Thanksgiving morphs into Holiday Stress

Thanksgiving was wonderful. The Singer came home Wednesday afternoon, and she and the Imp immediately began chattering and continued long after Hubby and I went to sleep. We were just the 4 of us for dinner...we tend to like the low pressure of this meal. The girls don't like turkey so we had grilled steaks and then added to our menu from Sarah's recipes. The potatoes were once again supremely tasty. I always forget what Sarah calls them; we call them Smoshed Potatoes. For dessert we had her Black-Bottom Pecan Praline Bars. Traditionally I make Mrs. Apel's Fudge Pie and the girls were hesitant to agree to the menu change, but as it turned out, the black-bottom part of this recipe is very similar to Mrs. Apel's Pie. [And Mrs. Apel's Fudge Pie is really called Sam Raburn's Fudge Pie...but our neighbor from when we lived in Oscoda Michigan, Mrs. Apel, made this pie and then gave us the recipe. We've always called it Mrs. Apel's Fudge Pie. This was one of Chris' favorites. I always think of him when I make it. So the meal was scrumptious and the company enjoyable. Then the girls convinced us to take them to see Madagascar 2. The Imp is a penguin lover and has been walking around telling us, "Did you know there are 37% more penguins in Madagascar 2 than in Madagascar 1?" The moving was light and entertaining. It also made me miss my nephews, as the movie openned with a rendition of "Move It, Move It" and I can see in my mind's eye little Andrew performing this for everyone on the houseboat in Utah.

I spent Friday baking Creme Horns (a.k.a Lady Locks or Clothespin Cookies). This was by request of the Imp as she had some at a Ference Family wedding and loved them. So I got the recipe from Hubby's mom and set aside Friday for accomplishing this task. It is a labor-intensive endeavor, but worth it. The pastry dough needs to be rolled out 4 times with an hour in the fridge between each roll out and 2 hours of refridgeration before baking. So you don't really get baking until 5 hours into the task. Then you cut 1/2 inch wide strips and wrap them around old-fashioned clothespins covered in foil (or as I did, around 5/8 inch dowels cut to fit my baking sheets) I can fit 4 "cookies" on each dowel and 4 dowels on a sheet. I made right around 100 cookies. Then you have to make the creme filling and pipe the creme into the pastries. I like doing this kind of baking, but I hate "losing" a day to other accomplishments at this time of year.

Friday night we had game night with Hubby's cousin and family. We played Imaginiff. We were rolling on the floor laughing...always a good thing to do.

Now it's November 30...less than 4 weeks until Christmas and the stress level visibly increases. December stressors: birthdays: my dad's, my sister's, my brother's and my other brother's, my daughter's and my brother-in-law's. Our wedding anniversary. Family Christmas party which we host (I tried getting someone else to host and the party didn't take place that year.) Travel to South Carolina for family visit. Christmas cards (with letter). Christmas gift giving. House decorating. Baking for parties, and cookie exchanges. The worst part of all this is that each of these things are things I WANT to do and celebrate. And I want to make everything "just so" (notice I did not say "perfect" but I do have an expectation of how each of these things should be.) I know I create some of the stress by my own expectations and I actively work at trying to alter my expectations. And in addition to all these to do's, it is also suppose to be a time of spiritual preparation for the birth of Christ. So I have personal expectations in the spiritual realm, as well. Actually, it's the 'day to day' stuff that drives me batty during this time. Can't we skip all our regular obligations during December? No extracurriculars, no meetings, etc. THen I'd have the time to do things the way I'd like. I'd rather cancel December meetings/obligations and have them throughout the summer. Oh well...gotta go...I'm presenting the lesson on Tuesday for the Confirmation class on the Corporal Works of Mercy and I need to finish the powerpoint.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day. To think that on November 11, 1911 many people truly believed that the 'War to end all wars' was over and so was the reality of world wars. Unfortunately, there will always be those who want more...power, land, resources. Thank goodness there are people willing to serve our country to protect it and all it stands for. I am especially thankful to my dad, Billy Ellis, Retired Air Force, my father-in-law, Ivan Ference, WWII veteran, various other family members including my Uncle Don and currently my nephew, Byron, who recently became a Ranger and is scheduled to be deployed again in May. I am thankful that they gave up so much to protect my rights...my right to be sharing my beliefs on this blog. The United States of America is not perfect, nor are her citizen's, but the beauty of the USA is not what she is, but what she can become as there exists the constant desire and willingness to work towards making her better.
Thank you to all veterans.