merry merry christmas!

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heaven.

So many gifts to appreciate this Christmas, most especially the gift that is at the root of all this holiday hooplah. It means more to me every year.

Shay and I are heading to the airport early tomorrow morning and will be spending Christmas with family and friends in the Homeland. I'm looking forward to it.

the essential

It was subtle but I'm pretty sure my neighbor gave me the eyebrow when we passed each other and exchanged pleasantries this morning. Could it be because I looked silly dashing out to my car clutching my keys in one hand, and this

in the other hand? Perhaps.

I usually give makeup my best shot when I first move to a new place or start a new school year or begin a new job. First impressions, you know. Then, inevitably, my makeup routine will be pared down to something more realistic until at last it consists of whatever miracles can be worked with an eyelash curler in approximately 20 seconds. I love this piece of equipment. Only today, after being given the eyebrow, I realized it is probably a strange thing to hang on to when I generally do nothing else to make myself look put-together in the morning. My hair is probably in a ponytail and my shirt isn't ironed, but you'd better believe those eyelashes are going to be curled.

So let's hear it - when you don't have time for the whole get-pretty routine, what is it that you can't live without?

taste of success

Happy Lucia Day! They are not perfect, but this year's lussekatter look and taste much better than last year's disaster. They are saffron-yellow and soft in the middle and toasty on top, and just looking at them makes me happy.

We also made pepparkakor, thin and crispy gingerbread cookies with a hint of orange flavor... mmmm! After the Lucia buns I wasn't up for converting another recipe from metric units, so I looked for already-Americanized pepparkakor recipes online. One recipe said (this is a direct quote) "roll out the dough to 1/8 inch. Cut into any traditional holiday shape - stars, pigs, hearts, etc." That "pigs" bit was slipped in there so nonchalantly that it took a minute to regiser. Whaaaaa? I laughed, but only until I read the next three recipes and was repeatedly encouraged to bake cookies in "traditional" shapes such as pigs. Swedes, are you reading this? What is that about?!

As you may have guessed, I did not find an abundance of pig-shaped cookie cuters at my local grocery store. So, Shay and I had to improvise. What do you think?

lovin' lucia

adorable graphics from Graphic Garden

I fell in love with Luciadagen when I was an exchange student in Sweden. It comes on December 13th and is the holiday that marks the beginning of the Christmas season for Swedes. (Short bits about it here or here.) It is basically a celebration of Santa Lucia as a "bringer of light" character. When I ask Swedes what Lucia's story is and how an Italian saint came to be so loved and celebrated in Sweden, I get several different versions of the tale. But I suppose the main idea is that during the middle ages, she is said to have carried food to the poor in dark places, wearing a wreath of candles on her head. Later she became a symbol of light to the people in the northern countries during the dark winters.

On the 13th, you'll see Lucia processions all over Sweden. People dress in traditional Lucia garb - you can see examples in the drawing above - and... well, they proceed, as processions are known to do. Kids often do this at home, delivering pastries and coffee to their parents early in the morning. Other processions are done in schools or churches. Some go into hospitals or care centers and take treats to sick and lonely people. There is a set of traditional songs that are sung as the procession moves along as well. I'm getting nostalgic just thinking about it!

The pastries that are traditionally delivered are lussekatter, saffron buns baked in special little shapes. I make them every year but I never seem to get them quite right. In Sweden we used fresh cakes of yeast, instead of the dry stuff, and that has been my main hang-up. Last year something went terribly wrong in the yeast department. When I mentioned making lussekatter this week, Shay said lovingly, "I think you should leave out the concrete mix this year." Ha. Ha.

Here's looking forward to a great Lucia Day and improved baking skills! Hope you find good things to bring light to your dark winter day.

so this is an ice storm

The ice storm came but it did not hit Lawrence nearly as hard as it hit other parts of Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The weather is being blamed for 23 deaths yesterday in those states - mostly car accidents, I think. Here in our neighborhood we had some cool-looking trees, but the roads were not bad and we never lost power. Like Melis suggested, we went shopping once things calmed down, and we fought no crowds and waited in no lines. We also enjoyed some exploring in the neighborhood (sidewalks were far more treacherous than roads, by the way) and some cozy time at home, watching movies, reading books, and playing games with neighbors.

The storm hit the city where I work mercilessly, though, and school is cancelled for the second day in a row because of power outages and road conditions. I'm glad I don't have to commute in winter weather and I'm not going to complain about another day off in the middle of the week, but I am concerned for the kids in my schools and their families. Their lives are complicated enough without these added complications.

Oh yeah, and about those Dove chocolates... they are gone.

ice day

This is what the weather man is telling me:

AN ICE STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TUESDAY NIGHT.

FREEZING RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL CONTINUE ACROSS EAST CENTRAL KANSAS THIS EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH LATE TUESDAY EVENING. SOME SLEET IS EXPECTED TO MIX IN WITH THE FREEZING RAIN TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. AROUND AN INCH OF ICE WILL ACCUMULATE.

THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. ICE AMOUNTS OF THIS MAGNITUDE CAN BE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES AS WELL AS TREE DAMAGE. TRAVEL WILL BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE. ANY TRAVEL IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. IF YOU LEAVE THE SAFETY OF BEING INDOORS...YOU ARE PUTTING YOUR LIFE AT RISK.

So, there's a warming thought. Crazy weather is coming, and schools and workplaces around here are basically planning to shut down for awhile. It seems Shay and I may be experiencing our first "Ice Day" tomorrow. It somehow sounds much less romantic than a Snow Day. Snow Day conjures up images of kids waking up to see three feet of magnificent snow outside the window, rejoicing that school is cancelled, bundling up, running out to frolic in outrageous amounts of fluffy snow, and coming back inside for hot chocolate and a nap. Ice Day seems to suggest mostly hazards and power outages, without the benefit of a beautiful blanket of snow to play in. But I suppose it could still be a cozy shut-in day. If tomorrow is indeed declared an Ice Day, the following things will surely get me through:

* bag of Dove chocololates - when I broke down and bought them, I swore I would only eat 2 per day. A state of emergency would be grounds for changing the rules, right?

* warm p.j.s and delicious red slippers

* back-supply of crossword puzzles - we always save them, but don't always have time to do them anymore - perfect time to catch up

* the 75 tv channels that we get in addition to the 10 we pay for ("great reception," the friendly serviceman says)

* the comfiest (word, or no?) couch known to man, and a closet full of blankets

* an entirely lovable husband who makes me laugh and laugh - i will be entertained

* well-stocked bookshelves - flashlights and candles if needed

* ambiance of Christmas decorations

apology accepted

-after a long and dreary cold spell, today turns out sunny and beautiful. in the afternoon it's warm enough to merit running the a.c. in my car, but instead i just bask in the warmness. literally t-shirt weather outside. it felt fabulous.
-tuesday is the day i see kids at community preschools. sometimes it's a hectic day, but today all kids on my schedule are perfectly behaved and so lovable and they melt my heart.
-a great cd that I've had on hold at the library comes in for me.
-dillons (local grocery store) moves the masses of poinsettias to the side this morning and in their place puts the most spectacular display of calla lily plants. they pretty much attack me at the door - there's one particular one that i cannot stop from jumping into my cart. they're so elegant.
-the sunset today? holy. cow. one of the coolest i've seen since we have lived in this town.

i suspect the world is trying to apologize for yesterday. it seems to be working.

you'll think i'm joking

This post has been edited by the author for several reasons. It basically stated that my day was not good and that most of it was spent making sure that a repeat sex offender went to jail today. Don't get too alarmed. I wasn't attacked or hurt. Only traumatized. The end.