Well, it’s over! Sometimes the build-up to the holiday is more than the actual day could ever live up to. I get nostalgic every year over this holiday (which, considering that my family didn’t celebrate Christmas growing up, is weird) and then I think I feel a little let down the day after. This year was wonderful, though. Pat and I managed to stay up way too late on Christmas Eve wrapping some final gifts and then watching a hilarious movie: “Knocked Up” by one of my favorite guys, Judd Apatow.
We all slept in till 8:30 or so and made the trek downstairs to the tree, explaining to Titus that Christmas had indeed finally come to our house. I told him we were going to have Christmas and he said “Yeah, I eat Christmas!”. We’ve tried not to make this holiday just about the presents, but nearly nothing could prevent him from the thrill of tearing off paper and giving rounds of “Tank you, Daddy! Tank you, Mommy!” We stuck with few, simple, timeless gifts for Titus as we’re trying to navigate away from the hordes of cleverly marketed junk that seems to be aimed right for us.
A trio of little German-made animal figurines: Tortoise, Zebra, and Elephant. A dozen or so wooden train tracks for his trains. A little reindeer train car, made of maple wood in Vermont by a cool little company. A DVD.
I love enjoying this season with my own little family, watching our traditions form with all their trappings through the eyes of a two and a half year old. Hot chocolate, yeasted waffles, and bacon–the tradition of a breakfast feast that Pat loves to create–along with a lay-about in our bed while watching a morning movie.
We had an intense flurry of big white snow that didn’t stick, but was just enough to make Titus start asking for a snowman. Will it ever stick here this winter?
My sister Heather came early in the afternoon and astonishingly both of my boys had just gone down for their naps. We got to play a whole entire game of Scrabble (I loooove it, I really do) while splitting a bottle of champagne. I never seem to have that kind of down time and it was a minor miracle. I lost by ten points, BUT I used all my tiles.
For dinner we had Pat’s brother Chris, his girlfriend, Kat, my sister Heather, and my sister Faith and her husband Aaron with their two kids over. I think it was a perfect sized crowd for another feast in our little house with prime rib, mimosas, beets, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, and a mountain of cookies.
I’m happy but my stomach hurts just a little bit from a near-binge on foods from my allergy list that I’ve been avoiding so carefully for the past months. Oh well. Now I’m going to start thinking about the New Year.
Filed under: Life
Ok, I know I mentioned this one one my old blog, but that was before I started pumping out larger batches of this mix for Christmas presents. It’s so tasty! I put too much cayenne pepper in it once and, boy, I felt like I’d just swallowed something a witch doctor brewed.
Top Foods sells a 12 pack of Kerr canning jars that are wide mouth and hold one cup each for only 9 dollars! I used them for packing my home made play dough and filled the last few with my super spicy cocoa mix. Now I wish I’d bought more jars since I seem to have way too much cocoa powder left.
Maybe I’ll do the dreaded last minute store run tomorrow and pick some up. Or, maybe I’ll send Pat. We’ve been kind of lax in getting ready for the holiday dinner so we’ll be shopping for food tomorrow anyways.
I’ve spent the day house cleaning and doing some last minute baking and wrapping. Christmas morning is in two days! I need to sit down and look at some more recipes for the big dinner and then I think I’ll be just about done preparing and finally ready to sit back and enjoy things.
How can this year be nearly over? Here’s a parting shot of my little Theo.
So, what I really want from this blog, more than a chance to talk about projects and happenings around town, is to keep track of my sons. How wonderful a life I have! Right now Titus is sitting in my lap attempting to eat a whole Granny Smith apple and squirming like crazy.
Last night he wanted me to hold him (instead of Pat) and kept saying that he was Mommy’s boy. Now, he doesn’t know the negative connotations that come with that saying like being a sissy or something, that’s just him saying what he thinks, and it’s pretty sweet.
Yesterday we took the boys to the Santa Train in Point Defiance. It was supposed to be a short excursion with a bit of free time in the morning before Pat had to be off to meet someone at the gym. Luckily his friend canceled because there was kind of a minor fiasco at the ticket counter and we spent a very wet hour and a half waiting to board.
We met my sister Glory there with her boys, as well as our friend Jessica and her son, so the kids did pretty ok keeping each other occupied while we grown ups tried to set a good example of not complaining. It was great once we got on, though! The kids were thrilled to meet Santa and get candy canes, all while riding a real train around in the woods.
I feel so blessed to be living such full days with people I love so much.
Last night we’d planned on a family trip down to the Helm gallery to check out some art by a local guy that we really like. Between last minute holiday baking and a super late nap from Theo, it was narrowed down to just me going for about a half an hour.
Zachary Marvick is a local artist that I heard about because my sister Faith and her husband own one of his pieces. It hangs in their living room and when Pat and I lived there last year I really, really loved it.
If I’d had my checkbook (and money in the bank) I’d have snatched up at least one of the cool pieces I saw last night, but I’m going to have to settle for photos for now.
Also, the exhibit was shared with another artist, Chris Sharp. Here’s some of his:
It was a super cold night but I managed to snap one parting shot of downtown before I hopped in the car and headed home. Here’s the Pantages Theater and the big Christmas tree.
I’m finally finished and I totally had a blast. Here they are before they all got wrapped.
I used to read that word “Angel”, like the heavenly being with wings. I like “Angle” more. I’m sure there’s better, more well informed stuff been written out there about Beautiful Angle but I really like their art.
Pretty much it’s a couple of guys using the super old fashioned printing press, aka letter press, to make funky, unique, often poignant and nearly always uber local posters. They hang them up over nights in sort of a socially accepted guerrilla art attack on Tacoma.
Then the frenzy begins as people everywhere hunt them down and take them home, drooling over the original artwork as well as the fact that these prints become rare and hard to find and some are worth a pretty penny later.
We attended their annual Christmas party at Blackwater which was a fund raiser for a local charity, L’Arch Tahoma Hope, a week or two ago and finally got four of our own. I totally lack the energy required for late night poster hunting, so I appreciate getting to just walk up to a table and buy them.
Here’s something they’re doing right now that I totally love though. It reminds me of Donald Miller’s reverse confessional in his Blue Like Jazz book where he and his Christian friends set up a “confessional” booth at Reed College’s annual Winter Solstice celebration. Instead of asking people to confess their sins, they sit themselves down in the hot seat and apologize for every lame mistake and shortcoming that the Christian community has made and for all of the ways they’ve misrepresented Christ and hurt people.
“REPENT OCTOBER 2007
FOR OUR FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY WE CREATED THIS POSTER THAT TAKES A TURN ON THE CHURCH CALLING FOR OTHERS TO REPENT. INSTEAD, THE CHURCH ASKS FORGIVENESS FOR ITS SHORTCOMINGS.
OUR FIRST POSTER FIVE YEARS AGO WAS HUNG ON THE 485TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARTIN LUTHER NAILING HIS 95 THESES TO THE CHURCH IN WITTENBURG, GERMANY. WITH THAT IN MIND, THIS POSTER WAS INSTALLED IN THREE LOCAL CHURCHES: SOMA COMMUNITIES, URBAN GRACE, AND TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN.”
This poster is one of dozens hanging on a wall at our church, and soon we will be taking them down, signing our names, and hanging them around the city.
I like what that says.
Filed under: Family
I’m so amazed. I have two little boys who seem to be older every time I turn around. Wasn’t it just a moment ago that Theo was a wobbly, crying newborn and Titus was whacking him on the head constantly? Now Titus wants to play with him and I hear cute things from the other room like “Hi, See-o. What’s the matter? Why are you crying? Wanna toy?” Then he hits him, but that’s still an improvement.
There are moments of craziness when I don’t think I can possibly handle both of them, and then, out of the blue, we have moments of serenity when all is right with the world and I couldn’t be happier. Last night as I was putting Titus down to bed there was a brief moment where he wanted to pretend to have Theo go to sleep with him. And it probably won’t be more than another moment before I turn around and he really will be old enough for a slumber party.
I’ve been up to my nostrils in finely chopped wool power, but I’m nearing the end of my animal making and I’m so pleased with how they’ve turned out. Supposedly today is the day I finish them, but we’ll see.
Here’s a not-quite-done lion.
He still needs some eyes and some orange mane on his other side as right now he’s like that singer guy/girl from the eighties. You know, the one who looked like a man from one side and a woman from the other and sang duets with himself? Maybe a cool concept for a future toy…maybe not, though.
Here are some toys I made from scraps. I had been trying to think of how to embellish them, and wondering what they were, exactly, but I think that they make great shapes all on their own. Titus says they are a fish and a snake, and of course, he could be right. I like their ambiguity, seems like it fosters some imagination.
Here it is:
A use for some of my random felted wool sweaters (don’t worry, Andrea, I still have plenty for you) and my odds and ends of yarn leftover from my big knit fest this summer and a solution for my give more/spend less Christmas plans.
Presenting…a little flock of Christmas ponies for the kids in my life.
Soon to be followed–if I have the time–by some woolly caterpillars and a few lions.
Stuffed with chopped up bits of sweater scraps, embellished with uber soft left over yarn manes and tails and securely stitched button eyes, these little guys have been super fun to make.
Voila! A little pony.
Ride on.
My good friend Renata and I broke away from our busy lives the other day to sit and sip and relax in a hip, wonderful little tea shop downtown. Hanging out here feels more like hanging out in an art gallery, or maybe a living room. A really, really nicely decorated living room.
There is no food, just tea, and no walk-up counter to order from. You just sort of walk in and meander about until the owner helps you decide which kind of tea you want.
I am sticking away from caffeine right now for Theo’s sake, and I’m not that into teas that are chemically decaffeinated. They have a decent selection, and I ended up with lemon grass tea which kept getting refilled while I was there.
Tobin, the owner, is really passionate about tea and has a nicely stocked shop of imported varieties, plus plenty of artwork and even some local Loyalty clothing. So, that’s my little review.
Oh, and I’m editing this to add some more info on the shop.
They’re open Monday – Saturday 10AM until 4PM and located at:
1130 Commerce/1127 Broadway
Tacoma, WA
