In-Between Week

The week between Christmas and New Year's is one of my favorites. Things calm down -- and even if they don't quite calm down, it's a gentler, more relaxed feeling. A good time for naps, tidying up, quieter gatherings with friends and looking forward to a new year. 

In our case, it involved saying goodbye to Rick's mom as we met up with Rick's brother and his wife, where she would spend the next few days, our annual Christmas song celebration, a quick hug with an old friend and lots of rest!

Our Song Celebration is always fun and I've written about it before -- Jan and I pick a holiday song and, with a $25 budget per couple, exchange gifts that somehow connect to the song. This year the song was "Santa Baby" and believe me, neither of us were planning to give the other a sable coat, a platinum mine, a duplex or checks! Even baubles from Tiffany's were out of the question! But more on that later! First, the food!

For appetizers we enjoyed spiced nuts, shrimp cocktail and the very easy holiday appetizer my friend Anne introduced me to at Cork Poppers. Shape a block of cream cheese into a Christmas tree by flattening it out a bit with your palm and pressing it into a triangle with a base. Add a good layer of pesto -- I think this one used about a half cup. Add dried cranberries or cherries as "ornaments" and scatter a few almonds, including making an almond star. A few pecans made the trunk. Then gently top with "snow" -- shredded parmesan. Easier than a cheese ball and just as tasty!

Our dinner was super easy and delicious -- ham, potatoes, glazed carrots and a wonderful orange/fennel salad provided by Jan. I did the carrots earlier and just heated them up, along with the pre-cooked spiral ham. I wanted to enjoy time with our friends and not be standing over the stove!

Then it was time for pulling the Christmas crackers, donning the crowns and reading the bad jokes in the crackers. 

On to the gift exchange! And what did we find? Well, both of us thought of Chex cereal (mixed or otherwise) in place of checks, angel ornaments (ornaments and angels are referred to in the song) and "buffalo checks" -- they picked a wine bag/pouch combo and I had some cute checked socks. I found some moon sand (sable lumina) for the sable; they found Hershey kisses, which connected to the "kisses" in the song -- and they were in Santa hats, which was even cuter! Jan found socks of Santa in a chimney for me that say "I've been good-ish this year." All in all a hit!

We've been doing this for 20 years now and so Jan and I decided we needed to do something special to celebrate. We "drew" the "Santa Baby" song from a selection of others, most of which we'd done in the past. So, we decided to do karaoke to some of those songs! She and I started out with a duet of "Santa Baby." Then it was the guys turn.

They got "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" and did an admirable job! (A video was taken but I'll never share!)

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" got us all up and dancing during the instrumental break. The photo is bad but you can tell there was a lot of fun to be had!

All good things come to an end and so did our year. After the fun the night before, we were both tuckered out on New Year's Eve and dropped into bed around ten! New Year's Day was a lazy one but I finally got into a some painting. I'd been doing an online workshop with Este MacLeod in December and had to catch up on a lot. This is the start of an unfinished project -- the base for a wreath that will have layered watercolor baubles added to it. I'll share the finished project when it's done! (I love her classes, by the way. She stretches me and gets me out of my artistic comfort zone.)

Friends Dick and Judy dropped by for a quick hug. All three of us (and Rick) had been dealing with colds or bugs over the holiday so we kept it short and outside.

But it was good to see these dear friends who have moved a few hours away.

So for us all in this new year, I wish the joys of friendship and the brightness and magic that one finds in the glow of holiday lights.

I wish for us to discover the wonderful array of things our world has to offer, whether it is through the pages of the book, a walk at your favorite spot or someplace new or traveling, be it near or far.

I wish for us all to have a bit of adventure, stepping out of our comfort zones, whether it is through a creative endeavor or something more out of the box. (But no, I will not add zip-lining to my 2023 desires.)

I wish for us to all find kindness in the world -- and to provide that kindness to others.

And I wish for simple pleasures. The hug of a child. The purr of a cat. The sound of waves as they crash into the shore or a gentle rainfall on the roof. The sweetness of an unexpected treat, like a nutty chocolate-caramel covered apple while you savor a favorite movie, side by side with someone you love.

 

I wish you peace and joy. 

The new year has started! Let's make it a good one.

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