Leftovers

This year for Christmas dinner we had a 15 pound turkey for 3 adults and 2 kids (who don't really count based on what they ate!)

Hilary will be turning the turkey into both potpie and curry to have in the freezer for quick meals in the weeks to come.  Before she could do that though, I had to have my favorite turkey dinner leftover meal*.

What do you do with your holiday leftovers?


*This meal was in no way inspired by The Colonels Chicken bowls, which I have never, and will never eat.  My idea came first.

Not just for Easter anymore

These just might become a new Christmas tradition!

Merry Christmas

The presents are opened and being enjoyed.  The turkey is ready to go in the oven.  Everyone is safe, happy and loved.

Liam is having a very Whovian Christmas this year.  He is also VERY excited to have his own tablet!  We can't wait to hear him play his new ukulele too.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful, merry Christmas!

Liam and Grandma

We had a wonderful visit with Mom for Christmas and hope that we get to see her again soon!

Vintage 1979

When I was growing up, my parents made wine.  They started in 1979, when I was only 9 years old.  The bought crates of grapes, pressed them in the garage and stored them in barrels and demi-johns in the basement till it was time to bottle them.

That first year my father set aside 2 gallons of wine, with the plans to open them to toast with at my wedding.  Since I never got married, the bottles have been sitting in the basement for the last 33 years.  After Dad died, Mom decided to break them open for a special occasion.  Hilary, Liam and I coming home for our first Christmas in Guelph was just the occasion she needed.

We opened the bottle with a little trepidation.... would it be wine or vinegar?  The first sniff seemed okay.  The glass gallon jar it was in seemed to show that the wine was a very dark red, but once we started pouring it, we quickly discovered that the coloured had all leeched out of it and onto the sides of the bottle. We were left with a very light coloured wine.

Mom enjoyed the first glass.  The taste is hard to describe... not really red, not really white, but it sure has some kick to it!!

Christmas Traditions

For the first time since Liam was born, we are travelling for Christmas.  We are heading home to my mom's house, the house I grew up in, to spend Christmas with her.  Some of the magic of Christmas for me is the traditions, those from my own childhood, Hilary's childhood, and those that we have started with our family's generation.

Here are my top 10  favourite traditions:

1) Lying under the tree and looking up at the lights

• While I'm way to big to do this as effectively as when I was little, there is still something magical about watching the twinkling lights through the branches.

2) Putting up the Christmas tree Christmas eve

• This tradition comes from Hilary's family.  There is something fun and wonderful about putting the tree up on Christmas eve, carols playing in the background and wonderful smells wafting from the kitchen.

3) The Christmas Pickle

• We got our Christmas Pickle a few years ago.  The tradition is that someone hides the pickle shaped ornament on the tree and whomever finds it first gets the "pickle present". Our pickle present every year is usually a new Christmas music ornament like a snow globe.  We have quite the growing collection now.

4) The Christmas Key

• Since our house doesn't have a fireplace, Santa has to have someway to get in.  So we leave the Christmas key on the outside of the house - don't worry, it's completely safe, only Santa's magic can open the door, so no intruders can get in.  Then after Santa has left the presents and filled the stockings, he leaves the key on the Christmas tree.

5) Stockings on the end of your bed

• This is another Hilary tradition.  Santa very carefully sneaks into your bedroom and leaves your filled stocking on the end of your bed.

6) Pizzelles

• Pizzelles are homemade Italian cookies that my Grandma and my mother have made for Christmas every year for as long as I can remember.  Mom bought me my own press a few years ago and now I continue the tradition.

7) Watching  The Polar Express

• This is such an amazing, enchanting movie.  I'm not truly in the holiday spirit until I have curled up on the couch and watched this.

8) Christmas cracker crowns

• We always have Christmas crackers at Christmas dinner.  My favorite part is the paper crowns that come with them.  It gives the table such a fun festive look when everyone is festooned in a variety of coloured paper hats.

9) Table Presents

• Another Hilary's family tradition.  We do this one at other holidays too.  After you open your Christmas cracker and put on your crown, everyone gets to open their table present.  Fun, little gifts that are meaningful to the receiver, or a new toy to help the little ones make it through a long meal.

10) Staying up too late Christmas Eve getting everything ready

• I still remember the first Christmas that I was deemed old enough to hang out with the grown ups and help set up everything Christmas eve after the little kids were all tucked into bed.  As a parent, this has taken on a whole new meaning - one usually filled with cursing, screwdrivers, over packaging of toys, poorly written directions and wine.  No matter how organized we lead ourselves to believe we are, there always seems to be a 1001 one things left to do in the wee hours of the night.

An impossibly long list

These are the things I have to do, in no particular order, in the next 40 hours.

1. Find the Christmas stockings
2. Wash and dry 2 loads of laundry
3. Put away the 2 loads of laundry that's already clean
4. Get the suitcases out of the attic
5. Find the Christmas pickle
6. Pack clothes for 3 people
7. Pack all the Christmas gifts we are taking with us
8. Go out an buy Christmas gifts for:
• My 90 year Grandmother
• Hilary 
• Kavya
• Divya
• our tennants
9. Buy table presents for 6 people
10. Charge 3 iPods
11. Charge the tablet
12. Pack laptop and all cords
13. Download audio books onto everyone's iPods
14. Charge the camera
15. Find the cords for the camera
16. Go to Liam's Fair at school
17. Work 2 full 8 hour shifts
18. Pack everyone's meds (last count was 10+ bottles)
19. Get to the pharmacy to fill Liam's prescriptions
20. Clean the house
21. Get to the vet for heavy duty flea killing stuff
22. Bathe 5 cats and douse them with heavy duty flea killing stuff
23. Get in touch with the house/cat sitter and make sure she can still come
24. Teach the house/cat sitter how to feed the gecko live crickets
25. Make a back up plan if I can't get in touch with the house/cat sitter
26. Finish 2 batches of marshmallows
27. Empty out the fridge of compost
28. Clean the cat litters out
29. Take out the garbage
30. Remember to pack tea
31. Pay bills

Wish me luck!

Dear Santa

I love that Liam's letter to Santa this year includes a "Good-O-Meter", especially since he didn't put himself at the very top of good!  And he remembered to let Santa know that he'll be at Grandma's house this year.