We did it again

We're getting pretty good at this holiday thing.  Few expectations, lots of time spent laughing, lots of good food, and I learned something.  What could be better?  It was just the four of us and it reminded me of childhood Christmases at my Grandmother's.  There was always so much laughter and joy and good food.  Maybe there were squabbles too and I was too young to see them.  The only problem I remember was when a distant cousin brought a beer on Christmas morning and there was scandal and I think he was asked to leave.  Which is weird because my Grandfather probably had a beer in the backyard that afternoon.  My parents came from social drinkers on one side and alcoholics on the other.  My childhood was filled with mixed messages about alcohol.  But, I digress.

I got a new ukulele, my first nice one, which I decided I deserved for sticking with it and practicing every day.  It's very pretty.  And, Rob gave me a wall mount to hang them from so they're not cluttering up the floor.  We don't go nuts with gifts and there are always some practical ones.  I gave Syd the pumpkin pie bowl and a corning ware pie plate, just like the ones in the picture from the cookbook.  It made her cry.  That made me cry.  I also gave her that ginormous kitchenaid mixer that I re-built last year.  Okay, don't tell her, but I was so glad to get that behemoth out of my kitchen.  I have two other kitchenaid mixers, one that I inherited and my good one that I've had for 25 years and the big one didn't offer me anything I didn't already have.  And, it was loud.  Very, very loud.  And, she loved it!  Win, win, win.

The bounty of food.  No one walked away hungry.  We did all the favorites.  

Monkey bread and hot chocolate for me and Rob while we opened gifts to one another.  

Ham, scalloped potatoes, corn casserole, green bean casserole, squash casserole (tis the season of casseroles), candied yams, homemade rolls (I remembered to put the yeast in this time).  It was a feast.  

After that, there was coffee and "cake".  This is where I learn something.  We all fixed our coffee and I go after the cake with a knife and it is tough as leather.  The knife will barely cut it.  This is the same reason I've thrown away every genoise cake I've ever baked.  They come out perfect and then I put them in the fridge and they get tough and hard and I throw them away.  

So, I apologized and carried the cake into the kitchen and we sat at the table and enjoyed our coffee.  When we were packing food for them to take, I poked one of the slices of cake I'd cut and it was soft and tender.  WHAT?????  

Genoise is all butter.  And, what does butter do when you put it in the fridge?  It gets hard.  After that, I started cutting Rob and I a piece and letting it sit out for a while before we eat it.  It's damn near perfect.  Just the right amount of orange.  Just a little too much frosting...enough you don't mind leaving some of it on the plate, but if there were less, you'd miss it.  And, it was pretty.  

And, on Thursday, I sat.  And sat.  And sat and sat and sat.  I was tired and I didn't want to do anything, so I sat in my room and was recharged my introvert batteries and Rob puttered around the house and played with the dog.  By Friday, I was feeling human again and we started to take down the decorations.  That's always a mix of sad the holiday is over and happy to have the house back to normal.  Most of it is down now and Rob is headed back to work.  He asked how many days I was taking off and I said "meh" because I really don't know.  I'm on call for emergencies and guess I'll go back full time on Thursday.  

Meh.  

For now, I'm cleaning.  Putting things away.  Getting to things I've needed to do for a while.  I'm thinking that today, I'll load white thread in the machine and sew on buttons.  I have a pile if shirts in the sewing room/office that need buttons sewn back on, and that feels like a good project to do while I watch a movie.  

Everybody have a great week and a great new year.  We don't know what the new year will bring.  The uncertainty is like a weight.  So, I'm celebrating the next three weeks and doing my best not to try to look beyond that.  

Personally, I'm hoping for comic bumbling ineptitude, but who am I to base my speculations on current events?

Lane