happy holidays

So this year it's Christmas Eve, at my house. Family is coming. I've made skateylleven Italian meatballs, so we won't run out. I have munchies for the crowd to graze on, drinks to drink, and I look forward to the whole loud mess, as usual.

We'll have NORAD tracking Santa, on the computer, to see where he's been, and where he's going to.It's all computer generated, but it gives me chills , plus watching my younger niece and nephew, watching it with excitement, is enough to put any Scrooge into the Christmas spirit.

There will be music playing, and the dog will get lots of goldfish crackers, from the kids.The only thing missing is my sister and her husband, she has to work a 12 hour shift, so there's no question, the girl has to sleep.They will be missed.

There will be the massive un-wrapping, paper flying ,as people open gifts.It's easy to miss what people get.Something my husband decided one year, the year he decided to buy gifts before Christmas, it was for the 3 of us to open our presents , together after everyone else went home,mostly so he could enjoy our son's, and my reaction, on the job well done, he did in buying gifts that year.
and he did really good.

Whatever your holiday traditions, be them old or new,I hope you have a Merry Christmas, or a Happy Hanukkah, or a festive Kwanzaa, and a most Happy new year.

holiday in Amsterdam

There is something about the word holiday, as opposed to vacation that makes it seem, like it's so much more. In America we use the word vacation, in Europe they use the word holiday, which sounds like a better deal.
But actually whatever word you use,last month I went to Amsterdam with my husband and my son.I had been there two years previous. I went with friends we stayed on a houseboat, we fell in love with the city.
My plan was while I was there, I would blog daily, and write about it, but realistically there were 3 of us using the same computer, and well typing with any type of speed, is not my strong suit, so I opted for the moleskine method...pen and paper, what a concept, and portable too.
So with out further adieu, I'll now blog about my trip.

Thursday June 5 Logan Airport- Boston, Massachusetts

We just went through security, I remembered to wear my Ecco shoes, so i could slip them off, and walk through with socks. Not have to bend over untie. So here we sit, near our gate, watching the Big TV, which is on CNN, over and over it plays that Barack Obama has won the nomination for the Democratic party which I take as a good omen, for our trip, as I am an Obama Mama. They've just called us for boarding, I'm looking forward to getting back to Amsterdam, to see the houseboat, the canals, the cobblestones of the street.
Our flight is your typical red-eye, and older smaller plane, where they have the little movie screens in the aisle, and the purser, who tells us, he won't make a lot of announcements, so we can all sleep, feels the need to go up and down the aisles, offering water...Water....WATER! i want to shove the water bottle somewhere...so he'll shush and be quiet.


Vridag -6 June Schiphol Airport, Netherlands

We have arrived, 30 minutes earlier, which is nice but we have time to kill before 2pm, when the houseboat will be ready.
We pass through customs, they are patronizingly friendly and ask us if we will be riding bikes around Amsterdam, I mention we are staying in a houseboat on the canal, they remain friendly, but the patronizing tone stops...does this mean we are cool now?

My husband and his little nicotine monkey need to walk outside, I am sleep deprived, and take every sign so literally, that I question whether it's okay if we go out the revolving door that's marked to buses and taxis...my husband silently rolls his eyes, and lights up, he and his little nicotine monkey take a deep inhale, and all is good. We stand outside in hot weather, like mid 80's degree weather...a thought circles in my head... that perhaps I should have packed more pairs of shorts.
The weather report at home for Amsterdam, spoke of 60-70 degree weather....ah well welcome to global warming.I also discover my dual band phone, not so great, but luckily my son has a more modern phone, and it's quad band, so after figuring out I need to dial the country code, we connect with Rene, who is the owner of the houseboat, he tells us the should be ready at 2pm, and he'll see us then.

We go back into Schiphol, to keep cool and kill a little time, before then. We purchase some wi-fi and surf on Zack's Mac. I send of some local emails, I'm meeting up with a friend I have known from Flickr, and I send her off a email, to get an immediate reply, as we are now in the same timezone, she in Rotterdam visiting her boyfriend. As we kill our wait the people watching is fun, there is a young Mom and her Daughter, waiting for her Daddy to come home, It makes me think of my son, who is now a young man sitting across from me, and how when they are little they hang on your every word.

Finally it's time we take a cab, into Amsterdam. Our Cab driver is older, and speak only when spoken to,so we have a quiet ride, but we are all, a little sleep deprived,and not really talking either, so it's okay.


We arrive at the houseboat!! We have the great fortune of meeting Rene, the owner, what a great host, friendly, colorful, his personality fits the decor of the houseboat perfectly.We go over some new improvements of the houseboat, since I've been there last, he points out the magnet if we drop the keys into the canal, Tom learns how to use the Senseo coffee maker. I also enjoy how Rene speaks of the canal being a public road, so we should shot the windows on the houseboat when we leave, not that anything has happened, as far as theft, but we should be wise about it.
If you saw the number of boats that pass by daily you would agree.


This time around it's a little different I know my way around the neighborhood, I'm familiar with the boat, it's still great to be back. We go off to the mini market,and pick up some breakfast things, and stop in one of the bakeries for something for lunch, which we bring home and eat on the houseboat, we also decide to take a little nap, which is great, before we go out for supper.

After sleeping for an hour or so, there were a few snooze alarm hits, we're up to find supper, that night we eat at Na Siam a wonderful Thai restaurant, on Kerkstraat, reasonably priced it costs 53Euros for the 3 of us, the spring rolls were light and crisp, the Singha, relatively cold. Our food was fresh, so delicious, and cooked to order, this is the night we discover they would let us sit for hours and hours, they don't bring the check until you ask for it. So we ask.
By now our jet lag has caught up we watch a little TV, that has dutch subtitles, then we are off to sleep.

After the holidaze

It's over,Christmas is over, I have two large trash bags full of just wrapping paper!It was amazing and exhausting,do I find it depressing? No!
I'm a little baffled by the post holiday Christmas blues, but that's said more out have never experiencing it, then incredulous outrage at the thought.

Our family gatherings were split and separate this year, His family on Christmas Eve, mine the day after Christmas, and Christmas we spent at his sister's, lots of fun, lots of good food,and a nice pinot noir.

I served a spinach lasagna, and italian meatballs, and garlic bread, plus a table full of things to munch on; nuts, cheeses,chocolate graham bunnies. On Christmas Eve we tracked Santa via NORAD ,yes that's right, Virginia... NORAD! Who knew that the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also kept track of Santa. If you've ever believed in St.Nick, or have kids that believe in him,this is a lot of fun, especially if you have a partner to view it with, like say my 4 year old nephew, who was so happy and excited, and dropped the greeting" Feliz Navidad", often.
I received some really nice presents, a blooming Christmas cactus was one of them, and one of those easy to use corkscrews, no more pieces of cork to spit out.

On Christmas day we opened our presents, My husband still thinks I wear post earrings, which i haven't in a decade, luckily no feelings were hurt. I find with work , and having to wear a mask that posts get caught, or torn out, and french wires, may be removed just as easy, but no one looses an earlobe over it.
I received a great iPod docking receiver, my son and I both own iPods, and we can put either one in it, it'll be nice for up in my home studio. To crank those playlists.We also had our annual cinnamon rolls. Don't be too impressed , they are the Pillsbury kind, that come with the little can of frosting, but they're a fun Christmas memory.Then in the afternoon, we went to his Sister's house, she had some good food, and snacks to nibble one, the pinot noir was flowing. It was another relaxed day, plus we had turkey.

On the 26th, my family came with lots of presents in hand,see above photo, my mother is a force to be reckoned with, and she buys everything you want and then some. My sister too, and myself we have learned well from my mother. It was kind of cool to see the amount of gifts, but oy! all that paper. We also got to meet Zoey the littlest puppy, too cute and fun, and my dog Wilma didn't mind her much, though when she got too close to her when she was eating, she gave her a growling little smile, that put the puppy in it's place. Of course there were also dog gifts as well as people gifts, Wilma received a squeaky raccoon, and Zoey received a squeaky pheasant, which was as big as her, but she attacked and gnawed at it happily.We had ( in the house that night, but it was a lot of fun.

And yesterday, finally it was over.
The tree is still up, and will stay up until New Year's Eve, I'll take it down on New Years Day, it's a safe activity, if you've had some fun, maybe too much fun on New Year's Eve.
All in all it was a very nice holiday.

the cozy

It's the night before I cook Thanksgiving for my family, and I feel accomplished, I got quite a bit done, I've made two desserts, cooked my turkey neck, to make stock, chopped celery, and onion for the stuffing I'll make, So tomorrow will be fairly stress free. (fingers crossed, here's hoping.)
the house is even clean!

It's all done, and now i can sit, and channel surf a little bit, and I happen upon the movie "the Holiday" the one with kate winslet, jude law, and cameron diaz, and jack black, and last but not least eli wallach. I have seen this before, but i'm pleased to see it now ,with holidays beginning. It fits perfectly with my state of mind which just caps off my work nicely, I can snuggle into the couch enjoy the beautiful scenery, and witty dialog, and escape a little,become a happy little voyeur, in this slice of life. I am Thankful for movies, that I can escape a little, but thoroughly enjoy the gamut of emotions, that this movie supplies, you'll laugh, relate totoally, maybe even get teary, but it's all good, all warm and fuzzy.

There is also the physical aspect of it, the warm safe feeling you get, the cradling of the couch, the soft light that glows in the room, is all part of it, and I can pause my dvr, and dash to the bathroom, only to return to my warm spot and finish the movie,it's quite an indulgence.

The other part of the cozy, is the family part, my Husband and me chopping celery and onion,earlier that evening. Sharing the workload, another thing I am thankful for, that somehow we have evolved into these two people that share, the load. I bless my lucky stars, everyday for that one. It's also my son, who has become this cool funny adult, no longer a boy, and that frankly takes my breath away, that i could have had a hand in that. That's certainly another big, Big, BIG blessing. He just came home from being out with friends, and he comments on the smells, the pie, and how it smells like cheesecake, and how he hope he can keep out of it until tomorrow. That is certainly an empowering thing when your kid loves you and what you cook.

As I write this I hope I have conveyed the cozy to you, or maybe made you totally relate in recognition, of this said phenomena. For what it's worth, it doesn't matter how much you save on Black Friday, it's worthless if you don't have the cozy.

home for the holidays

Home is always the place you want to be, I want it to be a place where I can open my door and let my friends and family in. Home for the holidays, is a good thing too.With Thanksgiving approaching, the family months will begin.

I'm lucky my house is big enough, for the whole famn damily, and then some. That also insures, I don't have to drive to anyone's house,they come to me, I can walk around barefoot, if I want, play the music I want to listen too, and cook.And this year I have a dish washer.SO I can just fill the dish washer, and turn it on and have a cup of tea. I should really name her, face it, even if you are a highly evolved male who does the dishes, you know the dishwasher is female. I'm thinking Louise is a good name. Cheers Louise!

Louise will be busy come November 24th. With my family, being 3 of us are nurses, it's hard for us all to have the actual Thursday of Thanksgiving off. So we usually plan for the weekend after, to get together, and we manage it, plus my best girlfriend comes over too, which makes it really nice, and fun, full of family , friends, and food.

There usually ends up being 9 or 11. So we kind of split up food duties, but as we do host it, we do the lion share of the food, which is good, would be better if i had a sous chef at my side assisting me, but hey, i can't have it all. One year I invited a friend and she like to cook, so she volunteered her services, she came over and did the prep work ,and I cooked it was amazing and nerve racking all in one, it weird giving orders to a guest. I miss Danuel, she unfortunately has moved away, so it's too long distance , but that year it was so fun, and she was a big part of that.So cheers to you D, I'll be thinking of you, as I chop celery and onions all by my lonesome. Hoping you have an equally nice sous chef to help out you, this year.

Another memory I have about Thanksgiving is my Grammie "C' always put out name cards, I'm gonna have to do that again, I remember it being so fun reading all the names, and how the seating was arranged, and the finding my seat, as a kid. I think if my niece Karlie is coming I'll definitely do it, she's 9 so she's a little reader, and will check them out.

I'm lucky that My husband and I feel the same way about having people over, though we are fond of our hermit like ways, we also love the holidays, and we love our families,(mostly)
Cheers to you all,I hope you can be home for the holidays, wherever that may be.