Christmas 2011

Swedish Christmas dinner, "just like eating at Ikea, but better" says Maxwell.

On the way to grandmother's house!

Stockings!

New blazer, cords and an Edgar Allan Poe T-shirt- going for a certain look, if you know what I mean.

Another Saint

I had very little to do with it, but St. Lucia Day was celebrated. 
I had to be at work, so Rolf and his girlfriend did the saintly duty.  I provided the child and the tableware.
Freyja was delighted.
As far as I know there is no tradition of including poodles.

More Merry Merry

a wee little scene on top of the tv stand.

 hung on the mantel with care...

St Nicholas Day

Catermera

Apple cranberry tartlets with an acorn & Oak leaf motif

Hexhaus

Gretel, aka Freyja, the child that ate the roof off the haus, requiring a tootsie roll to be inserted to hide the damage, and create a chimney. 

I got my tall skinny Noble HA!

We awoke to find treats in our shoes... or some of us did, some of us found only lint.

Thanksgiving

Freyja making the mirepoix for the stuffing

The mirepoix for the stuffing (but we call it dressing , because we don't stuff it inside anything.)

the ubiquitous relish tray

Rolf's mashed potatoes

Blast my camera, it makes photos so blurry! Mark's phone takes better photos!

Mark's new ap, that makes everyone look better than they do in real life

Freyja designed the children's table, and did a darn good job.

Lily gave us this amazing salt and pepper set- I used tiny apples for place cards

Freyja making pumpkin pie, even though "she hates it"

My beloved persimmon Fiesta-ware mug at the end of the day

Our friends brought THREE blueberry pies, and there were only ten of us!

Rolf took a photo with my camera, which makes people look worse than they do  in real life.

Someone should remove all red lipstick from my possession. I look like my father in drag, in this photo. Why on earth am I smiling?  The kitchen witch looks cuter than I do.

In the absence of a loving extended family, I cook.  Does 19 dishes indicate my state of mind?

Two very rowdy girls dismantling my living room

Mark with his mom and a vintage paper turkey, also a gift from Lily

Freyja, after getting busted for being too wild.  "Who me?  I am just an innocent waif with a poodle"

We had a sort of weird Thanksgiving.  I didn't invite anyone (other than the people that are always around for our holidays) because I was thinking of just going out to dinner.
Things have been so intensely shitty for so long around here, and Tuesday I woke up to a fairly brisk leak in the dining-room.
I called Felipe from Eagle Roofing and he came right out and fixed the problem, and informed us that the sunroom needs a new  roof.
Earlier in the month He came the school and repaired a big leak there.  He is certainly the first person I call for any roofing issues.
I had spoken to our friend M a few weeks earlier and told him that he could join us, since prior to getting married he always celebrated holidays with Rolf and me, but since had not.  At the last moment he confirmed that he would indeed come with his children and wife, so then it was set.  I had to pull myself out of the funk and make something happen.
Then Karen called and said she was sick and depressed and didn't feel like a holiday.  I told her I felt the same way and we should get together later when we were feeling better, without expectations of FUN.
Then another close friend called and said he had to do what the mom of his daughter wanted, so he could see the daughter, so the numbers were seriously dwindling.
Perhaps my idea of eating out wasn't so bad after all?  
Wednesday I cooked and cleaned like crazy, while Freyja ran around helping me and tearing things apart, alternately.  Thursday she woke up at 6:00am and Rolf and I took her to "Little T" on Division for a pretzel roll.
We cooked a little and killed time until 5:00pm, when I had to get serious about the food.  For some reason the sweet potatoes were still crunchy at 5:30, so I had to microwave them, which is not something I would normally ever do.
Everything got done, and we sat down to eat at 6:00, with my friend's wife out sick.
There were ten of us, the tiniest group I have had in 22 years.

Miss F. with cat whiskers leftover from a party earlier in the the day.

After sort of dragassing through most of last week, I pulled myself together enough to carve exactly one pumpkin on Sunday.

I did the heavy lifting of scooping out the guts, before I was interrupted by a phone call from my mother regarding plates.

I handed the design and carving work over to Mark and Freyja and they did me proud with a traditional jackO'lantern, nothing fancy here no special tools required. 

Maxwell refused to participate this year, so there you are.

We have one carved pumpkin and that may well be it. 

My friend Lily told me about someone that died from sleep apnea at 34, which made me think twice about getting my sleep/snoring/gaspingforbreath issue checked out, but our stupid insurance had a clause about anything to do with sleep being uncovered, so that made me think thrice.

I figure I am getting about three hours a night with the waking up, the insomnia and the axiety associated with it all.

Doesn't make for a really festive mood.

I put out some of my nicer Halloween decorations, things I haven't put out since having Freyja and the cat.

I figure they are both old enough now not to tear shit up, but who knows.

I have become positively Zen about my stuff getting broken since having both of them come to live with me.

The little girl dressed as a bat, in the bowl, I myself broke the last time I put her out.  I had hung her on a willow branch and she sort of glanced off and crashed against the vase before I could catch her.

She is that super delicate imitation mercury glass, from Germany, that I am so partial to.

If I had a lot of money and no cat, I would have a lot of birds made from that material, but instead I have one, that I treat like a museum piece.

I will stop, I promise, Photos from Maxwell's camera

Doesn't everyone wear Spiderman pajamas in Hawaii?