the tree

I love my tree. my christmas tree. I’m going to have a hard time getting rid of it, even though it is very dead. The lower branches are drooping and it is browning underneath. It will be gone by the weekend, no doubt, but I’m holding on.

Happy Solstice

tonight i am leaving for pa after eating too many cookies this week, not packing enough, and not kissing my cats enough. I don’t think I feel ready to make this trip. If I were smarter, I would have picked the flight that goes out tomorrow, so I’d have plenty of time to carefully pack, do my laundry. The one thing I got right was the presents. The presents are all neatly packed up and will be driven to me later this week (along with a small bag of laundry).

Instead of finishing up I’m spending a few minutes to blog here, because I don’t know when I’ll be able to do it again. Of course I have a lot of work to do at the work before I can get out the door, and it’s going to be all busy busy busy until I head to the airport.

Despite a very challenging 2005, December has been a blessing. I hope that continues into 2006.

Can you tell me what it means when I keep having dreams that I am in celebrity weddings? My first celeb wedding was Britney Spears’ and my most recent one was Ashlee Simpson’s.

I kind of feel bad for Ashlee Simpson, what with her daddy trying to make her into Jessica 2.0, and the collapsing and all.

I have many wonderful friends

This weekend made me tired, albeit a fun tired.

Saturday morning I baked the almond cookies (nee almond crescent cookies) for my party that afternoon. I think they turned out well, although I haven’t really eaten any of them, except for the batter (irresistible, and goes great with coffee). When I got to the Great Cookie Swap of 2005 there was other yummy savory food. For instance flaky baked brie with chutney. And the tea. Very delicious and sophisticated.

It wasn’t until Sunday when my otherwise sweets-denying defenses were down. At a superb brunch prepared in honor of a friend’s birthday I did have some of the cookies, which were making the rounds. In addition, our brunch hostess had just baked fresh blueberry scones and an Irish friend o’ mine brought Clotted Cream, which is best served on top of fresh scones. Upon smelling it in the jar I could be heard proclaiming, “it smells like fat!” which is to say it smelled incredibly delicious (and it was, as were the scones).

We also dined on a lovely quiche and drank mimosas with fresh squeezed oranges (thank you, Northampton schools fundraiser). I also provided the salmon, cream cheese, capers, onions and bagels, a somewhat out-of-place, but otherwise yummy snack.

Back to the Great Cookie Swap of 2005. I have proclaimed my favorite cookie to be Jennifer Myszkowski’s chocolate (with white stuff on top) cookies, with Boyle’s gingerbread cookies a close second. Jennifer Adams’ Norwegian Flower Cookies were also delicious, and in actual fact all of the ladies did such a great job that it’s unfair to even proclaim a winner, since it wasn’t about a contest or anything. Plus, I don’t like coconut, so I couldn’t even try duffy’s cookies. I’m just telling you what I liked, I guess. That’s me. Telling it like it is.

As for Saturday night. If you saw me at Bar 19 and I acted a fool, please see my third glass of wine for an explanation.

Photo courtesy Adams.

proud cookies

Yesterday afternoon I tested out a cookie recipe. I am invited to a cookie swap on Saturday, so I want to make sure they will turn out perfectly.

Here are my Almond crescent (more or less) cookies.

The problem is that I am not good at making the crescent shape. They ended up looking like, well, something that is not a crescent. But boy are they delicious. My mom used to make pecan crescents, but I think the almond is a much tastier choice. I am not really partaking of the sugar these days, but I did try two (one without the confectioners’ sugar on top and one with) and they were spectacular*. If you see me coming with a batch of these, you should try them. *DISCLAIMER: I do not bake, so anything that turns out tasty is spectacular to me. I am not trying to oversell these things.

the calm after the tree

we ended up getting a bigger tree than I had envisioned. Molly was more curious than Miles for whatever reason.

I am a fan of the white lights. No judging!

Hall decking to commence this evening

This is going to be a good day, because – also after seven-and-a-half years of living here – I will finally be getting a tree for the apartment. Holy jesus am I excited.

Last night after work I picked up all sorts of festive balls, lights and garland. I even picked up a holiday-themed welcome mat and a small decorative wooden sleigh for the front door. How decadent!

After many years of denial, I am finally admitting that I love Christmas. It’s customary to be cynical about the holidays, because there are a hell of a lot of reasons to be cynical these days – and isn’t that what adults are supposed to be anyhow? Cynical and bitter. But I can’t let that get the better of me anymore. If I want some freaking joy in my life, I’m going to get it. And if that means bringing a freshly dead tree into my house, then so be it.

The first thing I am going to do after the lights, garland and bulbs are hung?

Wrap some Christmas gifts and put them under the tree.

Aw yeah … these halls will be decked by tonight.

pennsylvania airlines

After seven-and-a-half years of living in New England I have finally decided to fly home for Christmas. I’m trying to figure out whatever possessed me to agree to such extravagance, considering the six-hour drive really isn’t all that bad of a stretch. On top of that, the flight home will take three hours, since I will have to switch planes in D.C.

But I will appreciate all of this when I land at Harrisburg International without the usual fatigue that hangs on me after a long drive.

Penn State is going to make a bowl game this season. That’s pretty cool.

joy to the world

I nearly bought Christmas decorations at the Walgreens in Holyoke last night while on an errand to pick up some envelopes.

I came so close to buying an impossibly precious stuffed santa and snowman doorhanger until my partner in crime asked me (over the phone) if it was cute enough to buy or only just cute enough to shoplift.

It was, alas, only cute enough to shoplift so I bought my pack of envelopes and left the store.

Aren’t you relieved that we don’t shoplift?

don’t fuck with me cha

Dear Cha Cha Cha,

I’m not mad that you’ve increased your prices. Ownership change almost always amounts to a hike in prices. I’m willing to let slide that you’ve switched to low-premium tortilla chips. And, I’m OK with the fact that your green salsa tastes a little different, a little bit more East Asian, perhaps.

But, I will NOT accept the fact that the chunky salsa is gone. If you were thinking about getting rid of it, bring it back now. And I mean now. You’ve been warned.

Very truly yours,
kb

P.S. There’s something fishy about the goat cheese in the insalada mejor. I can’t figure it out yet, but I’m paying attention. Watch your back.