6 posts tagged “christmas”

Okay, so I saw this statement in the window of a restaurant, in which we were eating last evening and I thought, "That's false. Christmas was a pagan holiday started years before the birth of Christ and was a celebration of the winter solstice. Only much later, when Christians desired a new holiday, They pretty much took the winter solstice to compete with the Roman pagan holiday. Here's the info from The Hisotry Channel. Remember that our pagan roots in history should not be forgotten or go unacknowledged, being one of my favorite times of year, in celebrating the coming of winter AND the time in which we celebrate the birth of Christ, it is not simply a Christian holiday.

And then there are more photos of Christmas decorations from the table after the party:

No one was stirring, not even a ... well, I am stirring. I'm excited. I can't sleep. I am feeling just about like I did when I was a young tot of 4 or 5. I remember the nights leading to Christmas day, I would lay under the tree looking up through it and I'd find myself wrapped in the magic of all that is THE TREE: the lights, the reflections, the colors, shapes, smells and the twinkles. Tonight, I'm feeling just like I did back then. I'm sitting alone on my sofa. Well, not alone-Penny is curled up on my left side. I have my legs on the ottoman with the laptop on my lap and I'm writing to you all out there, sharing my peaceful Christmas moment and trying to create my setting for you.

The only sound is the sound of the heater blowing through the vents and a faint water drip in the kitchen sink. I should go move the faucet so that it doesn't "dii-dii-dii-dii" like it's doing. It's quiet, mostly. A very faint sound of traffic only once every ten minutes or so. It's cold out. I am thinking clearly. I'm peaceful.

Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of year. This year, I feel like Keith and I have a home, we're settling, we're enjoying nesting and sharing our home and times with friends. I'm proud of it. It's not much, but it's ours for now, and it feels like home. I don't want to leave it, I don't like it unfinished and unkempt. I like it clean. Laundry done, kitchen cooked in and smelling of food and spices and flowers. The fragrance I have chosen to use in each room creates a different mood in each one. Pine in the living room for the tree. It's very subtle, but it's there. It's inviting. The kitchen, well, it smells of food and dish-washing detergent. The study smells of sandalwood, which is my absolute favorite, and the bedroom, it is a combination of things: the Wallflower, a heated diffuser, smells of black onyx, which is metallic and earthy - the chamomile and/or lavender linen spray. Comfort. Home. Holidays.

Now that the home is decorated, the lights are soothing and inviting. They call me to lay under the tree again like I did so many years ago as a child, and honestly, I thought about it. I'm too large now, but you know what? I might try it before going to bed. I think I will. Imagine! A grown man laying under the Christmas tree like he did when he was five to rekindle that spark and magic that is Christmas to me. I know, I sound like a fruit, and I am. I'm a nut, I'm a goof, I make no apologies for that, because what a joy to be able to do these things with the wonder of a child. I dare you to try it. You might not be able to get back up without calling for help (and boy, then you'd look silly!) hahah. I don't care. If I have to press my little Life Alert button. I will! Why pay for it if you don't use it?

And all of you who feel the joy and wonder and excitement, keep it shining bright for everyone. Radiate this Christmas for everyone to witness. Christmas IS a wonderful time of year.

Peace. On Earth.

d

Okay, so you know, you plan a party, you clean, you prepare the food and drinks, you hope folks show and they all come and have a blast. Success! And i have to add here, the reason for the party, our family of friends. Without them, our lives would bland and colorless. We love you all!

Last evening, I managed to make it out of the shower in time to try to get the table together, and with the help of our early arrivals, Terry and Michelle, taste testing the wassail and eggnog, it happened all just in the nick of time, I had a chance for a cigarette and a once over, candle check, and the party was on!

The tenderloin, which I prepared for the party, was just coming out of the oven when the first guests were arriving, and smelled marvelous! It was a huge huge hit and we had some picky beef eaters in the crowd come to find out and they loved it! I'm so very happy. I did the recipe on the fly and have never cooked a beef tenderloin before that weighed eight pounds! Well actually I've never done one to be honest. It's always a pork loin for just two to four people. Anyway, here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 6-8 lb beef tenderloin
Shiraz, one bottle (minus a small glass or two) for about an six to eight pound tenderloin.
Anise seed
Black pepper
1 can of tart cherries in water, drained.

Preparation:

• Cut tenderloin in half if needed and put into two casserole dishes (9x13 in my case).
• Split bottle of wine between the two according to size of each.
• Same for cherries
• Sprinkle with a generous coating of crushed black pepper and anise seed. I make sure to get some on the meat and in the wine.
• Let marinate for 2 hours. I used the cold beef from the fridge, let stand for 2 hours till room temp,
• In a large skillet, put a generous amount of olive oil, heat on high, pan sear each half of loin without cherries and wine to seal the outside, Discard one pan of cherries and marinade (save one marinade for the roasting - just split it between the two pans if needed).
• Put in oven and let roast until internal temp reaches 120 degrees. Remove and let stand covered loosely with foil for 15 minutes.
• Slice thinly for platter, then use pan juices to cover the beef after sliced.

The wassail was hit, but the big hit of the drinks were the eggnog I made and the gift of HPNOTIQ that my friends Dale and Richard brought That shit is goooooood! Over ice, alone, it's the diggity! Yeah, I said diggity!

The eggnog was made with purchased nog and spiced rum and Jamaican rum. Add a bit more spiced than Jamaican, but to taste. Just enough so you taste the rum and not more rum than eggnog. As an added flavor benefit, I made some espresso to add a small shot of before pouring the eggnog. It rocked!!!! And both bowls were devoured and pretty quickly.

Okay, so I didn't get amounts on the drinks as I usually cook by taste anyway. If it doesn't taste right, I add more. LOL

• Four bottles of shiraz. I like Lindeman's but I used something different last night. It was strong! I had to add water.
• Add teaspoons of brown sugar until the desired sweetness. I added seven and it was just right. Slice four tangerines, float in wine. I actually squeezed on for the sweetness and juice.
• A small hand of black peppercorns
• About 1 pack of star anise. About 10 pods.
• A small hand of whole cloves.(I like less cove than mose recipes call for so I use less. probably about the same as the pepper
• I used ground cinnamon as I didn't have bark, sprinkle and taste to ensure you're getting what you want for cinnamon flavor. I did about five shakes of the small shaker.
• Same for the Nutmeg.
• Heat over medium to allow the flovors to release into wine. Do NOT boil.
• Allow to cool, strain, place slices and pods back in and serve warm. It sits well and is highly colorful with the wine and tangerines and by the end of the party, it was gone too.

Everyone showed that RSVP'd and I couldn't have been happier. Keith played and Mindy sang Hard Candy Christmas among other songs, and I think we actually have video of that! (Eric?) Everyone was laughing, sharing, and enjoying! I am thrilled.

Much thanks to Keith for allowing me to have such a party for the holidays. He's never had a better party he said! And I'm ready to tackle the kitchen redo and the study in January! I'm ready for an Easter party now with best bonnet decorating prizes and egg hunts for grown ups! How funny is that!? I think an egg hunt by the lake in the woods would be great! Maybe a camping trip, party for that one?

Can you see a bunch of folk, in the woods, camping, making bonnets and then chasing easter eggs? OMG how hysterical would that be? I'm planning it!

Peace and Tenderoins at parties, y'all!

JD

This morning, I got up made coffee and began the task of tackling the decoration of the tree. It's been a whole year and Keith and I started fresh this year with a new home, new decorations and a live tree. Last night, while shopping for glitter for my pine cones, we found these adorable little glitter paw print Foamies at Michael's in a chocolate brown. I was going to put them on the fridge by her water and food bowl originally, but then I found this little pack of pale pink ornaments And at the checkout, they were paired together and I said. "Penny's first ornaments."

Well, I got home, and put all the small paw prints on the pink ornament and now we have Penny's first tree decorations!

Christmas 2008 (3)

As for decorating the tree, I'm using white and colored lights, but right now, I can't get a good photo of the tree with this digital camera. I want a SLR so bad I can taste it. But not for Christmas this year. The party and painting are taking our funds this year. And that's quite fine by me. I'd rather have a memory than a gift any day of the year! :)

I'll post more later, but I was taking a break and watned to share Penny's Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

After being left to fend for myself and to build my own extended family years ago, I found out that I love holidays alone or with my extended family in my own home or in their homes. You see, I hated going home for holidays. You know, your expected to be there, and you want to go, but you have to leave your spouse at home, and sit at a table full of brothers with their wives or girlfriends, their children. And everyone asking how you are but thinking NOTHING of how you feel sitting at this table with all of them with their “others” and everyone includes you, as long as nothing OF you is included at the table with them.

Yes, that was my holiday season. Finally, I had enough. I finally said that I wanted to spend holidays with my family, but that my family didn't want to spend holidays with my family, whomever that was at the time, so I would not be spending my holidays with my family. I'd rather sit down at a table with friends or by myself than sit through another one of those. It was depressing, degrading, and downright unacceptable. So, I made my own holiday special!

I would wake up on Thanksgiving day and Christmas day after having gone out to buy myself everything I needed for a full meal of my own: turkey, ham (yes both as I love both all day long), squash and green beans for two different casseroles, potatoes for mashing or making potato salad, deviled egg fixings, fresh cranberries or frozen if they were out, stuffing mix for cornbread stuffing with boiled eggs, celery, carrot, cranberries and sometimes nuts, sometimes not, giblet gravy would be made. And I would get up, make coffe,  put on the parade for the day, put on music of my choice, a glass or two of wine and the telly on whatever the hell I wanted it on with no input from anyone! And you know what, I LOVED IT! I had a special holiday to myself with no fuss over anyone else, but myself and I absolutely grew to love it. I didn't have to get up and get dressed for anyone, I didn't have to pack anything, fight traffic, deal with family, their issues, uncomfortable places to sit were not an issue and questions that simply bordered on mildly interested did not have to be endured.

And though I love Keith's family dearly, Those days are our days this year. We are not doing anything but spending Thanksgiving day with our friends Alex and Tony and their extended family in their home in East Atlanta Village this year, just like we did last year on that day. There will be plenty of love flowing at their table and they want us there for it. I couldn't be happier. Christmas, we'll be spending it here together, making whatever we want and doing whatever we went. Other days can be spent on family as far as I'm concerned. It's not MY immediate family and that's what matters most to me. Is my family and my friends who love me for me and love my life for what I bring to theirs and they to mine. That is family, folks. Now, I have my family close to me again after all these years, but they are only my family by blood and I love the. They accept me, but they are not my HOME. Keith is my Home, with my Penny, my things, my love for us and our friends who love us unconditionally.

It's what you do with holidays that count. May folks don't have them for various reasons. Some hate them for others, but I love them still with all my heart despite outside forces trying to steal my magic. Magic can come from within if you look for it, folks. It most definitely can if you work to make it happen. And sometimes all you need is an “I'm having my holiday!” to yourself! So this year, make a holiday! Make it happy, cry if you want, but make it a great day for yourself if you have to!

Much love to you this holiday season and I'll post those recipes mentioned earlier in this post, later.