Tag: christmas

There’s no place like home

This Christmas was a challenge for my family. We had to move out of our home in November because of a mold issue in the house that was making us ill. My mother offered us my childhood home in the Philippines.

It excites us to think of spending a little time in the place where I grew up. A few years ago we spent a year in Maine where my husband grew up. My daughter, then only two years old, still has strong memories of kayaking in the lake in the summer and playing in the snow in the winter. The Philippines is as far away from Maine as can be, and I can’t wait to make new memories there.

First we had to move out of our home. We were all battling health issues from the mold, but we had to face the task head-on. For 15 days my husband and I packed up our belongings into boxes and drove them into a storage space. We donated a lot of things to Parca, and packed up necessities for keeping with us while we were in transition.

My daughter had been rehearsing for the annual children’s theater holiday production of Wizard of Oz since September. It was a blessing that she was kept occupied with the show. It allowed my husband and I more time to do all the packing while she was out of the house, and it also gave her a distraction from the impending goodbyes to school, her friends, her home.

My family has an empty home in the country two hours away that we are staying in for the holidays, before we leave for the Philippines. We made ourselves comfortable and hosted Thanksgiving Dinner. After Thanksgiving, we warmed the home with Christmas fare.

We were barely home. We spent a lot of time in a hotel back in the San Francisco Bay Area, during dress-tech rehearsals and the shows following. It was the culmination of all my daughter’s preparations for the holiday show. At this point she was homeschooling, and the theatre provided her with a social outlet and a feeling of accomplishment. We had to let her finish what she started, no matter the cost to us.

We traveled with a little Christmas tree and nativity scene, so we could set up Christmas with us wherever we went. My daughter performed in evening shows on Fridays and Saturdays, matinees on Saturdays and Sundays all December. We drove back to my family’s home in the country on the weekdays. When school let out for Christmas break, my daughter performed matinees on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and evening shows on Wednesday, Thursday and closing night on Friday.

Munchkinland from J.E.Moores on Vimeo.

We finally came home on December 24, thoroughly exhausted, under the weather, but fully rewarded by an unforgettable experience. There’s no place like home… and home is where the heart is.

December 28, 2011
Sweet Potato Marshmallow (and how to make Thanksgiving Dinner from Scratch)

Ever since I learned how to cook a traditional Thanksgiving dinner from my husband’s grandmother, I’ve been cooking and serving the same special meal my family looks forward to year after year. This year’s menu is no different. I keep it simple, but make everything from scratch.

The tricky part is organizing and scheduling which dish to make when, so that everything is served nice and warm on the table at dinnertime. Here’s what I did:

Set the turkey out to thaw the day before Thanksgiving. The night before Thanksgiving, roast a pumpkin and leave on the table to cool overnight. Also, make the stuffing and chill in refrigerator overnight.

On Thanksgiving morning, make the Maple Cranberry Syrup and chill till dinner. Get the pumpkin puree from last night’s roast pumpkin and make Pumpkin Cookies and Pumpkin Pie.

After lunch, start the turkey. In between basting the turkey, make the Sweet Potato Marshmallow, then the Mashed Potato and Steamed Broccoli. Toss the green salad and cherry tomatoes together last.

Sweet Potato Marshmallow

3 sweet potatoes
1 bag large marshmallows

Peel and cut sweet potatoes into 1 inch slices. Steam for an hour, then mash. Transfer the mashed sweet potato to a pie pan and let cool. Top with marshmallows. I wait until the turkey is out of the oven before I put the Sweet Potato Marshmallow in the oven to heat. Take it out and serve once the marshmallows are browned slightly.

November 25, 2011
Winter Knit Hats for Toys

Even toys get cold in the winter. So I knit these tiny pompom hats to keep these toy elephants warm. A sweet little present for my husband, who collects and make toys.

Knitted with Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK. Pattern from Knit Simple Magazine Winter 2009

December 18, 2010
Gingerbread House

Last year we made a gingerbread house from a Wonka box kit and we had a great time doing it. This year, we got a little bit more ambitious and attempted building our gingerbread house from scratch.

We got the Gingerbread recipe and instructions for building a gingerbread house from Family Fun magazine.

We started off wrong when we picked a box that was too big for the recipe. We had to make another half-batch of dough so our house would have a roof! But since we would up with more dough than we needed, we were able to make trees and a bunny.

I’m not very good at geometry, so I made mistakes measuring the walls and it took us all day to get the house standing. We had to keep trimming the walls until we had just the right measurement that would support the roof. I kept thinking about those $15 gingerbread house kits that have perfectly measured parts. Those sure would have saved me time and money!

We finally got to decorate our gingerbread house after dinner. It was a lot of work, but in the end it was worth it. We all learned the virtue of perseverance and teamwork, and felt a swell of pride in our chests after it was all finally done.

From my family to yours, we wish you a love-filled holiday season and a new year full of sweet blessings!

December 17, 2010
Gingerbread Creatures
Bored with the usual Gingerbread Man design? Check out these unique Gingerbread designs:

Gingerbread Skeleton

Girly Gingerbread

Gingerbread Sock Monkey

Gingerbread Ninja

Gingerbread in Pink

Gingerbread Puff

Inspired?

Recipe for Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
3/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup water

Directions:
1. Beat softened butter with sugar until creamy.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and knead until it forms a dough.
3. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven at 350^o F.
5. Roll out the dough on a clean floured surface. When the dough is about 1/4 inch thin, use a cookie cutter to make cookie shapes.
6. Line up the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet, about 1/4 inch apart.
7. Bake for 12 minutes.
8. Set the hot cookies out on a wire rack to cool.
9. Decorate with cookie icing.
Happy Holidays!
December 16, 2010
Knit Socks

I met this lady at my local Stitch ‘n Bitch and she was knitting a pair of socks at once on a circular needle. My curiosity was peaked though it seemed a bit intimidating. The next time I was at a yarn store, I came upon this book, 2-at-a-Time Socks: Revealed Inside. . . The Secret of Knitting Two at Once on One Circular Needle Works for any Sock Pattern!

It seemed a bit complicated at first, and I had to frog my first few attempts, but after a few tries, I finally did it!

I finished it just in time for Christmas. We call it the Cindy Lou Who socks (from the original cartoon animation of “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”) because of the pointed toe.

December 26, 2008