That's Our Boy!

There was sunshine today, what a gift! Having had so much rain lately it was a treat to wear the sunnies. Chris and I took Jake for a walk down the Seymour Bay area and found a new trail to explore. Jake loved the sun as well and even posed for me so I could get this shot. I love his shiny coat. Let's hope 2010 goes out with another sunny day, and that 2011 starts with sunshine on January 1st!

Meet Darlene

 

As young as she may look, Darlene is pushing 55. She takes care of herself, uses only mild soap and water on her face, never over indulges, and leads a contemplative lifestyle. Darlene was my first dollie. I had 2, the other little babe was Airity, and last year I gave her to a little girl who will take good care of her. Darlene’s a lifer though. I suppose as we approach a new year, clearing our closets so to speak, thinking of the old adage “out with the old, in with the new” we might try to understand that the year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on. When I look at Darlene, I am reminded that rather than walking through our houses room by room, drawing up a list of closets to clean, or cracks to be patched, or things to throw out, maybe we ought to simply walk through the rooms of our lives.

Ping Pong

Chris made a ping-pong table to go over the pool table (and to work on) so Christmas afternoon we played a couple of games. I lost both games, but just wait till the return match. Jake went crazy trying to get involved with the ping pong ball. Too funny. We had quite a time breaking him into the pool balls, so this will surely come as well.

My Little Christmas Belle

Gypsy in all her wonderment!

Pluma Moos For Christmas

A "low" German / Mennonite recipe my grammy and mom would make as a special treat at Christmas time was Pluma Moos, translated as "Prune Soup". The cinnamon dough balls were always my favorite, and I used to help grammy roll them out and cut them. She taught me how not to let them sink to the bottom of the pot. I grew up with this soup, it was one of our family traditions. "Tradition" - you know, the wonderful 3 syllable word that speaks of remembrance and nostalgia for times and places and people that are/were important to us. Tradition connects past and present and helps us understand who and where we came from. As for the Pluma Moos, well, like many traditions do these days, it disappeared when mom passed away. My sister Florence made it one Christmas and gave us all jars to take home which was a real gift in and of itself. But, that was many years ago as well, and now nostalgia raises its head once more with me, and I have resurrected this old recipe so that it will live on. It makes a lot. The dried fruit can be varied somewhat depending on what you have on hand, but (pitted)prunes, raisins and apricots are the traditional ingredients. Pluma Moos The process begins: - 2 packages of mixed "dry" fruit plus 1 package of "dry" apricots; all cut in half; - 1 to 1.5 cups of raisins - extra (pitted) prunes if desired Put in big pot, cover with water, and soak overnight. The process continues the next day with: Making dough balls: ½ c of flour; 1 tsp cinnamon; just enough milk to make into a soft pliable dough. Roll out onto a lightly floured board about 1/8” to ¼” and cut into small pieces (just bigger than raisins). Drain the water off the fruit. Cover fruit completely with new water and bring to a boil. Once this is boiling add the dough balls stirring so the dough does not just sink to the bottom. Turn down the heat so that the mixture is just simmering and add the following 4 ingredients, already combined together, and making sure to stir well: Combine until smooth: 1 pkge of cherry flavoured jello (adds color and helps with thickening) 3 tbsps corn starch 1 tbsp flour ½ cup light cream Cook for another 8 minutes. Remove from stove and cool. This soup can be served warm but is best enjoyed chilled. It keeps well in the fridge. If too thick, just add milk/cream when serving.

Nostalgic Advent Wreath - But Not My Memory

 

My sister brought an old advent wreath over to show me yesterday. It was an advent wreath she remembers from a child at home. I have no recollection of it at all, but then, she is 12 years older, and perhaps we moved to a more traditional wreath when I came along. It is certainly something I can see my mother having. It is a handmade German wooden wreath, very cleverly done and I am sure it tells a story. We figure it has to be at least 60+ years old, and it has been kept in very good condition. I have been on the internet looking to see if I could find something similar, but no luck. I'll keep looking.

Faith, Family and Food

 

Last night my sister Florence made the "treck" to Bowen for a pre-Christmas get-together. Distance and busy lives seem to interfere with regular get togethers for Florence and I. Usually we get together in November for a dual birthday dinner, hers on the 24th and mine on the 10th, but it didn't happen this year, and I missed out on the family get-together at Thanksgiving. This, then was a lovely Christmas gift. As you can see in the collage, as Chris lights the advent candles, we had roast chicken, with trifle for desert. A windy night, a wet night, but a family night.

Decorations for Life

 

I think it was about 1978 when my very dearest friend Patti gave me one of my most treasured Christmas presents. Inside a cardboard egg carton were a dozen hand made Christmas decorations. Each egg shaped decoration was made up of either countless little colorful sequins individually pinned to a hard foam inner shell,or hundreds of glitter sparkles carefully glued in a unique pattern. The work that Patti must have put into making these still amazes me to this day, as does she. Everything she does is a labour of love. These decorations were a Christmas gift for my first tree in my first apartment. I still have them in the same egg carton and they have yet to show any wear. They are decorations for life,.. just as our friendship.

Toronto vs Vancouver. Oh well!

 

The last Leaf/Canuck game we went to was 2003. And the Leaf's won! Go Leaf's go!! Not so tonight. It was embarrassing. The Canucks indeed played better, so deserved their win. Our team looked like a bunch of bumbling kids on the ice; they couldn't handle the puck and they were sloppy. They couldn;t even score when they were up 3 men on a power play. I took my leafs shirt off when I got out of the arena - just to avoid any ridicule.

Gorilla in the Snow

 

I wanted to bring him in but my Koombula seems to prefer the outdoors. If he survives the climate changes, he will definitely need a paint touch up come spring!