December

I like December and think of it as a bustling month.  We are all busy with the holiday spirit; at work there are social lunches nearly every day; at home there is the planning for the big day; baking needs to be done; ornaments need to be pulled out of storage and set in just the right place; cards need to be written and the “events” need to be planned.  Yes, it is a busy month.

 Many years ago when my nieces and nephews were still infants I devised a scheme to keep the spirit of the holidays going longer by having a party a week or so before Christmas Eve.  I think I succeeded in keeping the excitement going for them.  Now a days they are grown and long gone out of my life so I look in different directions for my amusement.  I now decorate the house in a more moderate tone (no more red bows and Christmas stockings on the mantle); I pace my Christmas card writing along with my gentle Christmas music; I take walks around the property or out into the countryside and take pictures of the wintery scenery.  Then my siblings or friends will arrange for a movie day where we watch a seasonal film and have coffee afterwards.  I don’t go crazy with my baking yet it is still part of December to pull out the cook books and consider what would be fun to try.  I remember one disastrous year when I went all out and made a whole bunch of weird cookies that ended up being food for the birds (literally).  Then I go back to the tried and true chocolate chip, oatmeal and peanut butter cookies!  Virginia can keep their Revels!

            Today is baking day for me and this year I am excited by having my new Sunbeam Mixmaster at hand to assist with the mixing!  Last night I went through my selection of CDs and discovered Celtic Christmas, just the right note to get me started this morning.  It is supposed to be a mild day and my little critters have been promised they can frolic outside.  I will go for a walk around the property as I still need to inspect the damage caused by that horrific windstorm last weekend.  I can see some of the damage from the house but there is much more in the back 40 which I dread to see.

            I’m missing my mother but glad to know she is enjoying herself with her other daughter.  Yesterday they were going to Sunset Villa (when we were kids we said sunsetsavilla – really fast -- which we thought was the correct name of the park!)  It is a Danish inn with a bakery attached and I am fantasizing about what they had for their tea.  You simply cannot beat good Danish baking – any Dane will tell you the truth of it.  J