Christmas Eve 2011

We had a white Christmas this year!!! After a fall and early winter of record warmth temps, we got a good few inches on the Friday before Christmas Eve (and the roads were BAD). And then, in true Maine weatherperson fashion, there wasnt even as much as a SNIFF of snow in the forecast on Christmas Day....so, obviously, it snowed ALL. DAY. LONG. Seriously. The weathermorons didnt even CONSIDER snow on Christmas. But it did. We got about four inches or so on CHristmas day.

On Christmas Eve I made a smoked fish chowder on the BBQ. Also, as an accompaniment to the chowder, I made some Scotch Eggs. Both came out really well, I think! Maybe I cook so much on the BBQ because I really love the smoky taste of cooking outdoors with charcoal and apple wood.....ORRRRRRRR maybe I cook on the BBQ so I can stay outside. Away. From. Everyone. I havent decided on a good answer yet....haha

Our Christmas Even table--Dave and Muriel joined us once again, and we were so happy to have their presence with us. Amanda made fantastic popovers to go with the chowder and eggs. And George and I, a week before Christmas, had a little snack date where we picked out...well...snacks for before and after dinner. But in a STRANGE twist of events....and this has actually never happened before....he forgot to bring the shrimp!
Lessons and Carols were at 7 at church. My Sunday school teens did a great job reading parts of the Christmas story....and little Emmy Carlson did an adorable solo of "Away in a Manger." It was FREEZING out on Christmas Eve. So Callum and I both wore our scarves. He is into scarves lately. In this picture he looks like he is either petrified or made of clay or experiencing a problem with his glands or hypnotized or a zombie or all of the above....
Most people know our kids are a little unusual....all, I believe, in good ways! For example, what other three year old prefers to watch figure skating to football? And which one prefers enacting scenes from "The Nutcracker Ballet?" That would be Callum. Additionally, whereas most kids have the most affection in their heart for jolly old St Nick, Callum is a TOTAL Rudolph man. He loves Rudoph--and all reindeer--for that matter. And he was most excited to leave cookies for Santa, carrots for the 'other' reindeer, and a shiny red apple for RUDOLPH! On Christmas morning, he was tickled pink to get a note from Santa, thanking him for his generous snyacks!
And here are the best Goldsmiths, walking downstairs on Christmas morning! Maira had a blast, of course, just crawling around and playing with wrapping paper and bows....but her favorite thing thus far must be the big bag of cat treats we got for Lupine....the shiny orange plastic bag is her favorite, and she carries that around most all day, every day.....

The longest night of the year...

depresses me. Not because it is the longest night of the year....but because that means that, after tonight, the days start becoming longer again, and that means summer is near. AND I HATE SUMMER. TOO MUCH WORK. Too many things to do. Too much peer pressure. Hate it. I like winter. I go out. I am all alone on the road as I run. No one bugs me. Then I come home to my wood stove and all is good. So shut up.

Oh, so Callum can fit into his sister's pyants. Just sayin......

Advent Family Night at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection was last Friday night. We have a fantastic church with a fantastic message and fantastic people. Just one of many "unsung" heroes of our church is Katie--Maira's good friend. Katie lovingly calls Maira her "littlest girlfriend" (Katie's daughter Meghan, who is in kindergarten, is, of course, Katie's "little girlfriend"). At Advent family night we always have a great meal, do kids crafts, and sing Christmas Carols. Maira and Katie looked on together....
And Callum practically peed his pants during the singing of TWLEVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS....we have a tradition of "acting" out the twelve "gifts" in a charades sort of fashion, and Callum just died laughing....
The other tradition, of course, is Santa Claus showing up to deliver a small gift to the children and deliver the important message about the TRUE meaning of Christmas. This year's Santa looked terrible. Almost sickly. Do you know what I mean? Nonetheless, people said he did a great job....
Lastly, this picture kills me. Callum loves the ATV, but is scared to drive on it because it is too loud. BaBa-the-NJ-lover has a pair of headphones in his garage that one can wear while mowing the lawn, etc. They are NOISE REDUCING headphones. Callum found them one time, and he often wants them around our house, since he is scared by loud noises. He solved his problem by finding the headphones you see below: Koss stereo headphones my dad used to listen to in the 70s (the 1970s)--now I have them and I use them for my keyboard playing. Callum is convinced that they block out noise. Kid is hilarious. Jon took Callum for a little ride.

Happy 1st Birthday Maira-Beth!!

Wow....I owe my blogging audience big time! The last post I did was December 5! I dont like that. I will do better. Take me back. Give me anudda chance, even....


Our little girl Maira turned one on 12-12. Last Saturday, Auntie KK, Uncle Twon, Jackson, and Nannie came up (UpBob and Papa and Grammy were deeply missed) and joined the rest of us crazies to celebrate the little pie's birthday. Uncle Bob was staying with Ba Ba for a few days and he got to come to the party too! In addition, after the party crew left, we did Christmas presents with my mom and the Favry family. A great weekend all around--great to have the Favrys visit....lots of good cousin time with Jackson and Callum and Maira (and Rudolph!). Anthony and I got to take a ride to the brewery late on Friday afternoon, and then on Saturday morning the dads took the boys over to the Quarry Road for a nice brisk walk on the wooded trails by the stream.....


Dave and Muriel look on while Maira unwraps her "kitty" cupcake (she had a "kitty" party...since kitties are her favorite things in life)Amanda did a knock out job on the kitty cupcakes....check them out! Also, she made some chocolate kitty lollipops....but I didnt get a picture of them....
Maira loves to eat! EVERYTHING.
The little lady's new "church coat" that BaBa bought her.....what a beautiful little lady....


Here's just a nice picture of the Goldsmiths outside the Maine State Museum....Grampy took it for us while we were checking out the model railroad show a few weeks ago....look at Callum's face.....

Little Jackson helping Maira open her gifts. Check out the high chair on the right--one of the gifts Papa sent up for Maira...a beautiful unfinished solid wood high chair for a dolly....and a cradle too....

And the two stooges masquerading around with Cabbage Patch doll boxes on their heads....
A fantastic party!

Scotch Eggs and such...

Everyone knows it and makes fun of us for it: Amanda and I just love British crap. Television. Radio. Cooking. Clothing. Healthcare. Each day at lunch, in an effort to sequester myself from the rest of the school and have 10 minutes of peace (I am SOOOO popular) I sit, in the dark, in my room, eat my lunch, and watch youtube videos of (mostly British) cooking videos. Like many folks, during Christmas and the holidays, I enjoy cooking festive stuff--I just roasted a turkey the other day, and this Saturday, for Maira's first birthday party, I am smoking a ham on the Weber. One recipe I found was a Christmas tradition in England and Scotland:Scotch eggs. Here is a picture of how they turned out:
I did mine a bit on the unconventional side, meaning I baked them instead of frying them--but other than that, I followed a traditional recipe. I boiled and then peeled eggs. Then I took some natural casing sausage, and slit the casings down the length of the sausage, removing the casing, and rolling out the sausage into a little patty, for which I used some special and secretly seasoned flour. Then I covered the whole egg with the sausage, dunked the whole kabang in an egg wash, coated them with some homemade breadcrumbs, and bada-bing! I byaked they for a bit, just until the crisped up. They DEFINITELY would taste better fried, but I didnt feel like cleaning up a big mess. These MAY return for the holidays! As might a special chowder AND a fish pie. We'll see.....

Lynne and George watched the kids for Sally and I the other night so we could a. go to Toys R Us and spend hundreds of dollars on Chinese plastic crap and b. go to DYSARTS!!!!!! When we got home, this is what we saw:
Exhausted from a long night of playing trains, no doubt!
Before falling asleep, George was probably thinking about how tragic Herman Cain's campaign ended up being....hence the dubiously thoughtful posture....

This kid dont go anywhere without Mister Puppy....

Meanderings 67-Some random observations about gender and manners

1. I am thinking of a new blog or web site I could launch and really make some money..."Things a man should never say.com" It would work. Here are some real observations I have made lately, teaching at a public high school:

-my cat did the cutest thing yesterday

-I think Josh Groban did a cover of this song

-I am so pissed I can't stream JERSEY SHORE on Hulu yet

-do you have any lotion?

-I love my bedroom because my dust ruffle matches my comforter

-I want John Mayer to hold me ever so gently (that one is from me)

I really do keep a small notebook of these. My class finds them hilarious. Do you? More to come....

2. On the same sort of vein, a random observation I have made about Callum is that the kid loves theater: Dance, ballet, drama, and FIGURE SKATING. Last Sunday, he preferred watching Brian Boitano's holiday skate show on NBC instead of the Patriots make the Eagles their beee-ot-chizzes.....I am totally okay with this (as I mentioned on FB). I now show CS some youtube videos of figure skating each night. Kid is transfixed. Love it!

3. For years and years, the benchmark of proper etiquette was putting the toilet seat down in the bathroom when you are finished. The 2011 version of this is (or soon will be) taking your K-Cup out of the "brewer capsule" when finished. Most people know I dislike K-cups intensely, for I believe they truly epitomize what is inherently AMERICAN--fast, convenient, pollutive (sp?), and completely devoid of aesthetics (sound, smell, etc). However, is it impolite to 'leave' your k-cup in there when you are done? I find that when I DO use a Keurig, I always find someone else's K Cup in there. It doesnt bother me at all to throw them away....but I can see some dumb liberal suddenly making a big fuss about how they have to throw someone else's cup away. Pay attention....this will become a bigger deal

4. I really hate when people chastise me for not getting the flu shot. It is ironic that the same dumb liberals who make such a big deal about "keep your laws off my body" with the whole abortion thing are the same ones who usually want to get all over my body about peeing their pants about me not getting a flu shot. At least three people this year have been genuinely offended that I havent gotten the shot and participated in what I call "a government conspiracy." This usually pisses them off, even though I say it jokingly. But when we really do get into the heart of the discussion, I ask them quite plainly: "Do you exercise five days per week at least?" Obviously they say no cuz they are too lazy to go outside. "What does that have to do with anything?" they ask me. Well, as I tell them, they are offended that I dont get the shot, and I put them at a greater risk for getting sick. THey never understand the connection I am trying to make about exercise and staying healthy, but that is just because they are too obtusely liberal....

The flu is a fad. Like Amish house stars, P90X, and Eskimos....