Joyous Holidays To All
Christmas Eve we spent the day prepping and cooking for the community potluck at the Springdale community center. We made a huge mess'a hoppin' johns, which everyone loved, and banana nut bread.
There were only like 10-15 folk who actually showed up, mostly members of Town Hall, a few newbies (like us) and even a couple of tourists who were heading to Vegas for xmas. There was lots of stew-y like things ("chili," chicken tortilla soup, etc), an onion casserole (it was made with corn bread), some lil' smokies, the hoppin' johns, and various desserts.
After the group ate, we all gathered around and opened several gifts that locals and town hall had "donated" to the event. It was mostly things like matching mugs with packages of hot cocoa, cookie-jars, and other schmoontzy-like things. Honestly, it didn't matter what the gift was, it was the act of opening them surrounded by jolly folk that made the whole evening!
After the orgy of present opening, some of us played a few hands of cards (i don't even know the name of the game) while others chatted amongst themselves until it was time to wrap things up and head home. Home, however, we did not go. Instead we went over to a friend's place for several glasses of wine and chit-chat before his roaring wood heater, which reminded me a lot of Tumba and the wood-fire stoves that we had to use while there.
Yesterday I got up "early" and tore down to the store to get cinnamon rolls (I totally spaced on making sure I had yeast, so my homemade ones where a no-go), then returned to the store to get milk only to realize I'd left my wallet at home, then to return to the store a third time to actually purchase the milk!
Our morning was spent in blissful warmth. While munching on cinnamon rolls and other breakfast goodies, we watched Elf, an absolutly hillarious film that has now been officially added to my "Must Watch For the Christmas Season Tradition List." We then watched a movie that I've seen every year since it came out... A Christmas Story! A must for everyone at Christmas imho ;)
Afterwards we got dressed and headed into the canyon to see all the waterfalls that were created during the 7-day monsoon we experienced. They weren't as many going as there was during the storms, but the National Park (NP) was closed for several days so we wouldn't have been able to experience them anyway. Still, they were glorious to see in the steel-gray afternoon light that shrouded the setting sun's fingers-of-light. There was a huge waterfall cascading down over Weeping Rock, but we didn't stay long; the light was poor, as were the picture taking opportunities, and it was way too cold and wet to go up under the rock itself (it's called Weeping Rock for a reason!). Afterwards we heated out to the Temple of Sinawava, where the normally dry waterfall above the Virgin River was flowing with a tremendous amount of force. But then, the Virgin River wasn't it's normal clear self, but a raging torrent of mud, sediment and debris careening over the rocks and spillways. The waterfall itself cascaded down, in a normal waterfall-like pattern, until it reached this one cliff-face, where the water would hit it and branch out into two-or-three fingers. Too bad my little iAppendage wasn't able to take very good shots of it, tho.
Waterfall at Temple of Sinawava
Waterfall at Temple of Sinawava by Jason Butler
Waterfall at Temple of Sinawava by Jason Butler
After we got back, we made a glorious dinner of LAMB! Lamb chops with two different kinds of baked potatoes, grilled zucchini and some left-over hoppin' johns... all while we watched (yet another) Christmas Movie Tradition: Scrooged; Carol Cane as the Ghost of Christmas Present always makes me laugh hysterically. So cute!!
Anyway, while some of my personal holiday traditions didn't happen: surrounded by family, Christmas Eve PJs, stockings hung by the chimney with care... what stocking, let alone what chimney! ;) There was a lot of traditions I didn't expect to experience, but happened anyway: opening a pressie Christmas Eve (even if they weren't PJs), lamb on Christmas Day... yay!
Overall it was a fantastic Christmas weekend, and even though I didn't have my family or close friends around (and I do miss you guys, somethin' fierce!) I wouldn't have changed a thing!
Christmas 2010 was perfect just the way it was!
There were only like 10-15 folk who actually showed up, mostly members of Town Hall, a few newbies (like us) and even a couple of tourists who were heading to Vegas for xmas. There was lots of stew-y like things ("chili," chicken tortilla soup, etc), an onion casserole (it was made with corn bread), some lil' smokies, the hoppin' johns, and various desserts.
After the group ate, we all gathered around and opened several gifts that locals and town hall had "donated" to the event. It was mostly things like matching mugs with packages of hot cocoa, cookie-jars, and other schmoontzy-like things. Honestly, it didn't matter what the gift was, it was the act of opening them surrounded by jolly folk that made the whole evening!
After the orgy of present opening, some of us played a few hands of cards (i don't even know the name of the game) while others chatted amongst themselves until it was time to wrap things up and head home. Home, however, we did not go. Instead we went over to a friend's place for several glasses of wine and chit-chat before his roaring wood heater, which reminded me a lot of Tumba and the wood-fire stoves that we had to use while there.
Yesterday I got up "early" and tore down to the store to get cinnamon rolls (I totally spaced on making sure I had yeast, so my homemade ones where a no-go), then returned to the store to get milk only to realize I'd left my wallet at home, then to return to the store a third time to actually purchase the milk!
Our morning was spent in blissful warmth. While munching on cinnamon rolls and other breakfast goodies, we watched Elf, an absolutly hillarious film that has now been officially added to my "Must Watch For the Christmas Season Tradition List." We then watched a movie that I've seen every year since it came out... A Christmas Story! A must for everyone at Christmas imho ;)
Afterwards we got dressed and headed into the canyon to see all the waterfalls that were created during the 7-day monsoon we experienced. They weren't as many going as there was during the storms, but the National Park (NP) was closed for several days so we wouldn't have been able to experience them anyway. Still, they were glorious to see in the steel-gray afternoon light that shrouded the setting sun's fingers-of-light. There was a huge waterfall cascading down over Weeping Rock, but we didn't stay long; the light was poor, as were the picture taking opportunities, and it was way too cold and wet to go up under the rock itself (it's called Weeping Rock for a reason!). Afterwards we heated out to the Temple of Sinawava, where the normally dry waterfall above the Virgin River was flowing with a tremendous amount of force. But then, the Virgin River wasn't it's normal clear self, but a raging torrent of mud, sediment and debris careening over the rocks and spillways. The waterfall itself cascaded down, in a normal waterfall-like pattern, until it reached this one cliff-face, where the water would hit it and branch out into two-or-three fingers. Too bad my little iAppendage wasn't able to take very good shots of it, tho.
Waterfall at Temple of Sinawava
Waterfall at Temple of Sinawava by Jason Butler
Waterfall at Temple of Sinawava by Jason Butler
After we got back, we made a glorious dinner of LAMB! Lamb chops with two different kinds of baked potatoes, grilled zucchini and some left-over hoppin' johns... all while we watched (yet another) Christmas Movie Tradition: Scrooged; Carol Cane as the Ghost of Christmas Present always makes me laugh hysterically. So cute!!
Anyway, while some of my personal holiday traditions didn't happen: surrounded by family, Christmas Eve PJs, stockings hung by the chimney with care... what stocking, let alone what chimney! ;) There was a lot of traditions I didn't expect to experience, but happened anyway: opening a pressie Christmas Eve (even if they weren't PJs), lamb on Christmas Day... yay!
Overall it was a fantastic Christmas weekend, and even though I didn't have my family or close friends around (and I do miss you guys, somethin' fierce!) I wouldn't have changed a thing!
Christmas 2010 was perfect just the way it was!