East or West, Home Is Best

The motivation for our Christmas trip back West was the wedding of Chad’s youngest sister Tiana. This fun event proved more exciting than expected due to some frigid weather in Twin Falls, Idaho. We woke up the morning after we arrived to a temperature of -3 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrrrr!! Even Chad admitted he was a bit cold after being out for a few minutes. After the ceremony we scurried outside for a very few photos sans wraps. Thank goodness for a beautiful sunny day.

The luncheon provided superior opportunities for visiting – and eating, of course. In addition to the many Italian delicacies we enjoyed bites of Tiana and Nate’s cake, which Rachel managed to snag the first bite of.

A couple of days later we got together with the extended family for the Smithfield reception. It was great to see Tiana and Nate so happy as they start this new adventure together. Tiana and Nate - congratulations to you both, and welcome to the family Nate!

Over the past ten or so years I’ve learned that if you want to a have a great special day you either have to live in the home of one very celebratory mother or do some planning on your own behalf. So this year I told Chad and the kids the one thing I wanted was a homemade cake that I didn’t make.

Yesterday got off to a good start with goodies at Arwen’s story time celebrating the last day for our group. Afterward she and I headed to the mall for a little shopping. I was determined to deliberately spend my birthday cash. A new outfit later we headed home where I spent Arwen’s nap blogging, which always leaves me feeling good.

Chad came home early to work on some things with the kids, so I took the opportunity to run an errand. One exciting disappearing-car-keys incident later I arrived home precisely 25 minutes before Chad had to leave for meetings. We gulped down pasta with pesto, broccoli, and foccacia (how I love eating a meal I didn’t prepare!) then got down to birthday business. Chad brought out the cake (the makings of which I could see dribbled on both Gavin’s and Arwen’s shirts) with the news that it has a special feature. Apparently after he’d taken it out of the oven, he’d set it on the glass-top stove on a burner that he didn’t realize was still hot. So the bottom was a little scorched. The cake hadn’t had much time to cool so the frosting was a little runny. But it was MY birthday cake and it was just perfect. Chad had about two minutes to eat it while I opened the first of the presents.

And speaking of presents – one of my favorites is pictured here (click for a bigger version). “Manufacturer’s Coupon. Good for one (1) meal with a friend in New York or Boston. Cash value 1/10c.” And the second coupon: “Arwen and I will take care of daddy during your trip.” What a great gift!

Once the kids were in bed I settled down for some peace and quiet with my book club book. About a chapter in I heard a knock on the kitchen door. Surprise – it was my friend Tricia with my favorite sherbet, followed by Jessica with the makings of home-popped corn. We sat around the Christmas and gabbed and ate for a wonderfully nice time.

What a birthday - it all goes to show that even mom herself can have a great one.

Christmas always seems more real to me when I jump into the festivities early in the season. We did a lot of that last weekend. It started Friday night with the Groton Ward’s second annual Choir & Crèche event. Lest you assume this is some folksy thrown-together-at-the-last-minute shindig, think again. Visitors walked through four beautifully decorated rooms perusing 170 nativity scenes from many different countries. And at the end of it all . . . . an amazing musical program, if I do say so myself.

In case you’ve been wondering what I’ve been doing with myself since leaving behind my Relief Society responsibilities, here it is (at least in part). As ward music chair I was responsible for coordinating five and a half hours of music spread across Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Performers came from across eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island and included everything from big choirs like the Pfizer Singers down to a wide array of soloists and small groups. We had a harpist, pianists, a violinist, and scores of vocalists. Think of just about any Christmas carol you’ve ever heard and at least one of these performers sang or played it. Our narrators and stage managers kept us on track, and everyone did a great job. My own involvement included singing in a double women’s trio, a mixed quartet, and the ward choir; performing a piano solo; and accompanying several other performers.

Saturday we were back at church for brunch and a visit from Santa. Gavin or Arwen were none too shy when it came to rattling off their most-desired items. And in addition to gobbling up the delicious array of cinnamon rolls, breakfast casseroles, fruit, and doughnuts, they had a great time hanging out with their friends. One of my favorite moments was catching Arwen putting an arm around each of friends Sarah and Sam and pulling them into a hug.

We are feeling merry!

Thursday’s Thanksgiving feast was so delicious we decided to do it again on Friday. (How could we survive without leftovers?) My friend Sarah who I spent many hours walking the Burke Gilman Trail with in Seattle days drove up from Philadelphia with her kids Eva and Nathan. We stuffed ourselves with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, and Sarah’s homemade cornbread dressing with sausage and apples.

After the kids had played awhile we pulled out the pies. Mr. (Nathan) Incredible and Arwen the Tiger were some of the biggest fans. Chad had made his usual genuine-pumpkin-pumpkin pie and I tried out one of the jars of pie filling canned early this fall. Both were delicious (but we’re always partial to pumpkin).

Sarah and I got away for some fun, catching the Twilight movie with some of my friends and meeting Nancy for a cup of cocoa at Bean & Leaf, our favorite hangout. In the basement it was a constant playdate for Gavin, Eva, Arwen, and Nathan. Chad seemed to have a good time and managed to stay sane.

Saturday afternoon we made a trip to Uncle Sam’s Tree Farm here in Ledyard for our annual ritual of choosing just the right tree and taking lots of pictures while Chad cuts it down. I may have commented last year about just how much easier this whole process is when the tree farm is fifteen minutes away instead of forty-five. Notwithstanding - or maybe because of - the enthusiasm emanating from the kids, we managed to get it up and decorated that afternoon. It’s beautiful!

While I’m thankful for the phone and email that keep me close to my faraway friends, there’s nothing like an in-person visit. Thanks for coming, Sarah!

Of all the things our family is thankful for, one of the greatest is good friends. If anything, leaving decade-old relationships in Seattle has heightened our appreciation for them as well as for the ones we are developing here. Thanksgiving weekend was a wonderful blend of both.

We enjoyed a blessedly low-key morning on Thanksgiving Day. (The kids actually slept in!) Once awake we whipped up a batch of pumpkin pancakes which, served with apple cider syrup and whipped cream with scrambled eggs on the side, were absolutely delicious. My only other chore for the day was to bake the yams, to which I added marshmallows for the kids. (To our surprise, they ended up being Arwen’s favorite part of the meal).

As breakfast was settling in our stomachs we headed over to Ben and Nancy’s, where we met Nancy’s aunt and uncle from Vermont (just down the street from last summer’s camping adventure) and got reacquainted with other family members we’d visited with at previous gatherings. Dinner was scrumptious, featuring family delicacies such as a barley dish with pignolis and creamed onions as well as the usual Thanksgiving fare.

After dinner a few of us walked to the playground at the beach and watched Arwen and Maddie scale the play equipment in their matching red coats, while Chad enjoyed a round of baseball with Gavin and Gabe. Later the kids played while the adults visited. Bliss!

What a wonderful time to spend together in a family setting enjoying good food and great company. We are thankful for our friends here!

A week after my parents left we had our first Seattle visitors – my friend Susan and her son Jonathan. I’m afraid I had to convince her of how happy I was to see her after making her wait an hour at the airport having traveled all day with an infant. I guess I don’t get out enough – I missed a turn on the way to the airport and didn’t realize it for 40 minutes!

I had been dying to share all my favorite haunts, food, and friends with Susan. Saturday we went with Chad, Gavin, and Arwen to Devil’s Hopyard in East Haddam where we took in the splendor of the local foliage, checked out the falls, and got in a nice hike including a quaint New England covered bridge. On the way home we ventured a bit further to Gillette’s Castle, which while closed still offered some fascinating views. It will be fun to go back and check out the interior.

Monday our walk at Bluff Point took us back to the many times we circled Green Lake together in Seattle. We stopped at the point and gazed out into the Long Island Sound. The sun beat down on us, making us wish for shorts and t-shirts instead of our typical October attire. It was a perfect day. Before returning home we downed some great pizza at Mystic Pizza. That night I was glad to introduce Susan to my good friend Nancy at our favorite hangout, Bean & Leaf.

I’d bragged to Susan a number of times about the beach and she was determined to see it firsthand. As it turned out, determination was necessary. Tuesday morning we took a drive around Connecticut College, checked out New London, and made our way to Waterford Beach. By the time we got there the rain was coming down in sheets. But we dutifully donned Gore-Tex and pulled out the umbrellas. With Arwen and infant Jonathan in hand we made our way through the downpour to the beach, where we stood just long enough to take a good look and snap a photo.

Our soaking wet clothes must have dried between the beach and Brie and Bleu because all I remember once we got there is amazing food. There was the bleu cheese appetizer, salad with fig cake and more cheese, and then our delicious sandwiches featuring yet more kinds of cheese. It was heavenly!

If July was the month to go visiting, October was our time to receive visitors. Early in the month my parents came to see our place for the first time. We wanted them to see everything in under a week, and we almost made it! We started at Clyde’s Cider Mill (see earlier post), jumped into a discussion of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle with my book club (just Mom and me), then savored premium ice cream at Cows and Cones.

As fun as all that was, Vermont was the featured attraction on this trip. It was our first peek at peak foliage, and it was worth the trip! We passed the drive up reading Little House in the Big Woods, spent the night in northern Massachusetts, and drove around gaping at leaves all day Saturday. They were gorgeous! Non-foliage-related highlights included a fabulous local pizza place for lunch and a visit to the Vermont Country Store (not as humble as it sounds). Gavin and Arwen had fun pelting Grandpa Bair with leaves as they waited for Grammy and me to emerge. We also stopped off at Whitingham, birthplace of Brigham Young.