Un-decorating after Christmas

Taking Christmas down is never as much fun as the decorating. As I finished de-Christmasing the house this morning, I was struck by how empty everything looks. Granted, I still have to replace the "everyday" items that were moved to make room for the special Christmas things, but the festive atmosphere is indeed gone for another year. (The cat may argue; Xeda is eyeing the empty mantles greedily, perhaps with a plan to jump up there while there is room for her to roam. I'd better get things put back swiftly!)

Not so long ago, though, the mantles were festooned with Santas, snowmen, nutcrackers, and greenery from the yard.

  

 

Other decorations were displayed in familiar and unexpected places.



As I put away each ornament from the tree, I treasured memories of trips, life events, and old friends represented by the decorations that had adorned it.



Some ornaments took me back to my first Christmas without my parents, when I convinced my grandmother to let me bring in a tree and made all the ornaments myself. I still have the eggshell ornaments I made, and I still tie ribbons on the tree as a final touch.



Some of my still-favorite ornaments are those that I started collecting that same year.



Others are ornaments I've made over the years...



... or that were made and given to us by friends and our kids.



Then, there are the ornaments that I've brought back from our travels: Yellowstone and Grand Tetons;
Whistler, Niagara-on-the-Falls, and Victoria, B.C. in Canada; Hawaii and Arizona; The Dali Museum in St. Pete and the Newport Aquarium, are just a few of those memories captured here.









Until yesterday, the front of the house beheld our traditional decoration of greenery.



But the banisters, now bare, had a new look this year.



All that is gone, but the memories of the season live on.

Sarah was home for the holiday, and it was wonderful having everyone back together again. We held our annual cookie-baking marathon, resulting in seven varieties of cookies this year. Neighbors and friends received platters of these confections as gifts, and we managed to hang on to a few for ourselves. Even the crumbs are now gone...



  

Christmas morning was spent in its usual extended exchange of excess, I mean gifts, with a little something special for everyone.

 

That evening, Hillary, Patrick, and Ian Moldovan joined us for dinner. Don't think I got a single picture of our guests, or the food, but the table certainly looked nice!



Our menu this year: beef tenderloin, wild rice with cranberries, wrapped green beans, onion and mushroom casserole, Christmassy apple and grape congealed salad, rolls, and, for dessert, Hillary's impressive cranberry-orange bundt cake and Christmas cookies.

Today, however, the dishes are all put away, the decoration bins are in storage, the tree is by the curb awaiting recycling, and all that is left are needles on the floor waiting to be vacuumed. Ah, yes, and the memories.

Thanksgiving 2012

We ate Thanksgiving dinner at the Overholsers again this year, but in a new setting. A few months ago, they relocated to a cottage on the farm where Joan grew up. It seemed the quintessential Thanksgiving setting, and twenty-two of us gathered there to share thanks, food, and companionship together.

Upon our arrival, I made the gravy - why is it always assumed that Southerners know how to make gravy? Luckily I do, and this was some of the best I've ever made. Rich, flavorful, and plenty of it.

Tables were laden with food of every description: turkey, dressing, my wild rice stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams, roasted vegetables, green and jello salads, relishes, and breads.

We retired to Joan's parents' home for dessert, where yet another table was covered with fruit and pumpkin pies, pumpkin roulade, and more. We enjoyed our sweets, played games, and learned about one another amid much laughter.

We celebrated our own personal family Thanksgiving at home on Saturday - because I wanted leftovers and because I love the way the house smells when turkey is roasting. A turkey breast was all we needed for the three of us. Sarah, after all, was still at school. The table felt a bit empty without her.

Our menu consisted of turkey breast, gravy, wild rice stuffing (both left over from Joan's meal), Mama Stanberg's frozen horseradish-cranberry relish, savory sweet potatoes, green beans with almonds and mushrooms, and yummy kale and squash scones.

    

The scones, a new addition this year, and included because we had plenty of CSA kale and butternut squash, was a definite keeper. The savory sweet potato leftovers morphed into a tasty sweet potato soup a few days later - another one to be repeated, for sure.

 Although we missed Sarah, we are grateful for the experiences she's having at college, and thankful to have the chance to spend time with friends and family and break bread together. She'll be home in a few weeks and we look forward to spending our next holiday with the whole family together!