January feels like the lamest time to decide these things, when the days are short and vacation days are few and nothing feels different other than the house feels colder without all the Christmas decorations. January is, however, a really nice time to think about these things. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm just sitting with this feeling for now and seeing what I'm drawn to. Right now, it's nothing new: reading and knitting. I picked out a couple new knitting projects, and set a reading goal for 30 books in 2020. I also picked up my Line A Day journal again, mostly because it's fun to read the entries from years ago, but also because writing a line at the end of each day is therapeutic.
I may rev up my weekly posts again here, but I make no promises. It was so rewarding, in retrospect, to document 2018, but I do remember the tedium of trying to do it every Sunday, when there were other things calling for my attention.
I'm here now because I wanted to write a little more about December, though, because it was a really nice month.
Because of the later Thanksgiving, Christmas seemed to get here faster than usual. I didn't get shopping done until much later than hoped, but there were better things going on: namely, my dad's 80th birthday. I got to spend a long weekend with family, and especially with my mom and sister preparing for dad's biggest birthday gathering to date (we think). It was so wonderful to see how many people love my dad, and I know it was just a small fraction.
For Christmas, Joel invented "Usmas," a revolutionary gift-giving event. We had a dollar limit and the goal was to get us something we would both enjoy. It sounded like a nice idea, but I had a heck of a time with it and agonized about it more than necessary. And that's the story of how we ended up with a bidet in our bathroom. And two of the same vintage-style print of the place where we got to know each other (The Swamp Tavern) - a brilliant idea both of us had. The best gift was Joel's, of course, which I had a strong hunch he would get: a portable bluetooth speaker. This has been nice to have in our kitchen while washing dishes, and in my craft room while working on projects, and I'm sure it will follow Joel to the basement when he's working on bikes. I'm looking forward to having it out on the deck this summer.
I, for one, am enjoying the bidet, which is probably more than you wanted to know.
We hosted Joel's brother and family during Christmas week, during which time we completed two jigsaw puzzles and the giant Times crossword, saw the new Star Wars movie, went tubing on Silver Mountain, ate a lot of beef, drank a lot of wine, and made a lot of peanut butter balls. As the kids get older, I'm cherishing the changing conversations we are having with them at the table and appreciating their smart senses of humor while still wishing we had more years before they truly become adults.
New Year's Eve brought our tradition of an extravagant late dinner at The Wandering Table. This was followed by an 80s dance party at Lucky You Lounge, which featured an amazing cover band playing all the songs we wanted to hear, 80s clothing galore and, blessedly, friends. And so much dancing. Before going out for the evening, we compiled a slideshow of the year's photos and watched it on the TV while sipping a cocktail. We did that last year, too, and it was a fun way to reflect. Made me want to take more pictures, though maybe fewer of our pets - or maybe just that I want to be more discriminating about the ones we keep of those two. There were a lot.
Watching:
I am experiencing a Frasier resurgence. I can't believe the show aired 25 years ago and that I am finding myself longing for the technology and fashion of the 90s.
We also watched a bunch of movies: Star Wars, Marriage Story, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Parasite, and The Irishman. I keep thinking about them all for very different reasons.
Listening:
Toward the end of the year I made an official goal to listen to more albums, rather than Spotify playlists, as a more intentional way to listen to music. Sure, there are stinkers on every album, but it's fun to hear music in context again. Dolly Parton, The Lovin' Spoonful, Wye Oak, Laurindo Almeida, and Christmas albums from my childhood have all been part of this listening experience lately.
Making:
In the summer, knitting a Christmas stocking was a totally achievable project. Yes, it was a nice idea at the time, and I even got about halfway through. But if you really want me to get a thing done, give me 10 days before Christmas and I will power through like my life depends on it. I enjoyed it and didn't enjoy it at the same time. I am not sure whether I'm looking forward to making the second one - my own - in time for next Christmas. The good thing was that this was quick once I got going. In general, though, I don't like working with more than one strand of yarn, especially when managing different strands with both hands. And I hated weaving in all the ends (I later learned of a technique in which I could braid them together, which would have taken about 1/25 of the time). But it looks cute and homey, doesn't it, hanging there on the right?
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Recipes:
In addition to the traditional rouladen and other stuff I usually make during the holidays, I bought a candy thermometer and successfully made nougat! It's naturally gluten- and dairy-free, which was good for the family, and I love it. I made mine with dried cherries and toasted pecans, working with this recipe.
We otherwise feasted on leftovers for days. I also happened to have all the ingredients to make this vegetarian lentil dish, which was a nice break from beef, and roasted some salmon another night. Joel made potato gnocchi for New Years Day, with saffron, garlic and ricotta. It was dreamy, like a good new-year meal should be.
Reading:
My bookclub read The Water Dancer for December, and we're on a bit of a hiatus at the moment. I took the opportunity to look for some good food writing and have a lot of hold requests at the library right now. I revisited a book I hung onto after college called Peace Like a River and enjoyed it once again, probably for different reasons this time.
Also, this short story by Camille Bordas was so good: "The Presentation on Egypt." (Hoping to read her novel How to Behave in a Crowd this year.)
Finally, a good quick thing to read and way to start the new year: How to Have a Gratitude Practice That Isn't Annoying.
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