Culinary Weekend!

I had another nice week of teaching and learning. I feel like I'm getting back in the swing of scholarship, and teaching is easier this semester because I have sample papers from my former class. Things that took me a week to explain, they got in one day this time. Yay!

Before I knew it, it was Friday. I discovered my bananas were over ripe. On top of it, my roomie Todd (the one who drives me everywhere) was in a sad mood because of a lower-than-expected score on a paper. He loves banana bread, so much so that one family member gives him a loaf of it each year for Christmas. I found a recipe and made us a loaf to share, a surprise which cheered him up quite a bit. I also treated myself to some strawberries at the grocery store. For breakfast, on Saturday and Sunday, I sliced them and ate them with vanilla yogurt. It was so delicious! Then I kicked it up a notch, dipping berries in melted semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Dipping berries is so easy. Just wash the berries. Then make sure they're completely dry and not too cold. Put some chocolate chips (I did about 3/4 cup) in a glass bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave 30 more seconds and stir. Dip about 12 berries and set them on waxed paper. Chill them in the fridge until the chocolate sets. I had some left over, so I sliced a banana, put some peanut butter on the slices, then spread chocolate over the peanut butter and chilled that, too. YUM!!!

To end the weekend yumminess, I make turkey noodle soup. We have frozen thanksgiving turkey leftovers in the freezer that should be eaten now or never. Something's not quite right on the recipe card I have. Last time, I had to play around quite a bit, adjusting the water level, spice level and corn starch to get it the right flavor and thickness. By that point, I'd added a little of this, a tad of that, and didn't know what to put on the card. This time, though, it came out great with a lot less trouble. It might not taste just lock Mom's, but it's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I mentioned something about experimenting with the next batch. Todd didn't like that. He told me it's so good as it is that he thinks messing with it would be a bad idea: "So please don't. Make it just like this." I laughed and told him, "It's always nice to have someone appreciate your cooking."

GIANTS WIN?!?!

Wow. I'm shocked! I don't even care about sports, and I'm shocked. The last few weeks, you couldn't get away from talk of the Patriots' possible perfect season. Even NPR, the talk radio station that wakes me up each morning, did I bizarre little skit where they acted out a Super Bowl press conference as though it were written by Shakespeare. Click the link for the full text, but here's a sampling: "...Think on it: those called Giants are but dwarfs here, Mere ciphers in the point spread, a goodly dozen down. [...] Yea, the true giants, these peerless monsters, Call themselves Patriots [...]" Oookaaaay... Can you imagine waking up to that? You wake up confused. Really confused. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The last time I posted, I was down with the flu. That Tuesday, the university had a great poet, Nikki Finney, come to speak at a service to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Finney wrote a speech that was basically one long poem. It was full of encouragement for artists, activists, and anyone who contributes to King's concept of a Beloved Community, a community in which all people do their best to respect, love and are for each other. She also encouraged young black scholars, which is so important.

Some of my inner-city middle schoolers (especially the boys) suffered from a lack of educated role models. Many of their parents didn't have degrees. Some of their friends who struggled in school teased them for being geeks, or soft if they worked hard at studying. The young black and Hispanic men in my composition classes tell me the same thing. Some of them say they get more encouragement to take part in street life than to better themselves. Making things harder, as they become more educated, it becomes harder for them to relate to and connect with (even the positive influences in) their friends and family, which further weakens their support system.

I used to try to close the achievement gap for African American and Hispanic children by playing catch-up with middle schoolers. Now I'm working with college students. It occurs to me that having more black and Latino college grads as parents can only help the next generation of students (not to mention the good these grads could do as teachers, community activists, etc.) And just imagine...we're living in a time when our next president might be a black man. America has come a long way.

I spent the rest of that week recovering from the flu. I was frustrated that it was taking so long and went to Student Health Services. The Nurse Practitioner said post-nasal drip was aggravating my nausea. Ew. Okay. So I bought some Claritin D, which did clear up my allergy trouble, but also woke me up in the night. I can't believe I took that stuff every day for many years!

The following week was spent getting back up to speed. I ate more normal food (included the herb chicken I was contemplating last posting), did some exercise and a lot of studying and homework. Then it was the weekend again.

Tom and I had discussed the Giants' prospects a bit. He explained it like this: "When the Giants beat the Cowboys, it was like someone gave me a big bowl of ice cream. Now it's like they're offering me sprinkles. You say, 'Sprinkles? Sure, I'll have some sprinkles!' But what you're really excited about is the ice cream. The Super Bowl? To be honest, I'll be happy if they don't get slaughtered. If they actually won the Super Bowl, though...Erin...it would be like, 'Forget the ice cream. Here's a steak and some 12-year-old scotch.'" Hee.

Now, to be honest, I was not glued to the TV for the game. I was flipping back and forth between it and The Biggest Loser. In my defense, the first half of the game was very slow, in terms of offense. For the longest time, nothing happened. Then, toward the end, hello! With two minutes left, the Patriots scored to retake the lead. But then, in the end, the Giants managed to pull it off. As the New York Times put it, "Manning connected with Plaxico Burress for the winning touchdown, a 13-yard pass with 35 seconds remaining in the game." Hee, Plaxico.

I text-messaged Tom : "STEAK & SCOTCH!!!" He couldn't reply, though, because New York City's cellular system became overloaded, something that usually only happens on New Year's at midnight or in emergencies. I talked to him later, and he informed me that he'd basically had a conniption fit when they won. "I don't know what a conniption is, exactly, but I know I had one. I was lying on the floor, pounding my fists. Picture a two-year-old having a tantrum, only a grown man, and very, very happy." Hee! And this with all of his friends watching.

Well, I'm happy for him and all his friends in New York. Sorry to any of you who were rooting for the Patriots. It would have been neat to see a "Perfect Season." The Giants win did give me a nice lesson for my students: "Just a reminder from the Super Bowl, guys: Even when you're at the top of your game, you have to keep fighting to stay the best. When you're the underdog and no one believes in you, you can prove everyone wrong."

So sick!

(At left: interesting graffiti I saw when I went to the post office.)

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

I am not at an optimum level of happiness right now. Well, on the positive side: I got the apartment all cleaned up, I bought some cute new bookshelves to hold my new school books, and I had a lot of fun teaching my new class of students.

Not fun? Puking. Friday I woke up in the middle of the night feeling awful. I went into the bathroom and woke up hours later on the bathroom floor. I went back to bed, then woke up at 5:15 a.m. and had to run to the bathroom to toss my cookies. No fun at all. It's the first time I've thrown up in a long, long time. Ugh. I couldn't reach anyone to call in sick, so I ended up teaching my class anyway. I don't think my students knew anything was off. I tried to stay away from my students, though, and not hand them anything I'd touched, just in case I was contagious.

I spent the rest of the day in bed, drinking a liquid diet (mostly sprite, bouillon, apple juice and Jell-o). I spent the next day on the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). Yesterday I added soup for lunch, a honey-brushed baked chicken breast for supper and some pudding. Today I may add herbs and spices. Wild, right? Wish me luck.

Thieves are mean!

Remember that “funny” burglary story? The one where someone broke into my apartment, ate ice cream and fled? Not actually what happened at all.

I got home Tuesday feeling exhausted and emotional. I was so sad to leave my friends in New York, and I just wanted to relax. Then I saw the huge mess in the kitchen. There was a ton of mud on the kitchen floor, not to mention melted, molding ice cream. The ice cream was also pooled and molding on the counter. Then, I glanced in my room and noticed that it had clearly been tossed.

My jewelry box had been dumped on my bed. My drawers had been dumped. Storage boxes had been pulled out of my closets and from under my bed and dumped. The box containing my financial info and my checks was open, and the checks had been disturbed. They had even taken the time to pull apart my decorative martini shaker to see if anything was hidden in it. In other words, the story I heard did not match what happened.

I called Todd to ask him again what the story was. He was not happy to hear that we’d been mislead. I noticed that a box of checks had clearly been disturbed in his room, too. I’ve since found out that the burglary actually happened Christmas Eve. As I cleaned, I discovered that the thieves took the opal ring I Mom and Dad got me for Christmas when I was 13, the ruby earrings I got for my 17^th birthday, the digital camera I they got me for graduating from Buena Vista, the fabulous Nikon N50 they got me for graduating from Fordham, my old cell phone, my tape recorders, all of my DVDs and my credit cards.

Our landlord thought he was being nice and not spoiling our holiday by waiting to tell us, but he could have destroyed us financially! The thieves could have emptied our bank accounts and run up our credit card bills! Since I got back, I’ve been cleaning up the mess and trying to protect my finances. I opened a new checking account and ordered all new credit cards. I stopped using credit cards a long time ago. I only had the cards stashed for a major emergency…thus I don’t really remember what they were. Oops. I’m just so afraid that I may have missed one! On a daily basis, I’ll probably miss the DVDs most, I’m most worried about the financial stuff, and I’m most upset about the sentimental items I received as gifts. I’m working on coming to terms with it, though. I remind myself that I’m lucky for all the things they didn’t get, lucky that the thieves hadn’t yet used my checks or cards, and lucky that they can take my mementos, but not my memories.

Now I’m trying to get ready for school on Monday. I’ve been buying textbooks, writing, getting my laptop worked on by the techies (it’s not dead, Hooray! Just the battery’s kaput.), and tweaking my syllabus. I’m so nervous to get my new classroom and my new class! Wish me luck.

Divine, Serendipity and Art

January 2, all my teacher friends had to go back to work. Riza’s landlord is nosy and makes illegal complaints. The landlord doesn’t allow her to have visitors in the house when Riza’s not home. As such, I had to leave the house by 7:30 when Riza left for work. I was in the city before anything was really open.

Luckily, I could get into the Time Warner Center even though the stores themselves were still closed. I sat on a bench, reading and eating my breakfast. Then I went into Borders to trade in a book I got from two people. I got an amazing book called “Writing the Australian Crawl” and an amazing collection of poems by Wislawa Szymborska. At Best Buy, I discovered that my broken laptop’s warrantee had expired in November. Aaargh!

That afternoon, I couldn’t get a hold of Riza, but I went back to Queens anyway. Just to stay warm, I checked out all the stores in the area and, then went to a local Thai restaurant. I got nervous, so I called Jenny, and she agreed to let me stay with her for the rest of my trip. Finally, Riza called me. She’d been MIA because she dropped her cell phone and it shattered! She had to go buy a new phone, then she had to get my phone number from Laura. On top of it, when she got home, her landlord reamed her for having a guest. (The landlord’s behaviour is illegal, illegal, illegal!) Anyhoo, I headed back to her apartment, thanked her for her hospitality and hit the road.

I had the strange experience of being freezing cold and sweating at the same time as I hauled my three bags from 86^th and Lex to 83^rd between 1^st and York. Halfway there, it got a lot harder when a wheel from my suitcase shredded. Once I made it to Jenny's place, she and I chatted for about an hour, most of which was spent admiring her cats.

The next day, I met up with Tom in Brooklyn. I needed to use his computer. Then we were supposed to go to the museum, but it was SO COLD, so we ended up staying in and watching movies instead. It was so good to see him. He had recently gotten a haircut, so he looked adorable. “When I look at pictures from last summer,” he said, “I’m amazed you never told me to cut my hair! It looked crazy.” Hee. A little bit, but I didn’t care. (See non-crazy last January at left vs. crazier last April at right)

Friday I planned to spend all day going to museums, but I was slow to get around. That afternoon, I ended up at the Museum of Modern Art. It was the free night…big mistake. I had to stand in line in a parking lot forever, then stand in line inside for longer because they forced me to check my backpack. While I was in line, I got a call from Todd informing me that our apartment was broken into. Apparently, the guy broke our back window, ate our ice cream, and took off. Okay…. Well, if you have to get robbed, that’s about the best possible outcome.

Anyway, in the end, I spend an hour and a half in lines to get into the museum. Then I only had a hour to look at art before I had to go. On the plus side, I made it through the second floor and the sixth floor, including the amazing Seurat exhibit. The exhibit focused on his sketches, not the pointillism that made him famous with Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. It was really gorgeous.

Then I met up with Tom for dinner. He got a scrumptious bucket of clams, but I got a desiccated plank of chicken. Seriously, it was like sawdust, so for the first time in my life I sent it back. My reward? A savory, juicy flank steak. Hooray for sending back overcooked food! Hooray for lovely restaurants that want to please their customers. Yay!

The next day I basically chilled out in Jenny’s apartment, reading a book. That night, I met up with Laura, Madrid, Carolina and Riza at Divine Bar. It was indeed fancy (see photo of food at left). I think the girls liked their boxes, especially Laura. Carolina had bought me a pretty necklace, and Laura had made me one. After some great eating, Carolina and Madrid hit the road and Laura, Riza and I hit the club. We spent hours on the dance floor.

Sunday I went shopping, but didn’t find anything I liked except a hostess gift for Jenny. I did, however, find a table at a restaurant I’d always wanted to try, Serendipity 3 (See photo at the very top, left). The food was delicious, especially the hot chocolate. Technically, one is supposed to order the frozen hot chocolate there, and the sundaes are legendary, but I was full and it was cold out! As it was, I gave myself a bit of a tummy ache.

The next day, I met up with Chris. We went for hour-long walk in an Inwood park. It was so pretty. We went back to his apartment to watch Sherlock Holmes and Joan of Arcadia. Madrid got home from work and heated up an amazing pizza. Then I was off to meet up with Tom again. I’m glad I got to spend so much time with him, but it was hard for me, too, because nothing has changed. We’re still not together.

Today I packed up my stuff and splurged on a cab to the airport. Part of me is so sad to leave New York and my friends, but part of me looks forward to getting back to my everyday life in Virginia.

Happy New Year!

On Dec. 30, I landed in Newark at 8:15 p.m., and it took me quite a while to make my way into the city and, subsequently, to Riza’s apartment in Queens. It’s funny, my friends were all, “We miss you, we miss you, when are you coming to New York?” Then when I announced I was coming, they were all, “Yay! Erm…who are you staying with?”

It’s not really their fault. Most of my friends have cramped quarters. Laura and Ryan share a one-bedroom apartment. They both teach in the Bronx, and Ryan is in the Teaching Fellows program getting his degree at night. Madrid and Chris share a one-bedroom apartment, and Chris is rather ill. Well, he’s getting over being rather ill, but he’s not up to a long-term visitor. Plus, it would be super crowded with his home-care nurse there, too. Carolina lives with her parents up in…Northchester? Westchester? I don’t know, one of the Chesters, too far from the city and public transportation. I apparently don’t have Lex’s correct phone number, still. So I started out at Riza’s.

I’ve always liked Riza. We’re just not quite as close as I am with some of my other NYC friends because she entered a rather consuming relationship right after we met, so she and I didn’t get to hang out as much. We were always, "Aw, Riza's not coming? Maybe next time." She has been much more social as late...impressively outgoing and adventurous, in fact. Riza is turning over a new leaf. She is also a consummate hostess. She and her dating-friend Aki (spelling?) met me at the subway station and helped me to haul my luggage to her apartment. He seems like a nice guy. I was tuckered out, and ended up going to bed while they were still watching movies.

The next day, Riza and I went shopping for some supplies. I needed stockings, gloves and an umbrella. Riza wanted to find a specific present to give the girls. She wanted us all to have the hugging salt and pepper shakers we used to play with at Blue Angel (see photo above, left). I had seen them in Union Square, so we went to Filene’s Basement for my supplies, grabbed a yummy lunch at Coffee Shop Bar and then found the shakers. Then we went back to the apartment for a nap, followed by primping.

We met up with Aki, bought some champagne to bring to the party and rushed off to Pangaea to meet Carolina, Ryan and Laura for dinner. There was so much food! I ordered an appetizer (scrumptious shrimp in a lemony wine and white bean sauce), and it was enough to fill me up. Riza is a tiny girl, but she ate a huge meal and ordered dessert, God love her! Thankfully, she gave me a bite or two.

Then it was off to Teke (TK?) and Jay’s party. (Note to self: kneeling and leaning back sideways doesn't make for a flattering photo.) This is my third time at their party, and it’s always great. It’s held in this amazing loft that belongs to their parents. They occupy it when the parents are out of the country…which is often. I’ve met the hosts several times, but I don’t actually know them. They don’t mind. In fact, they told Madrid everyone bearing booze was welcome. We all met up with Madrid, as well as Jenny Levy, Irena and their boyfriends. We all had so much fun talking and laughing.

Eventually, several of us left and ended up at Bull McCabe’s…which is precisely the routine from two New Year’s ago! Huh. Before too long, some up us were all partied out and headed home. Riza, her friend (grr…what was that girl’s name?) and I were shivering because we had worn dresses out into the cold January night, but we strutted down the street pretending to be warm. Soon we were warm in our beds.

The next day, Riza informed me that she wanted to go out in the city. I was exhausted, so I hoped she would change her mind. Aki came over and she made us a huge brunch with fruit salad, blueberry pancakes, strawberry syrup and bacon. YUM! After that, she was tired so we stayed in (Yay!) and watched movies. It was a nice low-key start to 2008.

Staker/Bice Family Christmas!

I got to be Aunt Erin this weekend. Hooray! Brooke hardly remembered me at first, and Courtney didn’t remember me at all. Slowly but surely, I won them over…mostly by reading stories and through shameless use of pets. Taking them to see Scooter, Hooligan or Mac was an express ticket into their good graces. Brooke gets a little nervous around Mac because he’s big and a bit hyper, but Courtney doesn’t mind at all. Courtney is also more enamored with Hooligan.


I’ve got to say, I’m impressed with the cat. He’s not very social, but he put up with the toddlers admirably. At first Court would meow at him loudly, which would make him flinch. I encouraged her to be softer, and pretty soon when Courtney wanted to see the cat, she would come up to me saying, “Shhhh… Shhh.” Heh. (P.S. Someday, she will be so mad at me for taking the photo below, right.)

I was excited to see everyone. Unkie and Helen came, as did their daughters Carla and Karen, her husband Lynn and their kids, Connor and Hannah. I got them sketch pads and oil pastels for Christmas. I like getting them artistic presents. Hannah made me a drawing and they got me a poetry book I really wanted. Unkie and Helen gave me a comfy travel neck pillow, and I gave them the same ornament I made for all my grandparents. I didn’t have money to spend this year, so I hope they liked their crafty, homemade gifts.

Great Uncle Bud and Lorene also came, as did their son Wayne, his wife Alysha, and their kids Alyssa and Alex. All the kids went downstairs to color with the oil pastels. Brooke felt very grown up because I let her use my oil pastels, even though they’re breakable and for grown-ups. She informed her little sister, “You can’t use these crayons until you’re a grown-up. You can’t use them until you’re three.”

Uncle Jay and Aunt Dea were also there. So were my cousin Jenny; her husband, Sam; and their baby, Jack, and my cousin Megan, her husband Josh and their sons, Logan and Landon. It was a full house, but everyone had so much fun. We all talked and laughed. The kids played with Mom and Dad’s musical Christmas decorations. We also chowed down on Mom’s famous soup. This year she made chicken noodle, chili and vegetable beef. She’s such an amazing cook!

After the extended family left, we opened presents with the Staker grandparents and Staker cousins. Our grandparents had us save some small boxes for last. They often do this, because the cousins and I often get matching presents. Well, this year as we opened the boxes, we gasped, and Megan exclaimed, “My jellybean ring!”

As children, Grandma let us pick the rings we would like to inherit someday. Megan loved the opal, which she thought looked like a jelly bean. Jenny liked a ring that was chocked-full of diamonds and I liked one with eight tiny rubies arranged into flowers which Grandpa gave Grandma for their 40^th anniversary.

I had accidentally received the diamond ring, and as such had gasped when I opened it, but Jenny and I instantly realized the mistake and without a word traded boxes, causing the family to laugh. “I couldn’t quite remember whose was whose,” Grandma said. She and Grandpa had decided they wanted to give us the rings while they’re around to see the looks on our faces. It was quite moving, but now I’m terrified. I lost a beloved ring in college (I think it was stolen when I was on stage), and more jewelry in the tornado. Well, I’m going to keep this very special piece safe, I can tell you that much.

Then when the cousins left, we had another session of opening presents with just Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Dad, J.B., Erika, the girls and me. I had gotten Dad a Yankees mug and a subscription to Hawkeye Nation Magazine. For J.B., I got a subscription to Runner’s World Magazine and a book on running. I got Erika a subscription to Taste of Home magazine and some scrapbooking stuff. Mom had asked for amber jewelry with an insect inside. I went from store to store and couldn’t find it. In the end, I turned to the good old internet. I found her a piece of amber guaranteed to have an insect in it and a pretty amber necklace. I couldn’t find both qualities in one piece, so I got her both. I think she really liked them.

I got so many lovely gifts, including pictures of my nieces, a beautiful bracelet (J.B. and Erika are great at picking out ones that match my style), nostalgic videos (Hello, “Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas.” Long time no see! Oh, how you rule) and amazing books.

It was so much fun to see the girls with their presents. Brooke flipped for some things Mom and Dad got her, especially a Belle doll, complete with a pony which Brooke offered to share with her sister. It is indeed a lucky thing that a pony was included, because Courtney started trying to get at the present. Brooke got nervous that Courtney wanted the doll, but in the end the pony was what Courtney wanted, so the tantrum was averted. Heh.

Soon all the presents were opened and I needed to tear myself away to pack. My nieces wanted to come with, so I let them, but they got bored. They would take me by the hand and pull me away to find the cat or the dogs or read them a story. Courtney wanted me to carry her everywhere. I was torn, because I needed to pack, but I wanted to spend time with the girls. Sometimes I get jealous of their aunt April because she gets to spend so much time with them, so they’ll probably grow up closer to her. Then I remind myself that it’s not a contest. It is about giving support and love freely.

This morning was a bit stressful. We had a yummy breakfast together, but then I was running to finish packing, say all my goodbyes and get my stuff in the car in time to meet with my college pals. We were running late, so the goodbyes were rushed. Dad put some money in my hands as he left me at Jenny’s apartment. Jenny, Jessy, Kelly and I exchanged gifts and jokes while watching The Royal Tennenbaums. I think they liked their boxes. Jessy actually made a sweater for my iPod! Then Jenny took me to the airport, and it was off to NYC. Now I’m in Milwaukee, waiting for my next flight. Tomorrow night, we’ll ring in the New Year. The last one was a year of stress, love, loss and change. I wonder what the new year will bring.

Kiley Christmas

Last weekend was the Kiley Christmas. Mom was a bit worried leading up to the event, because the forecasters were threatening bad weather, and so few people had RSVP’d. Mom has the worst time getting the family to RSVP, so there’s always a dilemma in the grocery store. Should she buy for the people who say they’re coming and run out of food if more show up, or should she buy for the people who might come and perhaps have tons of leftovers if they don’t? She’s tried it both ways, but usually errs on the side of leftovers. This time was no exception, and the food was delicious.

Grandma Carol and Grandpa Kenny couldn’t make it due to both weather and health trouble, and Grandma Norrie had a Christmas gather with her daughters to attend. However, Grandpa Russ, Uncle Bill and his (adult) kids Faith, Kaylene and Geno came. Faith and Kaylene brought their cute kids. Uncle Tom also came with his wife. His son Brandon came with his girlfriend and baby.

I had fun playing with the younger girls, but the tweens were glued to their video games for most of the afternoon. When I was playing Jenga with the younger girls, the older kids were slowly drawn downstairs and we played a game of Scrabble. Before we knew it, it was time to open presents (Norie and Russ gave me a pretty blue throw and a glass candle jar. Carol and Kenny gave me a generous check) and then it was time for everyone to head home. Miss Sarah began lobbying for me to come home with her. She’s such a sweet girl. At the beginning of the day, she didn’t remember me, but by the end she informed me, “I couldn’t love you more than I do right now.” It was great to get to see Dad’s family. I hadn’t seen many of them in years. Too bad the batteries in my camera were dead. I didn’t get any photos. In fact, I thought my camera was broken. It seems to drain batteries SO fast! Oh, well. The pictures I do get are so pretty.

Tomorrow is Staker family Christmas. Then Sunday morning I meet with my college friends and that afternoon I fly back to New York. This trip home has gone so quickly! I’ve done a bit more playing in the snow, more photography (see pretty sunrise above), and more painting. I’ve been drizzling paint into clear glass balls to create marbleized ornaments for my grandparents and Unkie and Helen. I finished painting boxes. By the end, they were getting fancier and fancier!

One night I cooked my best dish for mom: Garlic Chicken with Peppers in a White Wine Sauce. I usually buy boneless thighs, but this time I didn’t see it at the store, so I had to get legs still connected to the thighs with the skin and bones still in tact. It took me twice as long as usual to make the recipe, but it turned out well. Mom and dad seemed to like it, and I really enjoyed cooking for Mom for once. We all ate and fell asleep in our chairs! Apparently, my food is delicious and sleep-inducing.

I wasn’t sure Dad liked it, because he’s not big on the praise, but another night when I was eating some of the leftovers, he kind of gasped. “You didn’t finish that off, did you?” No, I did not, but Dad proceeded to do so in short order.

This week I’ve gotten to spend more time with my parents and Grandpa Keith and Grandma Carmie. I miss them so much. It’s hard, because I can’t afford to visit them often in Arizona. Tomorrow will be the first time this trip that I’ve seen my brother, J.B.; my sister-in-law, Erika; and my nieces, Brooke and Courtney. I wish I got to spend more time with them.

The Gifts

I love Christmas morning. As a child, my brother and I would be so eager that we would scamper down to wake our parents long before dawn. Our parents eventually set rules: we could not wake them before a given hour. When J.B. became a teenager, it was soon my parents and I waiting for him to wake up.

My dad has a favorite Christmas…decoration? It’s called Santa’s Marching Bell Band. Elves are dressed in Marching Band uniforms. The elves and Santa have turn left and right to strike little bells and play Christmas songs, loudly. In the old house, the Bell Band was relegated to the porch because it was so loud.

Anyway, one year Dad thought it would be funny to wake J.B. using the Bell Band. Hee. Dad has a thing for practical jokes like that. Anyway, he plugged it in, then climbed the stairs and flipped the switch. “DUM-DUH-DAH-DUM, DUM-DUH-DAAHH-DUM!” The door to J.B.’s room opened and he didn’t come out singing “Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-laaaa!” Instead, he trudged by us, grumbling, “If I’d have had a baseball bat…” Heh.

This year it was just Mom and Dad and I. We emptied our stockings and opened our presents. Mom shocked Dad by giving her something she’d really wanted: a telescope! I look forward to using it next time I’m home. We chilled most of the day, watching holiday specials and The Dog Whisperer. Cesar Milan is so awesome.

Then we went to meet Grandma and Grandpa Staker at the airport. They weren’t in the greatest mood, as travel is stressful for them these days. Grandpa needs oxygen. This time instead of a tank, he now has a concentrator which pulls oxygen for him from the air. Nonetheless, hauling the concentrator around wasn’t fun and Grandpa needed a wheelchair.

When they told me this was probably their last Christmas in Iowa, I was sad, but I reminded myself to count my blessings. They’re here now. We love each other. That’s what matters. Those are the gifts. Merry Christmas.

Finding Joy. Spreading love.

It is cold and icy in Iowa. On the news, between political commercials, the weather forecasters warn us not to drive, so for the most part I don’t. When I first got here, I got my hair trimmed and did some shopping, buying a dress for New Year’s Eve, presents and craft materials to make presents. Now I stay off the road.

I decided to make trinket boxes for my friends. I was going to use oil pastels on paper boxes, but found little wooden boxes with hinges for the same price. I tried to oil pastel the boxes for a rustic look, but Mom suggested a switch to acrylics. She was right! I picked color combinations and designs to match each friend’s personality. So far I’ve finished a red and black box for Madrid, a blue and purple box for Riza, a black and green box for Jenny and a blue and white box for Kelly. It's been so long since I painted. It's fun, but for some reason, my face gets tense when I do it.

To relax, I spend time reading, watch a little TV (especially holiday movies and specials) while petting Hooligan, jump 45 minutes a day on Mom’s trampoline and occasionally play in the snow with Scooter and Mac. The sunsets are gorgeous and make me thankful to be in Iowa, to have my camera and just to be alive.

Today I’ve been wrapping presents with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (starring the Rockettes) on in the background. The plan was for us to go to a party at Alice’s house tonight, followed by the Christmas Eve service. There was just one catch. Dad had to work today.

Last night, he said, “But I should be off sooner that yesterday, because there shouldn’t be many packages.”

“There shouldn’t?” Mom asked.

“Well,” Dad said, “surely people should have all the packages they’re expecting by now.”

“Actually,” Mom replied, “I’m still expecting some things.”

“Me, too,” I added, “So if you can gauge by us, you’re in trouble.” And he was. By the time he got done choring, it was too late. (Oh, cityfolk, choring means doing farm chores like feeding and watering livestock.) We had a quiet dinner at home. Then it was time for church.

I’ve always loved the Christmas Eve candlelight service at my church. It was always so warm and peaceful and beautiful. The pastor would briefly tell the Christmas story. He would remind us of the joy of Christ’s birth. Mostly we would sing, carol after carol. At the end, we would light our candles and sing “Silent Night,” followed by “Joy to the World.” Then I would go home to bed.

This year was not like that. The new pastor is a nice guy, and quite smart. I like his approach to religion, but I do not like his preaching. His voice is nasal and LOUD. He used to be a theater person, and I think he forgets that he’s wearing a microphone. It was so painful that I kept flinching! I finally ended up fashioning earplugs out of tissue, which I hid with my hair. (I didn’t want to look rude.)

The earplugs did help, but the man proceeded to do a complete church service. It was a really long one that lasted past 10 p.m. even though there were lots of little kids there and no one working the nursery. Oh, well. At least the singing was good.

I came home and watched the Muppet Christmas Carol, which is my favorite version of Dickens’ story. Michael Cane’s performance is amazing, and the songs are really beautiful, especially “One More Sleep ‘Til Christmas” and “It Feels Like Christmas.” Suddenly, it did feel like Christmas.

It's funny how that works. Christmas starts as a religious moment and extends to a spirit that revives faith and family. It spreads, person to person, by rituals and lights and songs. It spreads. Keep spreading the joy, faith and love.