat balls bring back so many memories of that wonderful woman, I think about her every time I make them, her laughter, her smiling eyes, her sense of humor, oh how I loved that woman. I so loved sitting and talking to her listening to her stories as we drank coffee and ate cookies together ( she always had homemade cookies ready for guest that she served with her strong dark coffee ) she was a striking woman pure white hair & sky blue eyes, i would sit listen her tell stories of her family growing up in North Dakota often while I was going through her homemade cook book searching for the family treasured recipes, I would watch as her sky blue eyes would twinkle as she laughed and talk of the farm life, her siblings.
The boys loved the family treat of meatballs and it wasn't long that i received a thank you text from them, having enjoyed cooking for the boys so much i asked if there was anything else the would like to have, and i started listing recipe after recipe of their mama's and Gramie's special dishes............ so now My daughter and I will be shopping tomorrow for ingredients to make a couple more special dishes for the boys before their hunting season is done and Kieth head Home.
I feel so blessed to be part of this wonderful family and it just filled my heart with such joy to be the gate keeper of these loved family recipes, passed down from generation to generation, Grandmother, Mother in Law to me. Now it is my job to pass it on to the next generation................... what an honor.

The little plaid bag

                        

When I was a young newly married woman my husband and I would split our Christmas day between his dad & moms and my dad & moms, we always went to his mamas first thing in the morning for gifts and then an early diner then on to my dad’s for a late diner, My Daddy was always so wonderful about doing the dinner later so that we could be there. I think he knew it would have broken my heart if I couldn't have been there with my siblings for Christmas.

First thing on Christmas morning we would get up and open our gifts to each other then head to Kevin’s moms to hang out with the family, later on when we had our babies we would open gifts together and then have a little breakfast………………which later on morphed into breakfast sausage casserole, cinnamon[Jc1]  rolls, orange juice, milk and coco before heading to Lavon’s to open gifts and have diner.

As time went by we had three beautiful Children, sold the little house in town and moved into the big house up on the hill and so the change began……… the in-laws aged and my daddy who had done so much to help us get our house set up on the hill had died, so many Christmases had come and gone so very quickly and then the Christmas celebration came to rest in our hands ……….. Well kind of.

Kevin’s mama Lavon was the matriarch of the family, she was a very intelligent & strong woman and to be honest a little intimidating at first (I am not easily intimidated) and she ruled over the holidays (with love) ever since I had come to know the family.  Lavon had a gift for entertaining, her home was always beautifully decorated, I absolutely loved her Christmas tree with white lights and white decorations and glass it was just beautiful, she was also an amazing cook there would be all kinds of homemade cookies, fudge, pies and then there was the Norwegian yummy's fattigmann, krumkake, lefse  She also  had certain dishes that she made for each holiday that the family had come to love and expect.

  I remember the first year that Christmas was to be at our house, I was very nervous we were responsible for the family diner talk about pressure …….. Well that’s what I thought anyways till mama Kellogg showed up that morning with her magic Mary Poppins plaid picnic bag, I have never seen so much amazing food come out of a picnic bag, we had the turkey in the oven and potatoes prepared for boiling, she comes in and starts pulling out an endless parade of goodies out of the amazing picnic bag seriously the most glorious bounty of food, green bean casserole, stuffing, pies, cookies, lefsa, fudge,  potato rolls, pistachio salad, veggies for a veggie tray and later as Johnnie got older she included homemade baked mac and cheese and her favorite napkins,  it was like the bag had no bottom and she would just reach down and pull out more and more goodies from a bottomless well of goodness. This went on until her last Christmas with us, she was really struggling with her health that year, I could tell it had really taken a toll on her as she had to sit a lot and take breaks, as we were sitting taking a little break and having coffee she shared that it bothered her that she couldn't do the things she so loved to do, I could see the sadness in her face and I came to realize that for her cooking and all the hoopla wasn't just for the holiday  it was an expression of love for her children. That last year she still had made so many of her dishes in her little apartment and filled that magic bag with so many delightful treats, I know it had to of taken her hours if not days to prepare everything as she couldn't stand for long periods of time without becoming exhausted, it is amazing what the power of love can help you accomplish.   That was our last Christmas with her, her legacy lives on in our memories and traditions we are passing on to her grandchildren.

She is so very much missed and I will always remember her magic red plaid picnic bag.

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A Christmas Carol

                                                        

One of the great things about Christmas is................................. Christmas Movies !!!!!!! My all time favorite Christmas Movie is the Christmas Carol which i several versions, I actually collect the movies and books, Now i love a lot of different Christmas movies and have several different types, Elf, White Christmas, its a wonderful life, a Muppet Christmas Carol, A Christmas story, Miracle on 34th street 1947 & 1994,  Santa clause, the nightmare before Christmas, National Lampoon Christmas vacation, how the Grinch stole Christmas, Jingle all the way, The polar express, etc.

Back to the Christmas carol it is hands down my one of my favorite's,  Jim Carey The Grinch close second, I love how someone who is so lost so low that you doubt his his very humanity can be brought back from the edge of destruction, redeemed if you will. ( the Alistair Sims version actually talks of redemption and the son of God) There is just something about people getting second chances, rising from the ashes  like a phoenix becoming whole again.
I have watched the George C Scott Christmas Carol so much that I now look at the back ground while it is playing looking at the books on the shelves and various other props, even people walking around in the back ground, how the rooms are decorated and so on to.get a better feel for the era in which the movie is set in.
At one point in my life my children and Kevin had banned me from watching Christmas shows until the day after thanksgiving ( I may or my not have watched them a lot lol) now i watch them all year long especially if it has been a bad week or a particularly difficult time as the always lift my spirits.

I now have a Grinch partner which is really nice as I haven't had Christmas movie partners since Sarah & Wendy grew up had children and got married, I used to love it when my Girls would snuggle up on the couches with hot coffee and start our Christmas Movie marathon.
My Grand Baby Tink is a huge fan of everything Grinchy and we watch it several times a month often with a stuffed Grinch in the bed with us as we snuggle together to watch our green friend.
This year I find my self in a quandary all my movies accept the Grinch are packed away in preparing to sell our house so i am with out all my Christmas shows. Hummmmmmm Might have to order a few in DVD since all my original are in VHS. Seem's reasonable to me.
         
                                           

Christmas Shopping AKA waking on hot coals.

Well it is that time of the year again and as much as i love Christmas and giving of gifts, stuffing stockings and so on........... I HATE GOING SHOPPING UUUGGGG.  I know ,I know  kind of an oxymoron type of thing lol.    As far back as I can remember I haven't enjoyed shopping I find it stressful to go to town and be set on shopping for pretty much any thing,  whether it be grocery shopping, clothes shopping, or house shopping it stresses me out, but the bane of my existence is shopping for the holidays with masses of people uugg,

First and foremost I absolutely hate crowds this runs in my family as several of my siblings are the same way about crowds,  I like my space and do not enjoy people brushing up against me or bumping into me,more then once Ive been standing in front of a shelf looking at a product only to have some woman come up and stand so close to me i can hear her breathing, then there is the fact people smell! Seriously I am not sure what is worse the person who's hygiene schedule is lets just say non existent or the man/woman whom seem to tripled dipped them selves in cologne/perfume that morning you can smell them five minutes before they show up, both are an assault the human kind

 I usually pick up things through out the year when I am out and about doing other errands or work on making something so that by the time things start to swing into holiday mode i am pretty close to being done. But there is inevitability a few gifts i need to pick up.  This is where my husbands love for shopping comes in handy lol,  it is so funny He loves being around people and crowds well the more the merrier for this man , he is literally the ying to my shopping yang.  The man walks into the store focused on his mission list in hand while scanning over the isles (it helps being 6'6 ) for any great deals, up and down the isles we go picking up this and that all along my Love is chatting with different whom ever he encounters often complete strangers............ or I should say strangers to me, for my love everyone is a potential friend they just haven't been introduced yet lol

So it was no surprise  that my Love and I  ended up this Saturday in Portland to pick up a gift for one of our Children at a very busy box store and then we went on to target for some stocking stuffer's (two stores is usually my limit unless there is a shot of whiskey involved then i might make a third )  so star bucks in hand big girl panties on and holding tightly to my husbands hand lol  in we go to compare prices and see if they will honor an ad via my phone (that my friend and Co Mama Dana gave me) to the tune of 70.00 dollar savings,  My husband reads all the spect's on the said item (something I wouldn't thought to do) while chatting with sales person AKA new friend lol making sure that it has all the same qualities of the product we had spent the day looking for, after a time of chatting with various people and research we did make the purchase.

I find it funny with my disdain for shopping that i have a daughter that lives for it, i mean this child would love to shop everyday. She at least has gotten one shopping trait from her mama she doesn't pay full price  Hummm .....................maybe i can bribe her with star bucks to go stocking stuffer shopping for me for her brothers...................................LOL

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

We got our first snow today woo hoo,  Why yes I am one of those people I LOVE SNOW !  I actually look forward to that beautiful white cotton candy that covers every thing in a thick white carpet, it makes even the bleakest most barren landscapes look amazing, there is just something magical about snow and how it changes every thing from the way it dresses up the trees, the Douglas Firs look so elegant in their thick white coats and the Vine Maples and Alders with their delicate branches coated with a fine layer of snow like fine jewelry kind of look ladies getting ready for a fancy ball, mix this with icicles hanging off branches and the eaves of your house and it is winter perfection.
I can remember as a child the excitement when Cis would wake us kids up and take us outside in the middle of the night to make snow angels , we would lay on our backs moving our arms and legs frantically to make the wings with our skinny lil arms... lol.   If  I close my eyes I can still feel the crisp air on my skin and see my breath as i looked up into the heavens watching as the snow was coming down on us.  My own children have been waken more then once to their mama coming into their rooms at night to excitedly whisper look out your window its snowing and yes they have been taken out to play in the snow at night.
 One of our favorite things as kids growing up on the little farm in Castle Rock was a treat my Dad & Mom would make for us when we got a good snow, it was snow ice cream, they took some of our fresh jersey cream, vanilla, snow  and sugar all together (sometimes adding food coloring ) we would get big heaping bowls, now you have to remember this was back when you didn't have junk food in our homes like we do now so for a family of nine this was quite an event.

When our children were growing up we always tried to make snow days special, we built igloos, snowmen, and one time we built a very large dragon and took spray bottles with food coloring  spraying it green with red eyes, the children loved when they were sitting in the living room snuggled up in their blankets on the couch later that evening when everyone was getting off work and they would watch as traffic would slow to see their works of art.  On snow days I would bake cookies or Kevin would make cinnamon roles which we served up with hot chocolate, more then once i cooked off a turkey when we had big snow so that when the kids and their friends came in to get their clothes dried and to get warm we would feed them, then they would watch a movie kick back then out they would go again sometimes with socks on their little hands when we didn't have enough gloves to go around.

Last year was a brand new time of snow memories for me, it was my first year playing in the snow with our Grand baby Tink  and it was wonderful! I think she actually may just love snow as much as her Nina, she sledded for hours and tried so hard to keep up with the big kids, her wonderful cousins Nicholas and Antonio were there to take her up and down the hills on their sled, afterwards Tink her mama and I made a snow turtle which we sprayed green with food coloring.

So today was our first day of snow for 2014 , i an full grown adult started the day before two AM doing snow checks, finally around nine AM Tink, Sissy and I were standing out in the yard Tink in her Jammies rubber boots, Sissy sweats and slip on shoes and I in my big ole robe and husbands shoes trying to catch snow flakes on our tongues, yes God is good and this life He so graciously has given me is wonderful.

Christmas

How do i even start a page on Christmas, how do i convey the sheer joy wonderment and excitement i feel of the up coming season.  I love the music playing in the house as we bake, my favorite CD being Bing Crosby & David Bowie, i just love the rich tones of their voices blending together bringing the ageless Christmas songs to life,
Then there is the decorating.............. at no other time of year do i get to splash my favorite color red around the house, we have red and white plaid pillows with a matching red and white plaid blanket combined with various other Christmas themed pillows, several varieties of wall hangings with red incorporated in them and of course our  giant wreath that hangs on the dining room wall that i each year usually with candy canes and various other charming trinkets.
 Then there is the snowman collection that i haven't even counted for years, but there are dozens dressed in reds greens golds, lady snowmen, gentlemen snowmen, baby snowmen, families. some are even dressed in fir, they are made from every thing ....cotton, wood, resin, glass. felt and wool most are gifts that i received for my birthdays or Christmas from loved ones so each year, when i gently unwrap them i tend remember the loved one whom gave it to me .
Christmas cookie baking oh my, we start baking right after thanksgiving making dozens of cookies Santa's whiskers, Russian tea cakes, chocolate crinkles, peanut butter, sugar cookies, thumb prints with Hershey kisses, date pinwheels, shortbread, choc,late covered pretzels, chocolate dipped pretzel sticks,  chocolate dipped peanut butter cookies, peanut clusters and so on , i think you have the idea lol.  this is a tradition that was started shortly after I was married for the first time, as it wasn't something i grew up doing,  it was Kevin's grandma " Gramie" who got me started with the Christmas cookies.
Some of my best memories of Christmas baking, is of time i spent with Gramie at her kitchen table with coffee and her home made cookies.  I think the only thing that my dad made was popcorn balls with nuts (which to this day is one of my favorite things in the world) and fudge and my mom made the pies my favorite being mincemeat pie (YUM).
Then there is the Christmas tree, there is nothing like going out and cutting your own tree down bringing it home and setting it up........ Christmas music playing  a plate of cookies to snack on with hot buttered rum coffee , the smell of a fresh cut fir tree is amazing and i am always sad to see it go on January 1st.
Decorating the tree is such a joy, I loved it as a child just as I do now. I still remember when we had real lead tinsel which hung down perfectly straight and glistened with the reflections of the Christmas lights the new tinsel is awful and i don't use it, Now I am not one of those perfectionist decorators i really like more of a Victorian vibe,  the more the better all types of decorations and stuffed creatures and lights oh how i love tons of lights half white and half colored mixed together.................. the reflection on the ornaments is amazing.
One of my favorite things is stuffing stockings for my children and love ones, I find Little treasures all year long and put them aside to wrap and stuff in the stocking on Christmas eve. The first time i can remember getting a stocking I was around 7 years old it had a little red elf peeking out of the top of the stocking looking down at me when i awoke in the morning, down below the elf were all kinds of little treasures a cupie doll, chocolates and various little trinkets.
 I love giving gifts homemade or bought never been comfortable receiving gifts find it very stressful to unwrap gifts in front of people. I am so looking forward to watching Tink unwrap gifts this year the joy on her face the excitement that we will hear in her voice as she gets her stocking, that will be my favorite thing.



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voting

well today is the day our local elections are being held, we also have mail in which i love as i didn't have to take time off to vote, I would if needed but thank goodness i don't have to as our state doesn't seem  to be as corrupt as some of these red states trying to curtail people voting.   ( yes every dollar counts when your paying for collage for your kids)

It is funny the older i get the more important it seems to me to vote,  not for me or what i deem right or wrong but for a time when i will be gone for my children and grand children, for our natural resources so we will have a healthy environment for the next generations, and for our rights especially my female children and grand children.

I have to say that i wish we had more of a selection to vote from, not a fan of the republican party (was a republican for 25 years or so) not a fan of the democratic  party, hence the reason i went independent about 6 or 7 years ago. It just doesn't seem like anyone is for the people anymore................but i refuse to give up i will continue to vote !