December's Letter

Gift Edition

Sunday - When the clouds are drawn in close and flakes that look like pulled cotton begin to fall, sit near the window with a cup of tea, an audiobook, and your knitting while the winter scene unfolds. Sure you can, it’s Sunday.

Monday - Shards of delicate frost dangle from every blade and branch, catching sunlight then glancing it off. It’s a crystal cathedral, a hushed place of breathtaking beauty that’s taken hours for morning’s fog to create. Then, Maggie Mae barrels through this house of glass, the veritable bull in the china shop.

Tuesday - I have the tiniest houseguest, red with black spots. I first noticed Miss Ladybug as she was napping on the dining table one day. A couple days later, she was out for a stroll across the window sill above the kitchen sink. Oh, there you are, I said, my hands covered in soapsuds. Today, I found her sleeping behind a throw pillow on the banquette. I didn’t say a word, just quietly put the pillow back and let her sleep. I hope she stays the winter.

Wednesday - Pine planks, weathered and worn, thirty years out there, now taken down from where they were. Holes where nails were, trails where worms were, too. Saw marks across their faces, some knots missing, some still there. Just the kind of character I wanted to lay across the floor.

Thursday - It was going to be the Thanksgiving Day that wasn’t. Wasn’t the big feast with the roast turkey, the sides, the pies, the people. Because all my men were away. But then, in late afternoon, just as I was preparing a chicken to roast for a solo dinner, a phone call came, Mom, are you making food? Matter of fact, I am, I said. I’m coming over, was his reply. And that was that. Before two hours had passed, I’d lit the candles on the table between two plates, and was hugging his neck as he came through the door. Roast chicken and cabbage, mashed potatoes, and roast squash, with gingersnaps from the freezer for dessert. Turns out, the Thanksgiving Day that wasn’t became the Thanksgiving Day that was.

Friday - A length of cotton twill tape wrapped around the gifts and tied in a simple knot, the ends trimmed to a point. Tucked into a tissue-filled bag then, for a birthday. There I go again. Going for the simple wrapping way.

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Moments Lately

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Reading Lately (A List Of Favorite Christmas Reads)

Starry Night by Debbie Macomber

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon

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Eating Lately (Gifting Edition)

If you saw the Reel I posted on our recent foraging day, and you noticed Mama Kitty licking her lips while gazing at a jar of dip next to a jar of carrots that was sitting on the picnic table, a snack-at-hand while we worked, this was the dip. It’s simply delicious. And possibly even better than dipping carrot sticks into it and popping them into your mouth, is standing at your kitchen counter with a mixing bowl in front of you and the aroma of dried onion, garlic, parsley, dill, basil, oregano, thyme, paprika, and pepper blooming in the air as you stir the herbs together and make the mix. Poured into a jar with a tight-fitting lid, it’s ready on your pantry shelf to mix at any moment with mayo and sour cream into a delicious dip (or thinned with milk or buttermilk into a dressing). I’ll be mixing batches and portioning it into 4 oz jars for gifting friends and family this Christmas!

Ranch Dressing Dip (Mix) from Heather Bruggeman

In a small bowl stir together the following dry ingredients:

10 tbsp dried minced onion

4 tbsp parsley

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tsp dill

2 tsp basil

2 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika (not smoked)

6 tsp salt

1/2 - 1 tsp black pepper

To make dip:

Stir 1 tablespoon dip mix with 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 cup sour cream.

To make dressing:

Thin the dip with milk or buttermilk to desired consistency.

And because the idea of gifting mixes is such a fun one, here are a few more:

• Union Square Cafe’s Bar Nuts

• Spiced Pumpkin Muffin Mix (the very same that our boys used to make and sell when they were little for Christmas cash)

• Holiday Stovetop Simmer

• Cranberry Granola

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Favorites Lately (Stocking Stuffer Edition)

• For salting on the go (or this one)

• For pearly whites (the one I use everyday)

• For boosting the system (a powerhouse if the sniffles are coming on)

• For keeping your place (we still agree, best invention ever)

• For good smells (Dusk or Camp, both are loved here)

• For taking you back to childhood (one of our sons always ends up with everyone else’s)

• For scrapes and chaps (a new find for me!)

• For keeping fresh (clamp them onto a square of card stock that reads “chip clip” and pop them into stockings)

• For the small amounts (I use these everyday - vitamins, ingredients, nut snacks)

• For good smells in the car (my guys’ favorites)