Christmas Anticipation

 Today I had a long list of to-dos to get ready for Christmas. I even got a couple of them done--the really important ones, fortunately.

The food has been purchased. I was also going to steam the British Christmas pudding I made, but working on the second important item distracted me so much that I never got around to it. Now I'll have to do it tomorrow. No matter. Tomorrow will not be very stressful in the food department as we've selected a variety of easy dishes to make. Unlike what happened at Thanksgiving, I won't be spending a solid five hours in the kitchen getting a meal prepared (with way too many leftovers). I'll use the slow cooker for the beans and mix up the potatoes in the morning to be popped in the oven for dinner in the evening. The ham only needs to be heated through, and the turkey breast is small and won't need a long cooking time. Easy. The rest of the food is being brought by others.

A long (long, long) time ago, I typed up copies of all the letters my mother had sent to me when I went to college and then on my mission. She wrote long and detailed letters about what was happening at home, which really helped me feel connected to my family. Today, I finally did a bit of formatting and then printed them all out and had them bound. It's very, very basic, but it was a way to get it done in time.

I am SO EXCITED to see the look on her face when she realizes what this is: 112 pages of what was, essentially, her diary, since she was so detailed about day-to-day happenings. There are even a couple very short letters from my dad, who is not a letter writer but whose letters were always hilarious. It's going to be AWESOME! I'll let you know how she reacts. Now that this part is done, I'll play more with the formatting and add some pictures and get the finished product printed into book form. I also found a few typos I missed as I read through the pages while I was supposed to be working on other things. I plan on making multiple copies of the book so that I can keep some for my siblings, my kids, and their children. I'll write a better, more thorough forward and include more details about my mom and dad and the ages of my siblings during the time period my mom wrote these letters, which were from August 1990 - May 1994. You know, back in the days when you had to send letters on paper with stamps. How archaic. 

We got a book of piano music for my dad: Ola Gjielo's Night album, which I own and love playing myself. The pieces are not difficult, but Gjeilo just has this way of making simple melodies sound beautifully complex. Dad's going to love it. I have mentioned that my dad plays at nearly a concert pianist level, haven't I? I grew up listening to him play all the classics, and every time I play those pieces (with a lot less finesse, of course), I have memories of him sitting at the piano, lost in his music. When I was young, I used to dance to his playing. He loved that. I'm really excited to share this album with him, which I know he'll appreciate. 

Yeah, we got the kids some presents. Something little that they'll each like. They have many, many Christmases ahead; but my parents aren't getting any younger, so I'm really excited to see their reactions.

Endings and Beginnings

 Hello, my loyal flock of spambots. I know you've been worried about my silence, but I am happy to inform you that I have not succumbed to the Rona. Not even a sniffle.

In recent news, my grandmother passed away about a month ago (not of Covid! She died of heart failure due to her very advanced age), but she died at home with my mother by her side; so while we will miss Grandma, we are all very glad that she was with family all the way until the end. We couldn't have a funeral, but Grandma's body was shipped to a Minnesota cemetery where she was interred in the family plot her father bought nearly a century ago. Next spring or summer, we'll gather for a memorial service to celebrate the spunky, mischievous, talented, loving woman that she was.

For we mortals left behind, life continues. It is both exciting and mundane, stressful and joyful. As always. My mother, who was my grandmother's caretaker, and who is, herself, in her 70s, developed shingles about a week after Grandma's death--probably due to all the stress she has been under. Poor woman. She was a saint with her mother's increasing physical and mental needs, and she is also the executor of her mother's estate, so she has been dealing with doctors and insurance companies for years as well as sorting out all the things that happen upon a person's death. She now has to deal with how Grandma's trust fund is divided amongst the beneficiaries (she and her sisters as well as my Grandma's second husband's two daughters), and I know she is very anxious that everyone involved is satisfied that it has all been conducted in an up-front, fair, and legal manner. My mother is an exceedingly honest person. All this and she is still grieving, of course. She confided to me how hard this has been for her. I love my grandma, but I don't think I will truly understand what it feels like until my own mother passes away, and just the thought makes me want to cry. My relationship with my mother has come a long way since I was a screaming, selfish teenager. She's my best friend. She has been an excellent example to me my whole life.

Anyway, (sniff), I'm not writing my mother's eulogy yet because she's still very much alive, and I just spoke to her on the phone and told her that I love her, so let's move on, shall we?

Here's some good news: Sophia and Matt are engaged! 

The happy couple plan on getting married May 21st. Sophia already found and booked the venue she wants, so now we're collecting a pile of Pinterest ideas for DIY wedding decor. The venue is beautiful, and this makes me very happy because we won't be attempting to turn a church gym into a springtime wonderland or a tented garden or something, which is an exceedingly time-consuming and arduous task. The very thought exhausts me. Sophia wants elegance, but she is not a diva, so I think I will survive this wedding. I'm not getting any younger. I have one more daughter to marry off after Sophia, and then the boys will have future fiancees who will plan most of their weddings for them, I'm sure. I'm almost out of the woods here.

My parents and siblings and my children (with spouses, a grandchild, and a fiancé) are all coming to our house on Christmas. Happy day! We told everyone to not worry about presents (although we're getting small gifts for each person) and that we just want to focus on having a wonderful day together. We'll have brisket and ham and funeral potatoes (it's a Utah thing, and they are delicious--especially when I stir a packet of dry Ranch dressing mix into them) and cowboy beans and red mung (our traditional family holiday jello salad) and rolls, plus all the snacks and desserts that will show up. We'll play games and I'll play with my adorable, perfect grandson, and it will be grand. I am so looking forward to this. Nothing better mess it up! I didn't get my crowd at Thanksgiving (Gabrielle had Covid, and my parents were newly dealing with Grandma's death), and having them all here is the only Christmas present I need.