I wrote last December of a muddled Christmas story about Super-Jesus that was told in my family one year, a story that confused my mother. Here is the version of Super-Jesus my mother would have remembered from her childhood: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustusthat the […]
Continue readingTag Archives: Christmas
Playing Board Games With Adonis
My siblings and I spent much of our holiday vacations playing games. No one in my family is particularly athletic, but we are cutthroat at cards. And board games. None of us likes to lose. Because the age difference from me to my younger siblings was pretty wide, we had […]
Continue readingGiving Up Divinity
My paternal grandmother’s chocolate fudge and divinity were part of many of my childhood Christmases, along with her fruitcake. I didn’t care for the fruitcake, but I did love the candy. She made two colors of divinity, pink and green. One of the batches she would make without nuts, because […]
Continue readingMaking a List and Checking It Twice
I’ve been making lists since long before I could write. When I was a toddler, my mother, brother and I spent a winter living with my maternal grandparents in Klamath Falls, Oregon. There’s a lot of snow in the winter in Klamath Falls. “Hat, coat, boots,” I announced to whichever […]
Continue readingRocking Through the Ages
I mentioned my pint-sized rocking chair in a recent post. I received the rocker for Christmas when I was a toddler. During my preschool years, the chair sat in the living room of our home. In those years, my father and grandfather often posed me in it for pictures. The […]
Continue readingGive Books by Local Authors
During the Christmas season, we scurry to find our loved ones unique gifts, suited to their personalities and interests. I read recently that the best gifts are not what people would buy themselves, but luxuries or experiences to take them out of their everyday world. See Don’t Be a Lousy […]
Continue readingCelebrate the Fourth Annual “Take Your Kids to a Bookstore Day” on December 7, 2013
My parents never paid money for good grades, but they did pay books. At the end of every quarter, when our report cards came out, my brother and I got to go to the local bookstore and buy a book. I typically chose the latest Bobbsey Twins or Nancy Drew […]
Continue readingMy Daughter and the Bobbie Vehwahwee
Who waits for Black Friday (now called “Thanksgiving evening”) or Cyber Monday? When I was working I did as much of my Christmas shopping on the Monday through Wednesday before Thanksgiving as I could. Maybe the prices weren’t as good, but the stores were less crowded. And that’s what mattered […]
Continue readingThe Haunted Doll House
I’ve written before about the times I built Barbie houses with my father-in-law. The second house we constructed was my daughter’s Barbie Magic Sounds House, which she received the Christmas when she was four. When the holiday celebrations at my in-laws’ that year were over, we brought the house home and […]
Continue readingPear Pineapple Compote Recipe
Did you get too many pears for Christmas? They are a wonderful treat this time of year, but the abundance can be overwhelming. I think pears are best fresh, with a little cheese on the side. But here’s a tasty recipe to use them up before they go bad. Pear […]
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