Since my mother abandoned Holiday decorating once she bought her own home, the Christmas stuff usually falls to me, and I'm okay with that. This year, my mom actually participated, so I also received the gift of company while getting into a holiday mood. Now don't get me wrong, I might seem optimistic, but rest assured, Christmas is still by far my most stressful time of year. I laugh when I hear Christmas songs complaining about family, and I pull my hair out trying to finish my finals with any shred of sanity in tact. Which is why I've made decorating my de-stressor. The holidays usually start for me when Disney starts selling Christmas merchandise. Pretty much all of you know that I am in Disney every few months, and our shopping credo is
that if you want it, buy it now, or else it might be too late next time. Not the most thrifty approach, but the satisfaction makes it worth it. Anyways, this year, before Thanksgiving I already had a new Christmas shirt and earrings. Other than Disney, the holidays wait until December.
Since I was raised pretty devoutly Christian, every year we had the traditions of an Advent calendar, making wreaths, and putting out creches (of which my mom had collected many). This year, my mom pulled out her favorite creches and put them up on the mantle, and we made non-religious wreaths with ribbons and bells. And from Jesus-themed Advent calendars, we've moved to much more sophisticated waters: the Lego Advent calendar. Every year is a different theme, and one person opens one mini-set a day. This year's theme was the household, and my brother and mom and I loved it. I still did most of the trimmings, buying the tree and stringing the lights. I've found the perfect size tree for our small house, it's only about 2 feet tall! I also bought poinsettias because for some reason, Christmas isn't Christmas without them in my mind. Oh, and I pulled out the melted snowman stuffed animal (animal? thing?...) and put him right by my window. He's been perfect the last few days, with the snow melting outside. My mom and I also had fun baking a ton of cookies, most of which I photographed. We made shortbread (with and without raspberry jam), seven-layer bars, chocolate pecan, peppermint swirl, icebox, peanut butter hershey kiss, pecan crescent, and gingerbread cookies. I even made my own Royal icing and decorated the gingerbread with a pastry tip! I free-formed my own gingerbread train car (see picture below). And of course, I made the annual cinnamon cookies and anise cookies I do with my grandparents.
In other news, I think I've adopted a cat. She/He showed up on our deck a few weeks ago, and after close observation we have opted to believe that the cat is not and has never been a house cat. My mother has been, since I moved in, absolute in her no-pet rule, but we agreed that not having a pet inside didn't break the rule. So we did what will probably be a mistake. We fed the cat. Between then and the snow, we have been feeding it and putting out fresh (unfrozen) water. I've been a bit worried about her since the blizzard though. The biggest dilemma we've had so far is exactly what to feed her. My mother and I became vegetarians just over a year ago, and my little brother doesn't really eat, so there is no meat in the house, and it felt very strange to suddenly be buying animal by-products for the cat. We might have to be total crazies and convert the feline.
Post Christmas- In an effort to overcome artistic frustration that has persisted for much longer than I had hoped it would, I have been vigorously studying animation. I've been a Pixar obsessive since the first Toy Story movie came out, and I like to brag to my family members that I'm going to grow up to be the next John Lasseter. I've been studying both 2D and 3D animation, and now have a textbook on how to teach yourself in the subject. All I need now is an animation light box table. Still in the research phase...
Well, I guess that's enough said, at least for one blog post. I'll leave you with an Engaged Buddhist teaching I received via Facebook this week that struck me: For the New Year, instead of wishing you happiness or wealth, I wish you nothing. I wish you nothing because I trust that that the seeds of happiness and mindfulness you have sown this previous year will blossom into beautiful, strong flowers. And I wish you the best not for the future, but for the present moment, which is all we have. So with that thought, Happy New Year!
I'll definitely be blogging more in the Spring, and I have a few ideas for new posts or entire blogs, like blogging about my set design or historic preservation internships, so I'll let you know. Anyway, here are the Christmas photos this year:
P.S. I'll give points to anyone who can find my one monster Gingerbread cookie! Proof that I may have lost my mind doing those...
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