Family + love + food + thought = Christmas

1. Get in mah belleh!, 2. Sharing the kitchen, 3. Good people, 4. Sparkles, 5. Looooooot, 6. Tree bread, 7. Barbara, 8. Coffee cake, 9. During, 10. Before, 11. I am ridiculously easy to buy for, 12. Merry Christmas to all!

There is always a lot of love under that tree. And I don’t just mean an orgy of gifts, although that’s probably what you’re thinking if you just glance at the photos. My family shops a little bit for Christmas all year long. And again, you’re probably just thinking “an orgy of gifts” but here’s the thing…. we buy (or make) during the year because we love each other, not because we’re required to. All year long, during travels, trips, or making frenzies, little things are picked up along the way because the thought is there that “so-and-so would love this!” Not the thought of “I need to get so-and-so something for Christmas” but the thought of knowing and loving someone so much that they’re never far from you, and you’re open to seeing things they would like.

And of course there is food, because food is love. Check out that table! I swear that at the end of dinner I could not have even squeezed in a wafer thin mint. I think I ate about half that flank steak by myself. I didn’t even have room on my plate for mashed potatoes, which are just about my favorite food ever, and I certainly didn’t have room in my belly after I made room for them on my plate. Aunt Gay brought out ice cream and pie, and while I’m not much on pie I can usually fit in a bite of ice cream…. but not this time. Good lord. I’m surprised I didn’t explode. I may need to buy bigger pants this week.

Christmas this year was me, Tim, Aunt Gay, Uncle Joe, Barbara, Jeff, Kelly, and Evan, and the love we still have for everyone who has left the party. For dinner, we also had family friend Ann, who we sprung from the nursing home where she is recovering from a bad fall that resulted in a broken hip. She had quite some stories to tell about life in the nursing home, let me tell you! She’s only got a couple weeks left to stay there and I think she’s going to be darn glad to get home, heh.

Gift-wise, I was extremely lucky this year. I gave a lot of ceramics (I know you are all surprised), and I got a lot of books and painting supplies. Tim also got me enough cloth (in different patterns) to make about seven pairs of pajama bottoms — I think I’d like to plan out making one pair per week, but I really need to start off with that Day of the Dead cloth I got a couple months ago. If I can do that, then by the end of February I can toss out my fading flannel jammy pants that I’ve been wearing out, and have all new fabulous lounge-wear. You will all be jealous as I show you the finished products. And my knitters will be jealous of the yarn; Aunt Gay picked me out some sweet things while they were travelling!