Here are the Hyatt Arcade in downtown Cleveland, the Christmas season is still in the air. The bunting is hung on the bright metal railings, the lights are strung along the facades, and down at the far end of the arcade is the Christmas tree, still fully lit and adorned with a star. Christmas is more than two weeks past, but I don’t mind holding on to it a little bit longer.
Posts Tagged ‘Holidays’
The Season’s Last Gasp (II)
Posted in Photography, tagged Christmas, Cleveland, Holiday decorations, Holidays, Hyatt Arcade, Ohio, Photography on January 8, 2013 | 3 Comments »
The Season’s Last Gasp
Posted in Photography, tagged Christmas, Holiday decorations, Holidays, Hotels, Mayflower Hotel, Photography, Washington D.C. on January 2, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
When I arrived at the Mayflower in Washington, D.C. today, the staff was taking down the Christmas decorations — a sure sign that the holiday season is over, a new year has begun, and it’s time to get back to work. I did manage to arrive before all of the flourishes were removed, however, and therefore got to enjoy this very pretty arrangement of Christmas trees adorning the gleaming first floor ballroom hallway.
On The Eve Of The New Year
Posted in Family, Humor, Reflections, Science, tagged Calendars, Family, Holidays, Humor, Life, New Year's Eve, Reflections, Science, Years on December 31, 2012 | 2 Comments »
I’ve never much cared for New Year’s Eve. My father referred to it, with humor and scorn, as “amateur night.” It’s a contrived holiday that tends to be the focus of too much partying anticipation. I can’t remember how many New Year’s Eve parties I went to during my college years, but I can remember that none of them met my ridiculously high expectations.
What’s a year, anyway? It’s a rough approximation of how long it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun, marked according to a calendar decreed by a long-dead Pope. Logically, calendar years mean little. They help us account for the seasons, and plan our activities, and look ahead to when we hope it will be warmer — but that’s about it.
And yet . . . years often have a consistent vibe to them, don’t they? We recall good years and bad years. We especially remember the bad years, when loved ones died or personal failures occurred or some other adversity dominated our intimate little worlds. If we’re having a bad year, we hope that the change to the calendar that arbitrarily occurs at midnight on December 31 will similarly mean a change in our fortunes. It can’t, obviously — but sometimes it does, just the same.
So, if you are having one of those bad years, I hope that your fate changes in 2013. I hope that, as that calendar page is torn away, you start to realize your personal goals and experience satisfaction in your personal lives and feel contentment with your circumstances. If you have had a good year in 2012? Well, then I just hope that calendar years are as meaningless as our rational brains dictate they must be.
Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas, Mon!
Posted in Humor, Photography, Travel, tagged Antigua, Caribbean, Christmas, Holidays, Humor, Photography, St. John's, Travel on December 25, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
From the shores of the Caribbean — where one holiday celebrant in St. John’s, Antigua, danced under Christmas decorations while wearing a Viking helmet, a rag skirt, a tunic, and underneath it all a t-shirt covered with characters from the Fat Albert cartoon show– we wish our friends and readers a very merry and perhaps somewhat zany Christmas.
Happy Holidays!
Easing Into The Holidays
Posted in America, Humor, Movies, Reflections, Work, tagged America, Christmas, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Creep, Christmas Spirit, Holidays, Humor, Miracle On 34th Street, Reflections, The Twelve Days Of Christmas, Work on December 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
America used to work, hard, up until the very day a holiday arrived. Think of the original Miracle on 34th Street if you don’t believe me — the competency hearing for jolly Kris Kringle goes into the afternoon on Christmas Eve before the Post Office rides to the rescue. The same was true when I started working; the day after Thanksgiving, for example, was a normal work day.
Now, we tend to ease into the holidays. You might call it “holiday creep.” The days before and after have gradually become part of the festive celebration. It’s like we’ve adopted the concept of The Twelve Days of Christmas, except there are no partridges in pear trees at the office. It must drive the productivity experts nuts.
As Christmas grows ever closer, there is less traffic on the roads to and from work. We know that many of our fellow commuters have already left on holiday, and their absence makes our own journey less teeth-grinding. At work itself, the dress code is relaxed, and the pace is more laid back. People are wearing their holiday sweaters and pins and ties and socks. Everyone lingers a bit longer around the coffee station and snack room, asking their co-workers of their holiday plans and sharing their own. We are all thinking of the wonderful family time to come and letting the holiday work its magic on our spirits.
So, at work today, have a cup of coffee and a Christmas cookie and ask that person down the hall how they are doing. It’s not quite Christmas, according to the calendar, but it’s Christmas just the same.
Stille Nacht
Posted in Family, Music, Music videos, tagged Choral Music, Christmas, Christmas Songs, Family, Holidays, Music, Music videos, Silent Night, Stille Nacht on December 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Folks, we’re really closing in on Christmas. This weekend Richard will be returning home, I’ll finally be doing my long-delayed holiday baking, and it will seem a lot more like Christmas as a result.
When I think of Christmas, I think of Christmas music — particularly choral music. My idealized vision of a perfect Christmas moment is this kind of choral rendition of Silent Night, in a beautiful high key with the simple melody soaring, as I stand with a glass of full-bodied red wine in hand and look out on snow falling gently through a dark night sky, knowing that Kish and the boys are at home with me, safe and sound and ready for our holiday celebration.
North Of Woods Christmas Lights, 2012 (II)
Posted in Columbus, tagged Christmas, Christmas Lights, Columbus, Holiday decorations, Holidays, New Albany, North of Woods, Photography on December 11, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
I like the ethereal feel of twirly lights in bare trees as a general rule, but I particularly like how these creative neighbors set things up so that the twirly lights in the trees are linked with the lights along the roofline.
Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes — 2012 (IV)
Posted in Food, tagged Buttery Rosemary-Orange Shortbread, Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes, Christmas, Christmas Cookie Recipes, Christmas Cookies, Food, Holidays on December 10, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Shortbread probably seems a bit old-fashioned, but I’ve always liked its taste — and during the holidays, what might otherwise be quaint and therefore boring just becomes “traditional” and cool.
Buttery Rosemary-Orange Shortbread
Ingredients: 1 cup chilled unsalted butter; 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary; 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest; 1/2 cup sugar (plus additional sugar for sprinkling); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3 cups flour; 1 egg white, beaten to blend
Combine butter, rosemary, orange zest, and 1/2 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until ingredients are combined and butter is very smooth. Add salt and flour. Beat for several minutes, until a cohesive dough forms.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. Cut into 2-by-2 inch bars.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a spatula to transfer cookies to prepared baking sheet, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush tops of cookies with egg white. Sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake until very light tan in color, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly on sheets on wire racks, then transfer to racks and cool completely.
Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes — 2012
Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes — 2012 (II)
A Signature Drink For The Evening (Cont.)
Posted in Entertainment, Family, Food, tagged Alcohol, Christmas, cocktails, Entertainment, Family, Holidays, Mixed drinks, Signature Drinks, White Cosmopolitan on December 8, 2012 | 5 Comments »
After much careful consideration, Kish has settled on a white cosmopolitan as our signature drink for this evening. Thanks to niece Amy for the suggestion!
Ingredients: 2 cups citron-flavored vodka; 3/4 cup Cointreau, 1 cup white cranberry juice, 1/2 cup fresh lime juice, lime wedges, whole cranberries, ice
Combine the vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, and lime juice in a large pitcher filled with ice. Stir and strain into martini glasses. Garnish with whole cranberries and lime wedges. (Ingredients make about 8 cocktails.)
Kish likes this drink because it is tasty and looks very festive. With its red cranberries and green lime wedges, it has a definite holiday feel to it. Here’s hoping our guests tonight feel the same way!
Edited to add: The white Cosmos were a huge hit. Kish’s rep as a creative cocktail mixer continues to grow.
North Of Woods Christmas Lights, 2012
Posted in Columbus, Photography, tagged Christmas, Christmas Lights, Columbus, Holiday decorations, Holidays, New Albany, North of Woods, Photography on December 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Many of our neighbors in the North of Woods section of New Albany have put up their holiday lights, and the neighborhood looks great. Kish loves Christmas lights, and I agree with her — seeing the pretty displays in the morning and returning from work in the evening makes the world seem a bit more bright and cheerful. I’ll be posting pictures of some of our neighbors’ colorful creations between now and Christmas.
Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes — 2012 (III)
Posted in Family, Food, tagged Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes, Christmas, Christmas Cookie Recipes, Christmas Cookies, Family, Food, Holidays, Salty Peanut Squares on December 7, 2012 | 1 Comment »
In response to my annual call for new Christmas cookie recipes, my thoughtful sister Margaret passed along the Columbus Dispatch 2012 Holiday Cookies insert. It’s full of interesting recipes, include one that I just can’t resist. How many holiday cookie recipes include a bag of Fritos as an ingredient?
Salty Peanut Squares
Ingredients: 1 package (10 ounces) corn chips, lightly crushed; 1 cup unsalted peanuts; 1 cup light corn syrup; 1 cup sugar; 1 cup peanut butter; 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
Generously grease 13 by 9 inch pan. Arrange half of the corn chips and peanuts in pan. In a large saucepan, bring the corn syrup and sugar to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in peanut butter until blended. Drizzle half of mixture over the corn chip mixture in the pan.
Add remaining corn chips and peanuts to remaining peanut butter mixture in saucepan and stir to combine. Spoon over mixture in pan, then press down lightly. Drizzle with melted milk chocolate. Cool, then cut into squares.
Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes — 2012
Holiday Balance
Posted in Family, Photography, tagged Christmas, Christmas ornaments, Elves, Family, Holidays, Photography on December 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
During the holidays, it’s important to maintain a sense of balance. Don’t get carried away with spending on presents. Try to avoid channeling your inner Martha Stewart and decorating every square inch of the house. Take care not to overimbibe at the office holiday party. And for God’s sake, remember that at some point you’re going to have to pay the credit card bills.
This happy little elf hanging in Mom’s window sets a pretty good example.
Elemental And Ornamental
Posted in Family, tagged Cathy Hartnett, Christmas, Christmas ornaments, Family, Holiday decorations, Holidays, Pinterest on December 4, 2012 | 1 Comment »
My sister Cathy has lots of energy and, lately, has become a huge fan of Pinterest. She found an idea there to hang Christmas ornaments from ribbons as a holiday decoration and tried it out on Mom’s window. The result looks pretty good — but mostly because displaying the ornaments closer to eye level gives you a chance to take a closer look than when the ornaments are, say, two feet off the ground. I particularly liked the very pleasant expression of holiday cheer on this coffee pot snowman
Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes — 2012 (II)
Posted in Food, tagged Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes, Christmas, Christmas Cookie Recipes, Christmas Cookies, Food, Holidays, Kolachky on December 2, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Kolachky is, I think, a cookie of Eastern European lineage. It sounds like it would be fun and challenging to make — cookies that requires brushing with egg white, sealing, and dusting are more involved than your standard cutout Christmas cookie — and I’m willing to give serious consideration to any concoction that is filled with either poppy seed filling or crushed walnuts and honey.
Kolachky
Ingredients: 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese at room temperature; 2 cups unsalted butter, softened; 4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 pound chopped walnuts; 1 egg; 1/2 cup honey; 1 12-ounce can poppy seed filling;1 egg white; 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting
In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and butter until well blended. Mix in the flour 1 cup at a time. As the dough becomes stiff, turn it out onto the counter and knead in flour until it is no longer sticky. Continue to knead the dough for 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Crush the walnuts to a fine consistency in a food processor. Stir in the egg and honey to make one filling mix.
On a well-floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut the dough into 3×3 inch squares. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each square. Use walnut/honey filling for some and poppy seed filling for the rest. Roll the squares up and seal the edges. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Brush with egg white. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. When cool, dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes — 2012
Posted in Food, tagged Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes, Christmas, Christmas Cookie Recipes, Christmas Cookies, Food, Gingerbread, Holidays on November 26, 2012 | 4 Comments »
Thanksgiving is behind us, Black Friday has passed, and Christmas is less than a month away. It’s time to start thinking about baking Christmas cookies for family and friends. As always, I’m interested in whether our Webner House readers have any recipes they would be willing to share. I always try to add a few new cookies to the tried-and-true favorites that I enjoy baking year after year.
I got this recipe from the Martha Stewart website. Last year I made gingerbread stars dipped in white chocolate, and they were a big hit. This year, I think more gingerbread cookies may be in order, and the combination of gingerbread and lemon flavoring in this cookie sounds pretty tasty.
Gingerbread Trees with Lemon Icing
Ingredients for the cookies: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled); 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon coarse salt; 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg; 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
Ingredients for the icing: 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar; Sanding or coarse sugar
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high until creamy, 3 minutes. Add egg and beat to combine. Add molasses and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. With a sharp knife or cookie cutter, cut dough into small 2-inch-wide triangles. Arrange triangles, 1 inch apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are firm and golden at edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
To make icing, combine lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Drizzle icing over cooled cookies and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
Calling for Christmas Cookie Recipes — 2011
Calling for Christmas Cookie Recipes — 2010
