Solstice and Xmas
SBG and I celebrated the Solstice on Friday--we ran a few errands and then tidied up, lit a fire and opened the circle. Had a nice ritual and then made dinner: Moroccan lamb sausages, eggplant fried with garlic and flat-leaf parsley, basmati rice, and yogurt-garlic-mint sauce. Yum! Then we opened our presents for each other--yay, lots of clothes for both of us! As well as some movies and some silly stuff--we ended up watching The Chronicles of Riddick, which I gave her, and eating this crappy-yet-strangely-good yule log cake with peppermint liqueur enhanced hot chocolate. (How's that fer your "cakes and ale"? heh heh) Took down the circle and went to bed a bit early to read and snuggle and fall asleep like felled trees. It was a nice night--the altar and the tree looked beautiful. It would have been nice to have friends over, but we are both fighting off a cold so it was probably for the best.
Yesterday, we headed out to the mall (!!!) to exchange some of the stuff that didn't fit SBG--it was a madhouse! Fortunately, we managed to get out of there in about an hour and a half. Came back home and decided that we really needed to watch some Vicar of Dibley to restore our equilibrium. What's that you say? When did I get the DVD set of the show? Oh that would be right before shizaru left town and gave it to me for xmas!!! How much more could that girl rock?! She kinda made our whole holiday. We just finished watching the series yesterday evening and it made us feel very happy. Thanks, you fabulous woman!!!
Today was a bit more running around--we're checking on a friend's cat while she's away and we dropped by leesalu's place to give gifties. Wussed out and had mac-n-cheese for dinner *grin* and started the julekage. Julekage is a family recipe for a cardamom-infused slightly sweet yeast bread with a sprinkle of candied fruit throughout. It's soft and light, so it's not like fruitcake. We always had it at Christmas when I was growing up--I remember waking up at the crack of dawn and having toasted julekage with lots of butter and hot chocolate while we opened our stockings. Then we'd rip into the other presents like the crazy children we were and have a larger Christmas breakfast afterward. My mom didn't make it the last Christmas we had in her house so I stayed up until 1am making it myself--so that we could still have the tradition. Never got a thank you, but at least the toast was good...and it gave me the confidence to make it. Anyway, it's rising now and I'll have to add the fruit, divide it, and let it rise again before I bake it but I think it'll be finished before 1am. SBG has never had it so I hope she likes it!
Any of you have beloved family traditions that you still practice?
Yesterday, we headed out to the mall (!!!) to exchange some of the stuff that didn't fit SBG--it was a madhouse! Fortunately, we managed to get out of there in about an hour and a half. Came back home and decided that we really needed to watch some Vicar of Dibley to restore our equilibrium. What's that you say? When did I get the DVD set of the show? Oh that would be right before shizaru left town and gave it to me for xmas!!! How much more could that girl rock?! She kinda made our whole holiday. We just finished watching the series yesterday evening and it made us feel very happy. Thanks, you fabulous woman!!!
Today was a bit more running around--we're checking on a friend's cat while she's away and we dropped by leesalu's place to give gifties. Wussed out and had mac-n-cheese for dinner *grin* and started the julekage. Julekage is a family recipe for a cardamom-infused slightly sweet yeast bread with a sprinkle of candied fruit throughout. It's soft and light, so it's not like fruitcake. We always had it at Christmas when I was growing up--I remember waking up at the crack of dawn and having toasted julekage with lots of butter and hot chocolate while we opened our stockings. Then we'd rip into the other presents like the crazy children we were and have a larger Christmas breakfast afterward. My mom didn't make it the last Christmas we had in her house so I stayed up until 1am making it myself--so that we could still have the tradition. Never got a thank you, but at least the toast was good...and it gave me the confidence to make it. Anyway, it's rising now and I'll have to add the fruit, divide it, and let it rise again before I bake it but I think it'll be finished before 1am. SBG has never had it so I hope she likes it!
Any of you have beloved family traditions that you still practice?