This Christmas was a little different for me. It was the first one I've spent without family. I am grateful for the good friends who adopted me and let me share in their family Christmas traditions! I spent Christmas Eve with a dear family - and enjoyed a wonderful meal, sharing favorite Christmas traditions and memories (mine - the Monday before Christmas my family would always go Christmas caroling - more about that further down...) and worst Christmas memory (mine - Christmas when I was in 6th grade - I had the chicken pox... bad and then I got a staph infection in my pox so they didn't scab over, which resulted in outie chicken pox scars, which a doctor later tried to convince me were really cigarette burns - nice, huh?), reading the Christmas story from the Bible, and singing Christmas carols accompanied by the piano and trombone, all accompanied by much laughing and caring - it was really a lovely evening!On Christmas morning, I made my way across the street and opened presents and had breakfast with another fun family - I got a kick out of watching the kiddos open their presents:
And Benny the cat really enjoyed the curling ribbon on one of my presents:
And sweet little girl had to come back to my house and help me finish opening my presents here!!
All in all, while different and quieter than my usual Christmas', it was still a good day!!
On another topic... the last few weeks, for various reasons, have been tough. First I tried dealing with it by eating therapy - only encouraged by all the lovely, delicious treats that magically appear on my doorstep
It is only with a tiny bit of shame I admit that this is only a small bit of the goodies that occupied my treat drawer that is now just about empty....
Next, I tried retail therapy
which then led to baking therapy
These are loaves of Cinnamon Orange Bread - now let me tell you about Mom's cinnamon orange bread. Simply, it is one of the best things on the planet. Period. I love this stuff. So much that when my first 4 (yes, that is correct - FOUR) batches didn't turn out (bad yeast - you know the sugar test? where the volume is suppose to double in 10-15 minutes? Yeah... try way over an hour - which made me feel better that I wasn't completely clueless in the kitchen), I had to consult with the fount of all wisdom - Mom, because I was determined to get it right and share some of this lovely, delectable treat with my neighbors and friends. Mom always made this for neighbors and friends during Christmas. In fact - back to the Robinson Christmas caroling tradition - people who let us sing Christmas carols to them... and we are not good singers, we have enthusiasm and desire, but in all reality, we are just not singers (how many people have had their choir teachers ask them to please only mouth the words? More than 1 Robinson...) would be rewarded for their patience and endurance with a loaf of cinnamon orange bread. When I was packing up the house for the big remodel, I found a loaf in the freezer that even once thawed, was hard as a rock - we're talking serious freezer burn. But this is so good that to waste it would have broken the 13th commandment (Moses just never had the pleasure - didn't know what he was missing!)... so I got out the electric knife and carved off pieces and toasted them and ate every last crumb. So now I have some to share - or not ....
