12-28-2023 The Best of the Season

Mo's mother made the little guy second from the right, and the other two are mine from more than 20 years ago.

For me, there is nothing quite as delightful as the preparation for the Christmas holiday season.  I don't have a huge family, so buying presents isn't an issue.  I usually pick something from the Farmer's Market artisans in summertime, or from some random travel that we have completed during the year.  I like that I no longer have the huge pressure of "buying, buying, buying" that used to be part of having kids waking up on Christmas morning all excited about Santa.

Each season of life has its own blessings, and those days with young ones are especially sweet, but the days now when my daughters are grown women and some of their kids have kids, I feel especially lucky that I can get them home for the holidays.  Maybe not all at once, and maybe not all the grandkids, but no matter the number, I am so grateful for the people I love coming to our home to share in the delight of Christmas.

I usually start right after Thanksgiving, and this year was no exception, with Grandson Matthew giving his annual gift of climbing up on the roof to install the Christmas lights on the house.  I have photos of homes where I did this myself as a young woman, but no more.  No ladders for me or Mo either climbing up on the roof of our house, especially on the west side where the roof is more than 20 feet off the ground. Even though we have a single-story home, and where we enter is at ground level, the slope of our property creates a high wall on the far side of the house.  Thank goodness for Matt who is still flexible enough to stand sideways on the roof and kneel and bend to get those lights up.

It was wonderful that this year the hard freeze only lasted a day or two and the rain let up long enough for some sunny days for the job.  Matthew figured out a new system of gutter clips that made the job much easier than it had been in the past.  Yay, Matthew!

Mo and I managed to get the rest of the decorations up in time for the annual Christmas Light map published in the local paper.  We are always tickled to see the little red light bulb at our address indicating that our house is one worth seeking out on the Christmas light tours around Grants Pass.

This year I had another reason for making sure that all the inside decor was up before December 9 when my daughter Deanna was to arrive for a short but sweet Christmas visit.  Deanna lives more than 700 miles distant and she drove through the winter weather by herself so that she could visit her sisters and stay with us for a couple of nights in Grants Pass.

Mo and I enjoyed so much walking with the girls around the historic downtown area of Grants Pass after dinner to check out the local decor.  

Grants Pass goes all out for Christmas, with a beautiful downtown tree, and the wonderful animated LED Christmas panels that are located on the sidewalks throughout town.  

Tall wooden nutcrackers stand guard at the shops.  It was a sparkly, sweet, and nostalgic glimpse at what Christmas can be.

Even though it wasn't actually Christmas, with the house all decorated and the girls spending the night it felt like it.  Such a wonderful gift to us from Deanna.

Here are a few of the Christmas decorations that I put up each year, with most of them having a story connected and a history of their place in our home during the season.

         

After Deanna left, Mo and I embarked on another Christmas tradition that we seem to repeat every December during the same week.  

We traveled in the MoHo to Brookings for a short stay at Harris Beach State Park.  I made the reservation in early November and was thrilled to get a spot on the A Loop with a view of the ocean.

Mo and I love Harris Beach, with its beautiful campground and easy access to the city of Brookings.  We have camped there for many years, although not often during the summer season when it is crowded and often chilly and foggy.  Winter is the best time for this part of the Oregon Coast.

Mattie loves the beach and as soon as we settled into our site we took her for an afternoon beach run.  In addition to doing doggie zoomies in the sand, Mattie loves to climb the rocks.  

I simply point to a rock and say climb it and she is climbing higher and higher before I can even get the words out of my mouth.  Every year we have photos of her on the rocks with the ocean in the background.  Sometimes even on the same day in December.   

The weather was perfect and in the evening there was no wind to interfere with our campfire time enjoying the warmth as we sipped a glass of wine.

In addition, when traveling to Brookings at Christmastime, we have the lure of the most fabulous light show we have seen anywhere in the country.  This year the Nature's Coastal Holiday Festival of Lights was even more spectacular than ever.  

With 3.5 million lights covering almost every square foot of the 33-acre Azalea Park, every step is filled with wonder.  We took our time walking around this time, knowing that if we walked too quickly I would want to do it again and again, so this time we walked slowly and sat on benches strategically placed throughout the park. 

 

The animated light show was spectacular

The Scandinavian-styled chapel was open this year and beautifully decorated as well.

In addition to the light show, we enjoyed fish and chips at Catalyst Seafood, a restaurant that has evolved over the years that we have visited.  The restaurant has been updated and now has a bar with drink specials.  The Cole Slaw is a modern version with jalapenos and who knows what else, but it wasn't to my liking.  The fish however was as fresh and wonderful as ever, and we enjoyed it thoroughly, even though we only ate half our meal.  Into the takeout boxes it went and those boxes stayed on the table when we left for the light show.  It wasn't until we got home later that we realized we had forgotten to take home the rest of our dinner.

Better fish and chips for the money at the Chart Room in Crescent City where we will go next time.

We returned home from the beach late on Friday afternoon with just enough time to unpack before dressing for a play put on by our local theater where my friend Lisa is working.  The play was called "Nuncrackers" and was full of hidden sexual innuendos despite it being "ok for kids".  My friend Kristin was there with her family and spent much of the time hoping her kids didn't understand some of the more racy stuff.  Still, it was a fun time and a bit interesting to see our first play at the local theater after living here for more than 6 years.

The very next evening was the Christmas party for our book club, held for the third time now at Kristin's house.  It has become a tradition for Kristin to host the December club where we simply enjoy food, some simple games, and a secret book gift.  

Robyn and Jennifer are amazing young women who belly dance, and do fitness pole dancing, in addition to their techie jobs.  Jennifer often offers to drive me to book club in the winter when it is dark and foggy and I hate driving at night in those conditions.  

Kristin as always is a superb hostess with a lovely home and so much good food to share

Lisa and I round out the generations in the group, adding a bit of perspective to all the young people.  Lisa is close to my daughter's age, so I probably shouldn't include her in my generation.  

The very next day we were invited to Maryruth's home for what has become an annual tradition for her.  She hosts a Christmas party for the couples in her neighborhood where almost everyone is retired and from California.  It was a fun time and Maryruth went all out making party food for the guests.

Finally, it was Christmas week, and time to begin the Christmas baking.  First and most important is the making of fudge, a favorite.  It is good that I wait until just before Christmas to make it because otherwise, I would be eating way more than I should.

I made several kinds of cookies and some cranberry orange bread in addition to the fudge with enough to share Christmas plates with a few select neighbors.

Mo and I filled in the quiet spaces between baking with a couple of Christmas puzzles to enjoy on the rainy days that dominated the weather through Christmas.

At last, it was Christmas Eve, with Melody and Robert arriving from their home north of Eugene before noon, and Deborah arriving from her place in Trail about an hour away at about the same time.  

The afternoon seemed to disappear as we laughed and talked and prepared the traditional clam chowder for supper.  

Robert spoils Mattie terribly, and she loves the new Christmas sweater as well as the treats

Our family has traditionally opened presents on Christmas morning and Mo's family opened them on Christmas Eve.  I thought maybe I could ask the kids if they would prefer one or the other, but within minutes of arriving Melody and Robert were passing out gifts.  No one wanted to wait.  

Mattie was especially excited about the Christmas presents they brought for her, racing around the room and trying to decide which new toy she loved the most.  It was so very much fun.  

Our original plan was to go look at Christmas lights around town, but no one really wanted to go out on the chilly, foggy night, and we instead stayed home watching a very good Christmas movie.  

Melody crocheted this string of adorable Christmas lights for us

With one pair in the guest room and Deb on the sofa, I went to bed with the warm happy feeling that only comes when my children are again close by on Christmas.

The next morning was simple, with presents already opened we simply had to wait for the Christmas brunch ham to finish baking and for Maryruth and Gerald to arrive for our yummy brunch with Deborah's fabulous eggs benedict casserole as the star of the show.  Of course, orange juice and champagne, Baileys, and some brandy made everything even more festive.

Ever try for a family photo where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling nicely?

Melody fiddled with her phone and came up with this composite, fuzzy but we are all in it!

Melody and Robert decided that they would stay until the day after Christmas. After Deb and Maryruth and Gerald went home the four of us settled into a peaceful afternoon of knitting and talking and looking at photos on the big TV screen.  Melody and Robert have taken up knitting and crocheting and the two of them knocked out a few hats that evening.  I was shocked at how fast they are at their new hobby.  

Christmas was over.  The next morning Melody and Robert packed up to travel back north through the fog to their home.  Mattie knew they were leaving and started sulking even before they were out to the car.  She refused to get off the couch pillow to say goodbye.

Melody and Robert are two of her favorite people and she was NOT a happy dog when they left.  A funny story to share as I come to the end of this story of our Christmas:  Mo and I mentioned to Mattie in the morning that Melody was coming.  She got all excited and ran around the house impatiently.  I forgot all about it until Mattie started barking and howling the special howl that she only does for her very favorite people.  I thought the kids had arrived, but when I walked into the bedroom there was no sign of them.  Mattie kept howling until I said, no, Mattie, they aren't here yet, but she didn't believe me.

A full five minutes later the kids pulled into the driveway.  Mattie had somehow sensed when they turned up our road from the main road about 1/2 mile away.  I have no clue how, but it was amazing to me that she knew they were coming.  Needless to say, the highlight of Christmas for Mattie was the arrival of her favorite people.

Christmas is over, and the new year will begin in two days.  I will then begin to undo all that I did in December, taking down the tree, packing up the village, and finally putting away all the outdoor lights before we leave for California in January.

December was so full and I only realized as I attempted to write about it that there was no way that I could include our beautiful fall days in November without complete overload.  Mo said, "Are you going to post December before you write about November??

Yes, it seems that I am doing that.  Fun stuff in November as well, but thank goodness not quite as much.