Christmas 2013

Here's what we were up to over Christmas!

We spent Christmas Eve at my grandma's house with most-but-not-all of my extended family. It snowed about three inches through the day, which was beautiful to look at but made for a slow drive home (thanks to Josh for getting all of us back to my parents' house safely!).

For the first time in a few years, my brother and sister and I were all at my parents' house on Christmas morning. It was a special year for that to happen, because it was their first Christmas at their new house. For a house they bought only a couple of months ago, it was amazing how comfortable and cozy and festive it felt: not strange, not even that new. It's a good place.

Wish, by the way, was loving having a bunch of family around. He has long considered my mom, sister and dad among his closest confidants, but after this holiday, we add my brother and my sister's boyfriend to that list. He also loved running around in the backyard and on quiet snowy roads.

He even has his own stocking. What's not to love?

His stocking included a cookie cutter shaped like a Keeshond (that's his primary breed, but he's definitely not purebred). I loved it!

After stockings, we went upstairs to open the gifts under the tree.

My mom and dad gave each other pans!

Josh and I borrowed my brother's rake in October and may have possibly not returned it yet. This Christmas, there was a mysteriously shaped package under the tree with our names on it.

Our own rake!

Many, many thanks to each family member (and Santa) for the sweet gifts.

We posed for a few photos...

...before heading to my aunt's house for the rest of Christmas Day. This is also her first year in a new home, and it was perfect for our group. (I was between Josh and my brother at the dinner table.)

Later, as longstanding tradition dictates, we played White Elephant, the dice game that rewards rolling doubles with prizes (and sometimes "prizes"). There were tons of dice being circulated, but my very favorite was the tiniest little dice you could ever imagine.

(My winnings were a box of tea and a box of Clif Bars!)

After the game and dessert, my aunt took us on a quick walk to see the neighborhood lake at night. It was a gorgeous evening and not too cold.

And then we went back to my parents' house, where we relaxed on the couches, visited with my parents and enjoyed our White Elephant prizes. And Wish fell asleep with the cheetah.

We missed our Colorado family, but it was a wonderful holiday in Minnesota.

Pizza and Potica

Oh, it has been a great week.

After the Christmas festivities (more on those soon), we made plans for yesterday to be Potica Day at my parents' house. It has become a tradition in our family to make potica (basically poh-TEE-tsah), a Slovenian bread with a honey-walnut-butter filling, sometime around Christmas. My dad had to leave for a work trip, but my mom, sister, sister's boyfriend, brother, Josh and I tackled the project. My mom prepared the dough, and we took turns kneading our way through the batches.

(Wish was never too far away.)

We rolled out the dough and spread a layer of filling, which my mom had prepared in advance, then rolled it up carefully.

Then you can make a spiral with the dough, or a loaf, or a circle, or whatever. Sometimes our first initials end up on the pan. We made a lot of spirals last night. I tried a circle and it ended up looking like a smushed U. It was not my finest effort. It still tastes good, though!

The first potica day in the new house's kitchen!

As my mom was finishing the last batch of potica dough, a movement formed in the kitchen to make another batch of dough for homemade pizza. I don't know who started the idea, but it caught on quickly. Credit my brother, though, with being pizza captain last night. He took charge of the project and made it happen. We planned out two pizzas - one with pesto, shrimp, tomatoes and mozzarella and one with tomato sauce, peppers, olives, onions, spinach and more cheese.

Mom switched gears and whipped up a batch of pizza dough, and Brother and Josh prepared it for baking.

Then we all helped with the toppings. Wish is strategically under my mom and sister's hands.

The pizza was marvelous, and it was a great evening to wrap up the first Christmas at my parents' new house. Pizza and Potica is a new tradition we'll definitely revisit next year.

Christmas Eve stroll

Last Thanksgiving, after I dropped Josh off at the airport for an early morning flight to Colorado, I took Wish for a stroll and we watched the sun rise. The neighborhood felt silent, and I loved starting the holiday with a walk like that.

I thought of last year's Thanksgiving walk today when I took Wish out for his Christmas Eve morning stroll. It was peaceful, but not as leisurely.

source

We bundled up and trotted around the quiet neighborhood for a few minutes (emphasis on few). The sun was rising this time, too, and there were beautiful pink streaks in the sky.

Wish was more interested in monitoring an approaching bus than watching the sun rise or posing for a Christmas Eve photo. Oh, well.

Cold as it was, I liked starting the day with a few quiet minutes and some fresh air with our pup.

Let the festivities begin! If you are celebrating this week, I hope you have a warm and wonderful holiday.

Marvelous Monday: Week 51

It's almost Christmas!

Five marvelous tidbits to begin the week:

1) Our washing machine broke down over the weekend, and Josh did some research, tinkered with some machine pieces, and fixed it successfully himself!

2) I hot-glued our holiday cards on to sparkly gold ribbon and they're all hanging up now on the pillar in our kitchen, and I love looking at them. They may stay up for months.

3) We had a fun visit last night with our friends - the new parents! - and their great family.

4) Today's high temperature struggled to get higher than two or three degrees, which didn't exactly buoy my spirits for the run I had planned. I cut it short - three miles or so - and ran errands around the neighborhood, and it did feel good to get out there and trot around a bit.

5) With more snow on tap for Christmas Eve, it will definitely be a white Christmas in our part of Minnesota. It seems like a light snow has been falling a lot lately, that glittery snow, and it's really beautiful - especially at night under the streetlights. I love to watch Wish run/hurdle through it, and I'm looking forward to getting my snowshoes out sometime in the next couple of weeks!

Are you traveling this week, and is it snowy where you are and/or where you're headed? We'll be in Minnesota this year, spending time with family here and also thinking of family in Colorado.

He's ready

I woke up this morning to find this greeting via text message:

It was only a matter of time, wasn't it? I'm not sure the holiday season would've been complete without one photo of Wish in a Santa hat. Despite their expressions indicating otherwise, I know Wish and my dad are both in the Christmas spirit. I might have gotten a text yesterday from my dad with a picture of Wish about to pounce on a mammoth bone (I mean, truly, I think it was from a mammoth - that's how big it was) with a caption about Santa visiting early. Goofballs.

Ooh, guess what else!? We made tamales yesterday! I will tell you all about it soon. Today we are visiting Josh's dad, then going to church, then going to church, then spending Christmas Eve at his cousin's house. Also, the regional newspaper's letters to Santa are back this year, and I am loving them just as much as I did last year. I'm collecting my favorites and will share those with you this week, too.

If you are celebrating today, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Eve.