Another Christmas

After cleaning for a week and cooking for a couple of days Christmas is over, the presents are put away and the tree, that so many tears were shed over, is drying out ready to recycle.

Last night my side of the family gathered in our great room to eat our traditional foods and exchange gifts. It is the time that the cousins get together to laugh and exchange stories and I get to visit with my brothers and sisters-in-law and grandkids run all over. I do love to see my nieces and nephew as well although we keep in close contact throughout the year.

My younger brother and family didn’t make it at the last minute so we had to party on without them. My brother just younger than me and his family did make it and with our own kids filled the house. My nieces are such beautiful women and my nephew a very handsome young man.

In the past year my nephew graduated from law school and passed the bar, a niece started her own business, 2 granddaughters moved away, and a new little girl was born. Interesting what a year will bring.

This year was different in that we invited a young man to join us who we had met in China. Pong worked with our son and his family so all of us met him during our various travels there. He just moved to northern California recently and I thought that he might want a place to be during the holidays, hence the invite. Clayton picked Pong up on the way down from Petaluma and Nate will take Pong home when they travel north for other visits this weekend.

Pong’s family is from Laos so we added some Laotian tradition to our Christmas Eve when he made Sticky Rice with Mangos for an additional dessert. It is a dessert I’d never had before but with the Coconut milk topping it is great. I’ll try to finish it off before the others find it!

Pong told me that having such a large and boisterous gang together on Christmas Eve was quite exciting to experience. We thought that our celebration was quite normal but maybe we are not the norm after all.

Eat Dessert First

Several months ago we thought that we’d celebrate our anniversary with a trip to Taos, a place that we love. Dale took off vacation days so that we could be gone 10 days and we thought that we’d even make a quick stop in Okla. in order for me to do a little more oral history with a great uncle.

About 2 weeks ago we looked over the budget and decided that this year was, once again, not the year to make a trip to Taos... We decided to just go to Harris Ranch overnight, a restaurant associated with a feedlot. The meat is very high quality. We thought that we’d take the RV so that we could drink some of our good red wine and some champagne with our meal.

On Thurs I’d been out to a couple of places and later I couldn’t find my phone. After a major search I called Verizon and we determined that someone else had my phone. Then on Friday we found the lock on the truck had been punched in and later that evening we heard on the news that vehicles had been broken into at Toy’s R Us, where I’d been. I had to order a new phone.

On Saturday our electricity went out in the two bathrooms and our bedroom so we called an electrician. We called the guy only to find out that he couldn’t come out until Tuesday, our anniversary.

On Tuesday, after the electrician left we thought that we’d try to salvage our anniversary. I suggested that we go out for dessert then pick up some take out for dinner and come home to eat so we could still drink some great wine. We could dress up a little and still feel as if we’d done something.

After much thought we decided to go to a Mediterranean restaurant, Café Med. This is a place that is not the fanciest but is quite a bit more upscale than most here in Bakersfield.

We dressed up in better than normal clothes, I wearing a new short dress from my nieces shop with tights and boots; feeling very good with my thinner figure. We got to the restaurant and were seated; tables had white cloth tablecloths and white napkins. We were feeling very glamorous!

We told the waiter that we really only wanted dessert so he brought the desert menu to us. We ordered a chocolate decadent cake and an order of the crème Brule with the thought that we’d then share. I ordered Turkish coffee which was served with a real Turkish coffee pot which looked to be very old and felt so authentic. Dale had a latte with his desert.

As we were finishing our dessert the set up person brought pita bread and Turkish salad, this is the equivalent to bread and butter in most places. Now Turkish salad is a tomato based dip spiced with jalapeño peppers. We first told the guy to take it away but then decided that we’d eat it after we finished our dessert. After savoring the wonderful desserts we ate the bread and salad and it was great.

What we learned is this: we will eat the dessert first then eat the meal. We will take most of the meal home anyway and usually are way to full for much desert. So if we eat our dessert first then we can savor it to the fullest and enjoy the entire portion rather than just stuffing it in. After all life is short so what better than to Eat Dessert.

Our wedding 36 years ago

Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary, 36 years together.

We got married in the little chapel in Yosemite on a Saturday evening. It was cold with lots of snow on the ground. A path had been dug thru the snow to the chapel steps. Long icicles hung from the roof of the chapel.

Inside the chapel small wreaths were hung in the windows and candles placed in sconces along the wall. An organ was in the rear left side where Dale’s cousin Darlene played Christmas Carols to the small group that had gathered. The chapel was warm with the candle light.

I stayed at the cabin with Dale’s mom and my mom getting ready while his dad ferried guests to the chapel. Dale, his brothers, my brothers and friends went on to the chapel to await our arrival with Dale and his attendants waiting outside.

So my mom, Dale’s mom and I stayed behind at the cabin doing whatever brides and their moms do while Dale’s dad Ernie drove the short distance, maybe a mile or so, to the chapel to deposit someone or another. After 30 minutes we began to become concerned, no Ernie. After 45 minutes, finally Dale’s dad arrived. The road between the chapel and the cabin is a one way road and he couldn’t just drive 100 yards the wrong way back to the cabin but had to drive all over Yosemite Valley, the long way, following the one way road. I, needless to say was beside myself.

We finally arrived at the chapel and once inside Darlene was so glad to see us. She was sick of playing Christmas Carols over and over. Dale was about frozen outside waiting. His attendants, who’d ditched him and gone inside, quickly returned to his side glad to be his loyal attendant once again. The wedding started as if nothing had gone array.

We took our grandkids to Yosemite to shoot photos this past spring. We of course visited our chapel and the kids insisted on taking photos of us there. When they are older we will tell them about how Grandma was 45 minutes late to her own wedding and of the adventures we had when we first started our lives together.

Christmas Eve in Taos, New Mexico

We’d never been to Taos before but loved other areas of New Mexico. I happened to read a news article in our local paper about the Christmas Eve tradition where skiers ski down Angle Fire carrying torches on Christmas Eve. We decided that we’d go and see that for ourselves, plus being avid skiers it would be fun to combine a ski vacation. And since it wasn’t our year to have Christmas Eve we thought that one time we could skip the Gonzales time and do something a little different.

We packed up our RV, kids, ski equipment, food and went off to Taos. Upon our arrival in Taos we asked some locals about the torch ceremony and a couple of different people told us that although the ski ceremony was good we really should head off to the Taos Pueblo for the Christmas Eve ceremony.

We were a bit skeptical but decided that the locals probably knew best so on that Christmas Eve we went off to one of the most incredible experiences of our life as we were to find out.

The evening was cold with 3’ of snow on the ground, but the sky was clear with lots of stars. When we arrived at the Pueblo we were directed to the main plaza, an open area between the west and east pueblos. In the plaza each family had prepared pinion wood for a fire. The logs were stacked as one would stack Lincoln logs for a cabin, in a square shape. Some stacks were very high, some close to the ground. When the fires were lit the flames jumped to the clear dark sky warming us as we were between them.

We were standing together as a family when a resident asked us if we’d join their family at their fire, which was an honor for us to do so.

We later found that many of the residents went to the chapel and were in a ceremony dressing the statue of the Virgin Mary. We watched that but then went back to the plaza and were told that we needed to be in one area for the procession.

We found a place for the procession having no idea of what would happen. The only lights were the fires which had died down into small bonfires. Eventually the procession started. 4 Warriors were in front with deer rifles, shooting live ammo to the sky in order to ward off the evil spirits. The men were serious and with every shot all of us on the sidelines would jump. Behind the warriors were 4 men carrying the statue of the Virgin Mary from the chapel on 4 poles with one man on each side. Behind the men children dancers were dancing traditional dances followed by a second group of children singing Christmas Carols. A group of adults dancing followed the children and finally people singing Christmas Carols completed the procession.

We left well after midnight, the night was dark and fires were cold.

Christmas Traditions

Each year we celebrate Christmas Eve with my family. Many years ago we started this tradition and have rotated between my 2 brothers and myself since. This year it is our turn to host again.

The tradition is that we will eat tamales and chili; a meal I remember from my childhood. We add all sorts of other food as well and some of it I call fusion. My brother, just younger than me, and his family always makes the tamales, and my dad made the chili when he was alive. I’m not sure who will carry the torch for the chili but I think that Nate, our oldest boy will do a great job. I, on the other hand have always made the deserts, one of which is usually chocolate. My husband and I also introduced Pozole, a soup traditionally served in New Mexico on Christmas Eve (and throughout the year as well). This year I think that we will also make the French dish Cassoulet. It should go with tamales shouldn't it?

Last week we continued another Christmas tradition of chopping down a tree at a local tree farm. When our boys were young we’d pack them up after a long day of working on the farm and off we’d go to the Christmas tree farm where we’d chop down the perfect tree. Of course the tree was chosen after much arguing and many tears.

Well this year was no different than those great days of old. We’d picked up two of the grand kids (9 & 11) for the weekend. We packed the kids into the truck, plus our youngest grandson and off we went to chop down a tree from the Christmas Tree Farm. When we got to the farm off the kids ran; one finding the perfect tree then the other kid finding the tree. Finally our granddaughter found her tree. When our older grandson wanted to keep looking she burst into dramatic tears proclaiming hers was really the best tree. But alas, our grandson found a different one to which our sobbing granddaughter screamed that it was the most horrid tree ever. That is when we knew that our Christmas tradition was alive and well!

Life in the Fast Lane

I’d always heard from older people that the older they got the faster time went. Well now I won’t admit to being old (I’ll only admit to being 30 to the grandkids) but time is surely flying by.

Now if I were having birthdays I’d be having another one in January. That is too much, don’t want to get old. I’ll fight it kicking and screaming!

A couple of weeks ago I had a day when I started to think about the things I haven’t accomplished:
Didn’t finish law school- but stopping was one of the best decisions I could have made,
Haven’t gotten the Ferrari running – but then again we own one, not a bad thing.
Didn’t get flooring in before Christmas- but no-one will likely look at the floor anyway.
Don’t get to go to Taos this week – Did make it to China 4 times, Germany twice during past holiday seasons, have trips to China and Alaska planned for this next year.
Can’t go to Peru in January – but have been lots of places in my life with more to go and we did make a really fun trip out of New Orleans recently. Peru will be there.

As I was depressed that day I happened to watch Dr. Maya Angelou on Oprah as Dr. Angelou told Oprah the story of a difficult time in her life. She was discouraged and a Doctor said to list all of the good things in her life. When she fussed about her troubles she was told “you can hold a pen”, “write on paper” and so forth. And like Dr. Angelou, Yes I can hold a pen, I have a laptop that I’m typing on and it is new, I don’t take any medication as most people are by this time in their life (remember 30!), I work out at the gym still preparing for the hike on the Ancient Inca Trail someday, I’ve got grandkids who love me (at least they’d better) and who I love with all my being, got kids and a husband who I hold dear, nieces and nephews who I adore, my brothers and mother who I love with all my heart, lots of friends who I love and who love me. There are getting to be too many things to list.

Amazing what a little list will tell us. It does take money to make us happy as many people who can’t afford an education for their children will attest to, or needed to buy that pen and paper, or make that hike in Peru; but the family, friends and health are at the top of my list.

Back at it

I’ve never thought of myself as a writer. Growing up, as a young person in school, my writings were never the ones to be read in class. As life continued and I grew older there were people, and I won’t name any names, who would tell me that I couldn’t write. So, needless to say, when I started my blog I was very apprehensive; afraid that people would laugh at me, afraid that the ideas would not be clear.

As it turned out I’ve found writing to have quite the opposite effect. I’d written several blogs with no response, however, I was not discouraged, I was writing because it was fun and, even more important, fulfilling. I’d go thru the day thinking about what one thing was so interesting that others might be interested in. So many ideas flowed with usually no time to write and finish the entire idea. But write I did.

After a few blogs people started writing to me and expressing enjoyment over reading the blogs. Wow, what a thrill, a true sense of achievement.

So having returned to Bakersfield writing was put aside for awhile but after being hounded by Dale and others I’ve been forced back. This Starbucks isn’t Café duMonde but it is better than nothing. So I’ll write, and write my heart out!