Here at Chez Schuler December 25 is divided into two pieces. In the morning we celebrate Christmas; in the evening my birthday.
It was a very garden-y Christmas for me this year. I received seeds for exotic hybrids and gear for planting them. I’ll post more about the source of the exotic hybrids and gear when I have some experience with them.
Some of the things for which I received seeds (or IOUs for seedlings) were for things I’ve never grown before: squash and potatoes. It will be an adventure. Fortunately, there’s this thing called “the Internet” and I’ll be using it to research the care and feeding of squash and potatoes for the next several weeks or months.
We haven’t celebrated my birthday yet. My wife always makes me a birthday cake. We’ve settled on a recipe that we love. She made the cake yesterday and it looks lovely. I don’t believe I’ve posted the recipe we use. Maybe I’ll do that in a day or so.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to my readers, friends, and family! May your holidays be joyous and restoring.
Update
No Christmas tree this year so no picture. Or, more precisely, we have two Christmas trees: one artificial tree we bought some time ago in the hearth room at the back of the house and an Advent tree in our front window that was coopted into a small Christmas tree. We thought that Jack might not have been tree-friendly.
There are a few similarities in our Christmases this year Dave.
For the last dozen years we’ve spent the holidays in rural N. CA. We always
have a fresh tree – usually a Charlie Brown one we find in the woods, or a better-shaped one purchased at the local hardware store. The owner has one truck-load of trees bought in OR directly from a tree farmer. This year our family came down with a shared cold and our northern CA plans were scrapped, including putting up a tree. However, slowly I’ve been taking out and displaying certain favorite Christmas treasures, and yesterday (Christmas Eve morning) my dear husband found an abandoned but “nearly fresh†tree a couple blocks from our house. He rescued it, staging it outside our dining room French doors. I sparsely decorated it, including topping it with a star. Our friends are saying finding the tree was our “Christmas Miracle,†while our son and his girlfriend were very amused.
On the same “yesterday†we celebrated our son’s birthday, along with Christmas, by having a big Greek meal together. It’s basically been one of those Christmases where celebrations have been mixed, traditions altered, second-hand trees giving first-hand Christmas spirits — IOW a uniquely memorable holiday!
Merry Christmas and happy birthday!
Belated Marry Christmas! We grew squash and potatoes for many years but not anything I think would be considered exotic. Wonder what special care they will need?
Steve
These varieties are supposed to be particularly tasty.
Merry belated Christmas!
We hosted this year for 15 relatives and friends. Our tradition is to have an informal fondue on Christmas even and then the main meal on Christmas afternoon. I did the meals this year, as I usually do, and it was simple – rib roast, potatoes, veggies, and homemade cheesecake.
Unfortunately, my wife’s brother could not attend because his flight got canceled due to the weather and the general chaos many airports, especially Denver.
Because the meat that has been available has been so tough and it was just my wife and me, I made a pot roast. It was great.
It might be the first time in a decade I’ve made a pot roast.