gifts of gold, vacuums, and myrrh

Husband always does a wonderful job with gifts. This year was no exception. He bought me a beautiful necklace, which I wore every day of our Christmas vacation, a refill of my favorite perfume, and..... drum roll....

the most awesome vacuum cleaner known to (wo)man. It takes the cake. It's the bees knees. The best thing since sliced bread. Better than a bowl of cherries. Or a spoonful of sugar.

With attachments and an air filter just for:



the problems this little mammal brings to our home: silky brown hair and that precious canine musk.

When I told people what Husband gave me they whispered, "Are you mad at him?"

NO!

Quite the contrary. I'm ecstatic with him.

I've been beating and cursing our pathetic Dirt Devil for three years. It spit out more than it sucked up and I had to vacuum 24 hours before having company to give the house time to air out from all the heavy allergens it cast into the once-breathable oxygen. I kid you not. It was a weekly war.

And Husband did his research. The Kenmore Progressive simply rocks.

It cleans the air, the baseboards, the furniture, the carpet, the hardwood floor... I haven't tried it on the dishes, my teeth, or the dog yet, but I'm sure it would clean those too :)

Of course, Husband also proved his suave genius in giving me this trophy vacuum-cleaner along with the "pretty" things mentioned above. Smart man.

Just like I gave him classy clothing along with a gift certificate to a butcher shop.

Balance.



back at it

It's about time for a new post around here! It seems I took an unplanned break from blogging.

A quick report on the desserts:

I made the Raspberry Sherry Trifle and the Frozen Grand Marnier Torte from the last post.

Both desserts were delicious, but the trifle was the biggest hit. It was light and more ubiquitously pleasing. The sherry was cooked, so the children enjoyed it as well as the adults. The Torte was delicious but very "orange-y" and the crust would not come out of the bottom, since it was frozen. If you ever make this one, either grease the bottom of the dish VERY well or make a crustless Torte and use all of the "Crust" in between the two layers of custard. Overall, I loved the flavors. But they were very unique and bold and would never do for a picky crowd.

Now for our three-day visit to Alabama.

DAY ONE

was most certainly Khan's favorite.

Can you sense the energy? He loves the leash-less freedom the tall pines of Alabama bring him.

It's refreshing for us, too.

Fire pits. Fresh lumber cut from one's own property. And, of course, inflatable Auburn tents.

I got to meet some friends for lunch, too.

 

Miriam (middle) was in town from the UK where she is working on her PhD in Creative Writing, and Ashleigh is a (newly graduated) lawyer in Atlanta. I'm so impressed with my smart friends! I've known these two since elementary school. And with all they have to offer the world through their vast accomplishments, I talked through the entire lunch. Do you ever leave a visit and think, I just talked the whole time and really had so little to say? That's how I left lunch with these two: wishing I had listened more than spoken.

DAY TWO: Christmas Eve

We spent the day near Birmingham with my dad's family.

The town they recently moved to is an old railroad town with a vintage depot deli. So we explored the town, perused its shops, and had tasty burgers at the depot. Many of the shops were closing for good (or had already). It's the kind of scene that makes me want to try harder to support small businesses, to keep places like this alive. It's just not the same as rushing through Target. It would be a tragedy to lose.

Christmas Eve night was spent in my parents' tiny country church and at their house preparing for Christmas Day... and meeting my brother's interesting (and cute!) girlfriend for the first time through Skype. She teaches English in Tibet and couldn't be home for Christmas.

DAY THREE: Christmas Day

Got up early. Men started frying and smoking turkeys. I showered and had lots of coffee to await the arrival of the Herndon family, which has grown from four to seven in the last two years. They have visited early Christmas morning for as long as I can remember-- and have at times opened our gifts before we've reached them saying, "Hey, look what you got for Christmas!" They bring lots of LIFE to groggy Christmas mornings :)

I usually have no idea what to get my parents. But this Christmas, I couldn't wait for them to open their gift.

The wrapping, they were told, contained a CLUE.

So they discussed and tried to discover the CLUE... any ideas?

To no avail.

So they opened the box, and the spring system I designed to make the silk flowers pop out was a total flop....

so the flowers that didn't gurgle out in slow motion were gathered and moved...

the letter read aloud...

and they are very happy with their 108 perennial bulbs that will be delivered for spring planting! It's a gift that (hopefully) will keep giving. In this shopping process, I learned that Spring bulbs can be pre-ordered at discount. I went through American Meadows.

(By the way, the hat I'm wearing in that photo is a fru-fru chef's hat that Santa brought me.)

After the Herndons' visit and the giving of gifts, we traipsed over to Pittsview, Alabama to my grandmother's 160-year-old home to see my mom's family-- all 30 of them.

It's one of my favorite events of the whole year.

Photo One: The grandchildren's playroom

Photo Two: Mother and Brother taking out the wrappings (and wearing some, too!)

Photo Three: The "cousins" generation-- minus two who had to leave early

Photo Four: Lounging in the parlor towards the end of the day's activities (usually, this time of the day involves skeet shooting in the fields, but it was too misty out for that kind of fun)

On the fourth day, we returned to Greenville, SC where a light dusting of snow awaited us. It rarely snows this far South around Christmas, much less on Christmas night. It was quite magical.

 

what are you bringing to the table?

1. Paula Deen's easy (and pretty!) Raspberry Sherry Trifle

2. Southern Living's Red Velvet Cheesecake

(this one is a little more labor-intensive and must be made a day-ahead, but it's one of my all-time favorites!)

3. Bon Appetite's Frozen Grand Marnier Torte with Dark Chocolate Crust and Spiced Cranberries. Yum. This is the one I'll be contributing to the family feast this year.

wrapping things up...

 I love our paper and ribbons this year-- the muted, texturized gold with the festive polka-dot ribbon.

But when I go to wrap the "male gifts" I never quite feel right about giving them elaborate bows, streaming ribbon tails, and sparkly adornments. So, when I saw Dawn's posting on her rustic cut-out wrappings (except my aren't 3-D pop-ups) I felt inspired to create the forest scene you see above. I have a few more to go and I'm thinking of a "grill" for Husband's cut-out... and maybe a line of Snowmen or a sledding scene for a child's gift. And maybe a slice of cake for another.

melted snowmen (and peppermint buttercream frosting)

Every year, we make Eggnog Logs and Christmas Tree Bark.

And every year we try a new cookie recipe.

This year's new recipe was "Melted Snowmen"--

A regular Sugar Cookie with Peppermint Buttercream Frosting and marshmallow heads.

We made some content and others protesting,

and we made a few furious with their lot.

Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

1 stick of butter

2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

snowflake bentley: a spectacular gift

This simple picturebook book tells the true story of a man who was so enamored by Nature's intricate details that he couldn't stop sketching, photographing, sharing, and journaling his observations of snowflakes, dew, grasshoppers, and other fine details.

Wilson A. Bentley is the man who photographed the first image of a magnified snowflake.

This book-- seemingly written for children-- tells his story of success. It is a unique story of success, since it doesn't involve the acquisition of a perfect romance or grand fortune. The success is one of heart and mind-- of tenaciously pursuing the most natural thing in life: the thing that rivets and fulfills you most, no matter the cost. For Bentley, it just happened to be snowflakes.

Snowflake Bentley's story would be an ideal gift for anyone.

In fact, it was recently given to me by a dear friend and mentor in honor of finishing my Fall semester of graduate school, and it has left an impression on me which I cannot convey in mere words on a blog...

Plus, the illustrations are by the very talented Mary Azarian.

scattering profiles: pumphouse studios

I found these bird plates in a shop called,

Pumphouse Studios.

I immediately clicked on the profile thinking, this shop name has to have a story!

And it does.

This artist's story is so beautifully written, I have to share it verbatim....

My mother was a potter and art teacher. Under her influence I grew up making art, but concentrated on the written word in school, eventually earning a PhD in literature in 1994. That same year my mom died from breast cancer, leaving me her well-used wheel, kiln, and a series of mysterious glaze recipes. It took nearly ten years and several moves later to see what I had inherited. I found myself in Southern Oregon, teaching literature but connecting with a group of ceramic artists who showed me how to shape the fog of grief into the delight of working with clay. During those years, my studio was a 6X6 foot pumphouse where I worked every spare moment, making pots and competing with the pump and waterlines for space. My kiln was outside. As a result, I like to say that my apprenticeship in ceramics was literally affected by the rolling of the seasons and the events of the natural world around me.

I think these three would look superb hanging together.