lunadelcorvo | Entries tagged with advent

December 9th

Tell us your most treasured gift you have ever gotten or given.

I think I did that a couple posts up. Beyond that, I'm going to get all cornball here and say my son, my husband, my lovely home, and the pleasure of doing something I really love. Not really Christmas gifts per se, but the most treasured gifts I have ever gotten, for sure.

December 10th
Include in your post your wish list meme. While you're at it, take some time to go through your friend's list and see their lists. If there is something you can grant, do it. Even though it will be late the Christmas spirit will last a little longer for him/her.

OK, here is my "general audiences" Amazon Wishlist. (The others are mostly all long, exhaustive lists of things related to academic subjects, of compelling interest to no one but a crazed medievalist....) Don't feel obligated, either- having all you wonderful folks as my friends is also an amazing, all-year-round kind of gift!

She is grateful

Yes, I missed the last few days of my Advent Calendar. Part of that was due to actual, real-life stuff - baking cookies, wrapping presents, cleaning the house for company, all that wonderful holiday stuff I really love.

This year, I made a really fantastic fruitcake, inspired by the one made by my hubby's great-grandmother. I have always loved her fruitcake, but the last couple years, due to declining health, she hasn't been making them (she's 103, so it's quite understandable!). She gave her recipe to my husband, who stuck it in a book for safekeeping and (you know where this is going, right?) So, I've been fiddling with recipes trying to find one that will yields a result as good as hers. I'll admit, I'm not *quite* there yet, but I think, with a few adjustments, this recipe will do it.

Christmas Day we had the family in for brunch at the house, for the second year running, and it was an unqualified success! We had eggs, potatoes with red pepper & onion, veggie breakfast sausage and bacon, fresh orange juice, biscuits, eggnog, coffee, and of course, fruitcake.

After brunch came the gift frenzy! My son was quite buried! I think he must have gotten at least 20 packages! Hubby cleaned up in the clothes department (about all one can buy for him) though I also got him a portable hard drive, a blank up-cycled journal of Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil, and a rollerball pen that fills from an ink bottle, like a fountain pen without the nib fussiness. (I've been trying to give him a pen he will actually use for years now, this was my last ditch effort! We'll see if it takes!)

I scored some good hits with the in-laws, I think. Of course the real prize for them was the MacBook hubby got for Dad! I just hope he uses it!

Yesterday evening we all snuggled up to watch A Christmas Carol (the Patrick Stewart version) and enjoy a quiet evening. Today it's been dishes and clean up, with a few errands, but overall blissfully little to do!

She is peaceful

I'm posting this from Dreamwidth, because LJ is AWOL - again. Grrr. I can't check, but I'm pretty sure that today's entry was another recipe, so here goes:

Kentucky Bourbon Balls (indispensable on Christmas and at Derby Time!)

Ingredients:
1 cup fine chocolate wafer crumbs (Chocolate teddy grahams or other chocolate cookie work well, too. Just don't use one with additional sugar on it, as it throws off the balance of sugar to liquid.)
1 cup finely chopped pecans (optional, or replace with chocolate mini-chips)
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup bourbon
1 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup (I prefer to use agave nectar, or even good quality maple syrup)

Also: confectioners' sugar or cocoa for coating

Preparation:
Thoroughly combine the crumbs, chopped pecans/chips, sugar, and the cocoa. Stir bourbon and corn syrup into the dry mixture; blend well (get in there with your hands if you need to; it's a thick dough!). Cover and chill for a few hours. Sift about 1/2 to 1 cup of confectioners' sugar on a cookie sheet. Shape small bits of the dough into balls and roll them in the confectioners'. Store in refrigerator in tightly covered containers. Make these a few days in advance for best flavor, and roll in confectioners' sugar again before serving, if desired. These can also be frozen for longer storage.
Makes about 3 dozen bourbon balls.

She is hungry

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Things I need to remember:
• Asking for help is not, as it turns out, fatal.
• Laughing is easier than pulling your hair out, and doesn't have the unfortunate side effect of making you look like a plague victim.
• Even the biggest tasks can be defeated if taken a bit at a time.
• I can write a paper the night before it's due, but the results are not all they could be.
• Be thorough, but focused.
• Trust yourself.
• Honesty, always.

Historians are the Cassandras of the Humanities

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Entries tagged with advent

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Advent, Christmas, and Journal Issues

Advent Calendar, Day 4

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