Christmas calories

On the first hour of Christmas, my kitchen called to me for a bagel slathered in cream cheese. (Dairy products contain calcium which I need for strong bones.)

On the second hour of Christmas, my kitchen called to me for a double Irish Cream cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and a bagel slathered in cream cheese. (Caffeine will give me energy for the day ahead.)

On the third hour of Christmas, my kitchen called to me for three cherry walnut fudge brownies, a double Irish Cream cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and a bagel slathered in cream cheese.

(Walnuts and chocolate may decrease the chance of heart disease, according the USDA.)

On the fourth hour of Christmas, my kitchen called to me for four cups of Chex mix, three cherry walnut fudge brownies, a double Irish cream cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and a bagel slathered in cream cheese. (Chex mix adds fiber to my diet.)

On the fifth hour of Christmas my kitchen called to me for five Christmas cookies, four cups of Chex mix, three cherry walnut fudge brownies, a double Irish cream cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and a bagel slathered in cream cheese. (Using lots of butter helps the dairy industry.)

On the six hour of Christmas my kitchen called to me for six ounces of apple cider, five Christmas cookies, four cups of Chex mix, three cherry walnut fudge brownies, a double Irish cream cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and a bagel slathered in cream cheese. (I was slowing down, but soon got my second wind...or had a second wind.)

On the seventh hour of Christmas my kitchen called to me for seven handfuls of corn tortilla chips with guacamole dip, six ounces of apple cider, five Christmas cookies, four cups of Chex mix, three cherry walnut fudge brownies, a double Irish cream cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and a bagel slathered in cream cheese. (A serving of corn tortilla chips has 79 milligrams (mg) of sodium, or 3 percent of the DV for sodium. It also has 7 percent of the DV for phosphorus and 6 percent of the DV for magnesium. Additional vitamins and minerals in corn tortilla chips include 3 percent of the DV for thiamin, vitamin B6, calcium, zinc and selenium...but who cares?)

On the eighth hour of Christmas my kitchen called to me for eight snickerdooles, seven handfuls of corn chips with guacamole dip, six ounces of apple cider, five Christmas cookies, four cups of Chex mix, three cherry walnut fudge brownies, a double Irish cream cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and a bagel slathered in cream cheese. (250 calories in each snickerdoodle, but I'll think about that tomorrow.)

On the ninth hour of Christmas my kitchen called to me for nine scoops of chocolate ice cream, eight snickerdoodles, seven handfuls of corn chips with guacamole dip, six ounces of apple cider, five Christmas cookies, four cups of Chex mix, three cherry walnut fudge brownies, a double Irish cream cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and a bagel slathered in cream cheese. (Dairy product, see first and fifth day.)

On the tenth hour of Christmas, my kitchen called to me for ten peanut butter chocolate kiss cookies, nine scoops of chocolate ice cream, eight snickerdoodles, seven handfuls of corn chips with guacamole dip, six ounces of apple cider, five Christmas cookies, four cups of Chex mix, three cherry walnut fudge brownies, a double Irish cream cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and a bagel slathered in cream cheese. (Peanut butter has protein.)

On the eleventh hour of Christmas, my kitchen called to me for eleven blueberry scones reheated in the microwave, ten peanut butter chocolate kiss cookies, nine scoops of chocolate ice cream, eight snickerdoodles, seven handfuls of corn chips with guacamole dip, six ounces of apple cider, five Christmas cookies, four cups of Chex mix, three cherry walnut fudge brownies, a double Irish cream cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and a bagel slathered in cream cheese. (Blueberries are no. 1 in antioxident effects, according to the USDA, so I will be very healthy...tomorrow.)

On the twelve hour of Christmas, my bed called to me, so I had a twelve ounce mug of hot chocolate (see dairy products) and was thankful winter days are short.    

Christmas Eve traditions

The holidays are all about memories.  Gary has been thinking about his father, who died over a year ago.  Dwight made a fabulous meatloaf and Gary wanted it for our meal tonight.  The problem was that Dwight never wrote the recipe down.  We queried his relatives and came up with a list of ingredients which may or may not be complete and no instructions on how to put them together.   I found a similar recipe on the internet and adjusted it with the list of ingredients.

Gary decreed that it would only be his father's meatloaf if it were mixed up in his father's "meatloaf bowl".  He began to a frantic search for the bowl in the house and a storage unit.  Nothing else would do.  When he finally found it, I began to laugh.  It's a cheap little blue plastic bowl, the color pretty much bleached out.  But it's tradition so I will use it this evening.  I hope it turns out well.

My son Chris, his wife Tisha, and the best grandson in the world, five year old Evan, are coming over around 3:00 pm.  Tisha never had time to make cookies this year, so Grandma came to the rescue.  I made the cookies yesterday and this afternoon, Evan and I will decorate them.  Then he'll help me put battery operated tea light candles in holders all over the house and turn on the tree holiday decorations, as we do every year.  I'll tell him about the ornaments on the tree and he'll look for the Twelve Days of Christmas.  After opening presents and eating our meatloaf, we'll pile into the car to drive around looking at the lights throughout this little town.  We'll wind up at the cemetery where we place a candle on my parents' grave to burn the night through.  One year there was a snowstorm with high drifts.  I thought, no candle this year, but Chris drove through the blizzard and bless her heart, Tisha leaped over the drifts and dug a spot for the candle out of the wind.  It was still glowing the next day.    

Finally, church services where I will direct the chancel choir through our favorite anthems and hymns.

I do love Christmas!

May all find their own traditions this season of joy.

Another tour to organize

Besides my own bookings, I occasionally work as an agent for performing artists from abroad. They do the same for me when I visit them.  In February, Caim, a Celtic duo, will be here in Wisconsin.  Heather Innes, from Stirling, Scotland, and Jacynth Hamill, from Belfast, Ireland, sing a capella in Gaelic.   So far, I've arranged eleven bookings for them in three weeks.   


Heather and Jacynth have adopted an orphanage in Thailand. I just found out about that and now am working on finding them additional benefit performances.   


This is the third tour I've booked for Caim.  Jacynth says that it is time for me to visit her in Ireland, a place I've longed to see.   I've been to Scotland twice and treasure memories of  the time Heather and I stayed at a bed and breakfast lighthouse at Gairloch.  Now my dreams are about Ireland's Giant's Causeway.  If I intend to leap from granite rock to rock,  I'd best get there before I get much older! 

The Countdown Begins

Last year at the winter solstice, I began a countdown to the spring equinox on with a Facebook notation every day.  My friends requested I do it again this winter.  It gives us all a sense of hope in the darkest days of winter.

December 22  is the shortest day here in Seymour.  The sun didn't come up until 7:28 and will leave us at 4:17 pm.  That means we only have 8 hours and 49 minutes of daylight.  It's not enough for me.  I got up at midnight to watch the almost full moon reflecting on the snow.  I could pretend it was sunlight, at least until the clouds came back with more snow.  Earth moves slowly as she changes her direction.  Our day will be a minute longer tomorrow, but then there will no be additional daylight time until the 28th.

The day after the 2010 spring equinox, Gary and I put our canoe in the Wolf River for our first cruise of the year.  A few days earlier, the swans had returned.  They are better forecasters of spring than any robins.

Eighty nine days to go!

Solstice Food (Proof I can cook)

Thinking Ahead

The summer reading program won't begin until mid-June, but I am working on the itinerary now.   Today, I'm nailing down the addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and directions for each library.  In some cases, I have to go back to the librarians to clarify the times of the performances.

Next comes figuring out the mileage between the performances and the time it will take.  This means going back to the paper maps and checking mapquest.

Finally, I need to locate campgrounds along the entire route.  In some cases, I will have to reserve sites ahead of time.  That should be done in early January.

As we prepare for the long night of the winter solstice, it is pleasant to think of long summer days.  We wanted to watch the lunar eclipse and the Uriad meteor showers tonight but it seems that Northeast Wisconsin is to be hit with yet another snowstorm.  I guess we will watch NASA's live stream of the event at http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/index.html

As of tomorrow, the days will get longer.  Equinox, here we come!

Las Posadas

Yesterday, we at the Seymour United Methodist Church held a Las Posadas celebration, a Mexican Christmas tradition.  It should be a nine-day celebration from December 16 to Christmas Eve, but the odds of Wisconsin having nine good days of weather in a row is a nil.  Even the owners of our donkey decided that it was too cold for our little beast of burden.

Our version includes a journey following Mary and Joseph from house to house seeking shelter as we sing Christmas carols. We are always refused.  Finally, we reach the church which is willing to let us all in and serve us a fiesta of Hispanic food followed by the smashing of pinatas, three of them for three age groups.

My five year old grandson Evan was there, waiting to take a "whack at that thing" with the youngest revelers. It took him three times through the lineup of toddlers, but he finally knocked the pinata to the floor, with candy and peanuts scattered all over.  It takes a grandmother to be that proud of her grandson for violently knocking the head off a papier mache donkey.   It takes an observant grandson to know that any Snickers bars are to be delivered directly to said grandmother.