A Very Merry Advent

I love the idea of using Advent as a period of waiting and reflection, I really do. It just ain't happenin' this year. Perhaps if I were a little less social. But, I am doing all kinds of wonderful things, things I have always longed to do, things that make my heart just open right up and sing. I've been absurdly busy this weekend and am working on about 12 hours of sleep for the weekend. However, my soul feels wide awake & alive.

Friday night, I rushed home from tutoring and excitedly threw together a pot of my very favorite (and very easy) mac & cheese, with sharp cheddar, transferred it to my big, yellow mixing bowl. I drove the dark streets to Jill's, admiring Christmas lights and singing along with Harry Connick Jr's "(It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus," my #1 Christmas song these days. Marcy had recommended My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff for the Uppity Book Women's December selection and when Jill offered to host in their lovely home, she suggested we all bring comfort food. Amusingly enough, Marcy had also brought mac & cheese, hers being Kraft with really yummy beef hot dogs from a local butcher. Jill offered lasagna, which we both eagerly accepted. We had a good discussion, on all aspects of our lives as well as on the book (which we all really enjoyed and which I highly recommend for every woman). We finally wrapped it up just before 10 so that Marcy could go out with a friend and I could have some little giftie I could present to my Art Gang Ohio friends. I stopped by the grocery on the way home to pick up candy-making supplies.

Late as it was, Jeannene and Scot were still out shopping. I got started on Jeff's birthday cake, a fantastic flourless chocolate cake that takes a good hour just for baking, right away. Jeannene went to bed shortly after they returned, while I danced around in the kitchen, feeling like one of Santa's elves. I hoped to make it to bed by 2, but it was closer to 3:30 when I finally closed my eyes. In the interval, I managed to turn out a beautiful cake, a batch of peanut brittle, a collection of hot pink lemon drop spoons (to be stirred into the packets of chamomile tea I added to my gift bags) and even homemade marshmallows, my first attempt at that. I was pretty frustrated when I pulled my candy thermometer out of the drawer only to discover that the end was shattered. I decided just to wing it, giving myself the advice my life coach once gave me regarding cheesecake---"What's the worst thing that can happen if it doesn't come out right?" Hmm, some sugar, Karo and gelatin wasted. Not the end of the world. However, they came out just fine, thank you very much, and I included them in my sacks with candy canes for stirring and packets of fancy cocoa. By the time I was finished with the night's candy-making project, I was high on accomplishment and fun. Tired, but flying high. I'd even chosen a name for my (imaginary) candy kitchen, Happy Cat Kitchens. Perhaps that might not be such a good name, though. It might bring to mind images of grinning cats dancing through the cake batter, pawing the marshmallow fluff, napping atop the peanut brittle. Not the case, but nonetheless, if I ever open a real candy kitchen, that probably won't work as the name! I took a sample of peanut brittle up to my sleepish wife, who happily awoke for such a sweet treat. Funny thing is that she ended up liking the marshmallows best of all, when she usually despises marshmallows.

I awoke too early Saturday morning for such a late Friday night, but I was buzzing on excitement about the Art Gang Ohio Christmas tea. I finished up my packages and packed up a smudge pot I glazed and a Spirit doll I am working on needle-felting. Then, I got on the road. Jeannene's GPS took me a completely different way than the MapQuest directions, so I was later than I expected but didn't miss out on anything besides conversation. Darlene's house was lovely and filled with wonderful art and antique pieces. My favorites were her collection of icons, including some Virgin of Guadalupe ones. We visited and waited for other arrivals, catching up on one another's lives and latest creative projects. We started with tea. I was happy to see that Darlene had Earl Grey, my tea of choice, and tiny chicken salad finger sandwiches, much adored by me. Hers were some of the better ones I've sampled, too. Must get recipe! There were egg salad dainty sandwiches, miniature shrimp summer rolls with peanut sauce, beautiful apricot scones, sumptuous desserts. Then when it was gift-opening time. I am constantly blown away by the talent & generosity of these gals. My treats paled in comparison to amazing artwork, handmade ornaments, wonderful collections of edible delights, fun art supplies & ephemera. I felt so overwhelmed. I was even more bowled over by the show and tell time, with all kinds of funky and fabulous art pieces, from lushly-colored yarn to an intricate art journal to adorably cute felted figures. How am I lucky enough to be part of the Uppity Book Women, Wild Mango Queens and AGO? Thanks, God! After show & tell, we came up with our 2010 project, "Some Time AGO." I am incredibly excited about that! I'm hoping it will give me incentive to actually make art, rather than just thinking I ought to do so, would love to do so, need to fill my well by doing so. I also got pretty charged up seeing Darlene's studio and thinking about the possibilities for our new studio once we kick Jeff out of his man cave/basement lair and move him upstairs. I am seriously considering mango walls.

Once home, I had only a minimal amount of time before more celebration, a small amount of time in which to wrap Jeff's (ridiculously expensive, available only for an extremely brief time and therefore requiring the money we'd set aside for me to join Jeannene in Vegas last week) new X-Box 360 and adorn his cake with fresh raspberries. Then, it was off to pick up Jeff's friend, Chris, for dinner at the local Japanese steakhouse. Quite a step up from the gas station food he requested for his 14th birthday last December. We had dinner at BP that night. Chris then spent the night, our living room transformed into a gamer's haven and our bedroom transformed into a sleeper's haven. I still only got about 6 hours of sleep. I am not a morning person and arising at 7 every Sunday feels a bit much. Good thing I adore my job.

Today, I got paid to go Christmas caroling! Okay, I did a little more than that, but I got to go Christmas caroling for the first time in years. First, I got to hang out with the middler church school class while they began work on writing their own prayer of confession. I am always pleased to hear their insights. Then, I hung out with the extremely sleepy youth class. The teacher and I were sleepy, too. We were quite a sight! Then, worship, annual meeting and carolers' lunch, enormous baked potatoes with chili atop them. We caroled and delivered cookies, ending up at the home of a darling elder member of our congregation within sight of the lake. Ah, the lake! I love it! We all ventured down there, Barb wishing to take a photo of the gingerbread man with Lake Erie in the background. Meghan rode her mom piggyback to the end of the street and her brother's shoulders back to the car. It was very sweet. Much fun was had by me, despite my shyness about my utter lack of any musical talent whatsoever.

Now that I'm home, I am being thoroughly amused by the adolescent homework angst opera that is occurring in my home. Jeff is in so much trouble for his grades and he and Jeannene have been very comically going back and forth. She is aggravated enough to throw bacon at him and tempted herself with ham, as well. He has done marvelously funny impressions of his teacher and has raised the foam numchuks high in the air. They are hilarious!