One Fine Morning...

...occured last night. It was a religious sort of thing. 2 Mormons (us) went over to see my friend, who is Catholic, and her husband, who is Jewish. We lit the Menorah He said two prayers in Hebrew We ate Latkes (and drank some warm cider with cloves and cinnamon). because last night was the first night of Hannukah. We bundled up --It's so cold and there's been 18 inches of snow fall in the past 2 days-- We got in my tough old CRV that never wavers; two men in the front the ladies chatting in the back. We drove to a beautiful Gothic cathedral to hear Compline, a monastic night-time prayer ritual: 30 minutes of haunting harmony. When we left The snow was still falling, falling, falling, and my friend jumped for joy in the silent snow-filled streets in the shadow of the cathedral. We realized it was Winter Solstice and laughed at the crazy combination that brought so much happiness: Menorah + Hannukah prayers + Latkes + Mormons, Catholic, and Jew + Solstice + The first day of Han...

I'm all about traditions. I love them, for like big epic continuation-of-culture reasons. And Christmas is a great time to continue and create new traditions. This year, I decided to make some homemade suckers for treats to give to neighbors and church friends. The candy making fills our house with the sweet aromas of cinnamon and peppermint. We've decided it's definitely a tradition we'll do every year. It's actually surprisingly easy. Here's the How-to: Mix together in a pot: 2 cups of sugar 2/3 c. light karo corn syrup 3/4 c. water You gotta have a candy thermometer. When it hits 300 degrees, you're ready to add a couple of drops of food coloring and 1 dram of flavored oil (you can order this online or go to a kitchen shop). Then pour into molds. My mom sent me hers, but there were tons of places that had them for sale. If that's not sweet enough, here's a little more Swedish sweetness for you to enjoy:

Me, my kids, and my baby girl at "Our Town" A couple of weeks ago, one of my former students emailed me to let me know that a group of kids from my AP Language class were getting together to attend another high school's production of my favorite play, "Our Town," and asked me if I wanted to join them. Can I just say how utterly, totally, and completely delighted I was? I heartily agreed to meet them, I talked busier-than-ever-this-time-of-year-Trent into it (while a big fan of theatre in general, he is not, generally, a big fan of High School Theatre...it really is sorta a theatre experience unto itself), and last Thursday we all went to the show. As a teacher, I don't think it gets much better than experiences like this. I love that they loved the play I love (how about that sentence?). I love that they are staying in touch with me. I love that during intermission we all talked and laughed and reminisced about our former class. I wanted to hug each one of ...

Since we've been home from Texas, we've had lots of time to do our normal daily stuff. I realized the other day how much I like our daily stuff. In fact, our daily stuff is just chock full of goodness. Seriously. It's getting cold in NY so we got Lillian this fantastic snowsuit. It also works when/if she wants to be a Yeti anytime soon. It's about 14 sizes too big and her fingertips go to about where the elbows should be located. I think she really digs it. Please note the look of utter joy on her face: We got it so that on the days when the sun is shining, we can go on walks. Even though it's sometimes so cold that it makes your eyes water, still, it's fun to go outside. Winter time is also the season of fabulous soups. This is the fantastic soup that my friend, Kristin, made me right after I had Lillian. It really is so wonderful, and so healthy. It makes me feel like a domestic goddess to have dinner made and my baby happy. Who am I, really? Is this the woma...

Her name is Aurelia. Isn't that a pretty name? She goes by Rel. Sometimes I sit a couple of rows behind her in church. On my first Sunday back after the baby was born, I noticed Rel sitting alone. And I didn't make it through the hymn we were singing because I got all weepy. She just looked so frail. A month before Lillian was born, Rel's husband, Dick, died of cancer. It came on quickly and took him just as fast. Six weeks, maybe, from diagnosis to his passing. He and Rel had a classic love story. In fact, the picture of them on his funeral program looked like any young couple just starting out in their life together: young and attractive, you can see from the picture how much she loves him. Rel and Dick were in their 70s when Dick's cancer struck. Ironically, of the two, she's always been the frail one, and Dick has always taken care of her. So, as I saw her, sitting there alone, hands shaking, I couldn't hold back my tears. I like to think they were tears of ...

I was reading up this week on my church's stance on Proposition 8. No matter where you stand on the issue, it goes without saying that the entire thing has been fairly explosive on both sides. I'm always sorry when people feel they've been treated unfairly; I'm always a little sad when people choose to respond with hate instead of love (does that sound cheesy? I really don't mean for it to be cheesy. I just get tired of all the political rhetoric from time to time and feel like we all just need to sit down and hug each other and watch "Our Town" together.). Anyway, lest I get off on a tangent other than what I intended, let me get back to my point. So, I was watching some videos and reading some articles and it struck me how difficult it must be to be one of the leaders of our Church. These good men and women are constantly on the front lines. When push comes to shove, they're the ones who have to come up with the answers to impossibly difficult scenar...