Home for the Holidays

Hello.  How goes it?  Pretty good over here.  Since my last name changed 17 years ago as part of a wedding contract (just being silly, I was actually itching to change my name as I was never much attached to it anyway) I was introduced to some new holiday traditions, specifically the Swedish meal on Christmas Eve.  For many years we enjoyed this meal as mere eaters, not participating in the preparation at all.  My MIL was a busy cook, but she also seemed ultra organized about it.  Well, since the only people we are related to Massachusetts are each other, we have had to pick up the cooking duties if we want to continue to enjoy this wonderful tradition.

A couple years ago we made the meal for friends and it was a lot of fun.  I was so caught up in the fun of entertaining that I didn't pay much attention to how much work it really was.  But on Monday night when I started making it for just the two of us it became abundantly clear just how much work it is!  And if it seemed like a lot of work for the two of us, I can only imagine how much work it was for Bonnie!  I mean, all we had to do that night was eat.  When my MIL made this meal, sometimes for 20 people (according to Dave's memory) she also had to sing in the choir and ready her house for entertaining (and I'm sure do tons more).  Holy smokes that is a lot of work!!  Kudos and heaps of thanks to Bonnie.  

But I am grateful that we are now capable of cooking this meal for ourselves.  When the rice pudding was baking in the oven and the red cabbage was simmering on the stove it smelled like Christmas.  To us, the smell of these dishes is more Christmasy than the smell of pine trees!  We set up a little table and got it all gussied up because it was more celebratory that way.  I used some of the serving pieces we received at Thanksgiving, and a new covered butter dish for Christmas.  It is not easy to be alone on Christmas, but making it sort of a big deal made it festive and a bit easier.

I am not sure if this was a Christmas miracle, a random act of kindness, or something creepy and weird, but the other day we went to use the car and noticed something on the windshield wiper blade.  Dave fished it off and it was an antler.  One antler.  He accused me of hitting a unicorn the last time I drove the car, but this was not a unicorn horn and I break for unicorns!  (Especially when they have a pink and purple mane.)  So it was pretty odd.  I thought maybe my neighbors had come across it and left it as a gift because I have some antlers in the apartment.  I sent them an e-mail to thank them and they said they didn't leave it.  So, what gives?  How did that antler end up on my windshield?  Did it fall from the sky?  I have absolutely no idea.  But I kept it.  Hope you have a great weekend and that if something unexpected shows up on your windshield it is something you want to keep.