And....we're off....

The holiday season if off and running. 

Thanksgiving was a success and great fun.

I was in charge bring mashed potatoes. Mija even helped by peeling 3 small potatoes!  I mixed things up by adding cream cheese and half and half to the recipe, and it was very well received.  You always have walk gingerly when changing traditions, you know.  Even if it's just a recipe!

Mija really wanted to make some recipe by herself.  I suggest 5-cup salad which is also often called ambrosia.  I purposely called it 5-cup salad to make it easier for her to remember how to make it.  Five ingredients.  One cup each.  But I had to get my home ed. momma on and double the recipe which added a touch of math without her knowing it!

It gave her good practice with her "folding" vs. "stirring" skills!

She was very satisfied with her finished product, she received compliments including one from Grandma!

Surprisingly, dinner started relatively on time (which is a "relatively" rare event with my "relatives"), and we even had time to visit and play some SkipBo before having to leave.

On Friday, the tree went up.  We practice eclectic tree decorations.  Some have pretty color coordinated trees, but ours has ornaments of various ages, styles, colors, shapes and most especially various stories.  As we unpack ornaments, we tell mija stories about where we got certain ornaments or whom we received them from.

Like ornaments that have been around longer than I have.

Or the set of ornaments we purchased after Sept. 11.

Or compare the ornament I made when I was in first grade with the one she made when she was in first grade.

And while some hang the greens in the kirk, my family hangs the Kirk in the greens.


Yes, there are other Star Trek ornaments!

A fairly new tradition is The Nutcracker.  Mija is getting ready to perform in her third performance of The Nutcracker.  We've started getting a nutcracker each year.  I label the year on the bottom, as well as, her parts and one major thing that happened that year.

Unfortunately, there's one tradition started 5 years ago that I would like to bring to a close...so I can actually start it!

I started a cross-stitched advent calendar.  Last year, I finally finished the actual calendar although I still don't have put together.

I know, four years for just the calendar seems a long time.  However, I did usually only work on it in the fall, AND it's very detailed.


There is TONS of shading involved even if you can't tell in the photo.

So, I've been working on the daily ornaments for the calendar.  Umm, I have some work to do.



Still need to do the detailing.

I'm thinking if I get the calendar together and continue to work steadily even after December starts, I might be able to use it this year. 

It would be pretty important to do so. As my SIL pointed out, the world will end next year according to the Mayan calendar, so this will be about the only year I'll really get good use of it!  ;-D  (Joking, of course.)

Well, one last tradition I'll share.  Micki assembled our Nativity scene.

It's tradition.  You see, this is the exact same scene I set up when I was a child.  In fact, this set is older than my mom!  I know!  It's old!  ;-)

But what's even more important than passing on these traditions is passing on the faith that sparks them. I'm glad it's the weekend in which we can be thankful for so many things and begin to celebrate the birth of the one to whom we are thankful.