Christmas at Wellington 2011

Our second Christmas in Wellington was memorable in so many ways.  Regular readers will remember the pine cone bird saga.  On a walk with The Hub, I found this pine cone half buried in the dirt.  When I picked it up it was already shaped like a delightful bird, with the "beak" in front rather than on top, like a normal pine cone.  I flocked it and made some feet out of heavy gauge wire.  When The Little Boy came home from sleep away school he let me steal this tiny hat off of his caramel apple.  You know your son loves you if he doesn't make a fuss when you steal the tiny hat off of his caramel apple.  And now my pine cone bird has a friend!  The Dot's bird that she bought at Romancing the Home.  Are they a cute little pair?



Here is a little section of the Glitter House village.  That's mini Wellington on the far left.  The pink house in front was the first Glitter House I made.  The church on the right was purchased at an after-Christmas sale last year.  And I bought some teeny tree lights at Benicia Bay Company to light up my bristle trees.  It was really cute.  (There is one more purchased Glitter House not pictured that is on the left.)

Here is the view looking through the French Doors from the library.

This is how the Christmas Cake turned out this year.  I put it on this little Christmas platter then covered it with a glass bowl, to keep the dust off.  It looked like a huge snow globe.  I was very happy with it.  We brought it to The Hub's brother's house on Christmas and left it there for them to enjoy.  It's iced with a layer of marzipan, then royal icing.  (Seriously, it's good.  But we prefer ours bald.)

This is a present I got from my dear friend, Cindy.  It's so perfect for me because not only do I collect tea pots, but I love birds.  This teapot has a chickadee painted on the front, and on the tray below, plus it has a little chickadee handle.  Very cute!

Here is our Christmas dinner table that we enjoyed on Christmas Eve since we went to The Hub's brother's house for Christmas dinner.  Last year, The Dot bought these crackers and we each got two!  Mine smelled like crayons and when I opened it, it had crayons inside!  The Hub got a harmonica.  The Dot got a magic trick and The Little Boy got a metal ring puzzle.  I can't remember the rest, but they were fun.  We wore the paper hats too. 

People who have known me a while will recall that I make a new stocking for The Hub every year.  It all started in about 1984 or 1985 when I discovered that he didn't have a stocking of his own.  We were just dating then.  I made him a little stocking out of felt.  The next year I made him another stocking and a tradition was formed.  This year I think it's about the 26th or 27th stocking.  Plus I made one for each of the kids the year they were born.  The stocking above is this year's stocking.  It's reverse applique, white underneath.  The holly is attached with two red jingle bells - one tiny and one medium-tiny.  There's also a little Santa-shaped bell hanging from under the cuff on the right by the ribbon loop.  You can't see it too well in this picture.  It look like a little snowflake, but it's a Santa bell I bought when The Dot and I went to the Dickens Christmas Faire in San Francisco earlier this month.  Of course Santa filled this stocking to over-flowing.  The Hub is spoiled.

Here is our Christmas tree.  It's beautiful!  It is very full with a kind of flat top that was perfect for our topper - a white metal rocking horse strung with white twinkly lights.  It used to be a table top decoration but one year The Hub strung lights through it and shoved it on top of the tree and there it has stayed, year after year.

And now I'm trying to learn all of my new electronics, which include an espresso maker (thanks Hub), a portable DVD player (thanks Sis) and a fabulous mp3 player (thanks Dot).  I'm always tempted to wing it when it comes to electronics, but it seems that they just get more and more complicated and I would miss out on all of their features if I didn't take the time to learn them.  So that is what I'm doing this week in between eating all the delicious food, trying to roll myself off the couch and sucking in my pot belly as The Hub walks by.  Luckily New Years Resolutions are right around the corner.

Christmas in Benicia

I have never lived in a place that does Christmas as well as Benicia.  Last weekend was the Christmas Tree Lighting which I would like to proclaim as a huge success.  Here are the pics to prove it.

Many of the shops on 1st Street had beautiful displays.  This is the Camelia Tea Room.

Here is the Blue Goose Antique Store.

Sailor Jack's.

The end of 1st Street where the palm trees along the water are decked out in twinklies.

The Depot with the holiday crowd.  You can't see it, but they're there.  The Youth Commission was treating everyone to cookies and cider.  You could buy wine if you wanted.

And the finale:  The Tree Lighting.  Accompanied by Kris Kringle and the Mistletoes.  They were very festive.  A good time was had by all.

Arbor Walk in Autumn, and the Santa Ana Winds

Some people may not believe it, but it's autumn in Benicia. It's December 2. Almost winter, even. But if you were in Benicia you would think it was May. It was 74° today. SEVENTY-FOUR. It's on account of what I like to call the Santa Ana Winds.

For those of you who don't live in California, Santa Ana Winds, according to the US National Weather Service are "Strong down slope winds that blow through the mountain passes in southern California. These winds, which can easily exceed 40 mph, are warm and dry and can severely exacerbate brush or forest fires, especially under drought conditions." They come from Southern California all the way up here to Northern California. Wednesday was cold, cold, cold. I got home from the gym and almost froze to death before I could change out of my damp clothes. It took me forever to warm up. I finally had to take a bath (rats) in Wellington's soaker tub. It's a jetless Jacuzzi. It's deep and contoured and I love it way too much.  My second favorite is the rain shower head.  Then, Wednesday night when I went outside, the winds had started up and they were warm.  It's probably 20° warmer today. And tomorrow will be 20° cooler.

But for now, we're reveling in the mild climate.  We're spending every possible moment outside.  Dot and I walked downtown (some of us bought some vintage ornaments, pics to follow), the cat is lying on the warm porch.  And later this evening is the Benicia Christmas Tree Lighting.  I'm thinking there will be a great turnout this year.  Last year, which was our first in Benicia, we went a little late.  We missed most of the ceremony.  Mostly what we got was rollicking hoodlums showing off for each other and forgetting that other people are trying to walk down the street, for crying out loud.
Fingers crossed that they've either learned better manners or they'll be busy elsewhere because Dot and I are going!

These are pictures of the Arbor Walk in Autumn.  As loyal readers will recall, this is the first autumn for the Arbor Walk and I'm happy to report that it is chock-full of autumnal beauty.

The persimmon tree was beautiful but was disappointingly leafless by the time I took the pictures.  All the reds in these photos come from the snowball bushes and the weeping Japanese Maples.

And what's up with this Daphne?  Blooming in December?  That aloe is from Morningsun Herb Farm and is very happy in this little succulent patch.

The magnolia is still very happy, even though it's no longer blooming.  He needs a rest now and then so he can grow big and tall.  Not too tall, though, since he's outside my kitchen window.

I'm going to go see if I can locate The Dot and drag her downtown for the tree lighting.  She's a little disappointed in the weather on account of being a stickler for weather acting the way it's supposed to.  She would like chilly and foggy.  I'd rather be comfortable and pretend it's winter at Wellington.

Seriously Martha Stewart

Seriously, Martha Stewart? 

It's the day before Thanksgiving, and I just got the 1995 Martha Stewart Christmas book at the library.  The Dot and I love to look at Christmas Craft books at Christmas.  That might seem obvious, but one of us (I'm not saying which) would look at Christmas Craft books on Veterans Day.  Alright, both of us would.  But since Christmas is almost here, the time seemed right.

I'm sure there are plenty of great ideas in this book.  There are lots of festive pictures and illustrated instructions.  And I do my fair share of baking, sewing, knitting and general crafting, so I'm not easily put off.  But, come on.

On page 15 she shows a very nice swag made of green, red and orange leaves.  Perfect.  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'm decorating Wellington, so maybe I'll give this one a shot.  In the first sentence, you're told that this is a "more temporary decoration".  You simply use very fresh leaves (because they soon start wilting and you have to throw it away), take some green cotton thread and sew the leaves together.  One by one.  Then throw it away.  Because it will look like lawn-rakings.

I love the succulent wreath.  But you have to buy a wire frame and a huge bunch of "sphagnum moss", which you then have to soak overnight (I'm already lost because I don't have the attention span.)  The next day if you didn't already lose interest (I did), you put some soil on top of the moss and frame, then wrap the moss around it, tie it with wire, then poke holes all around the moss.  It isn't until this point that she mentions that your "cuttings" (where do you get these "cuttings"?) should be "callused."  So I should have stolen them from my neighbors last week and I didn't.

There's one page that shows a lovely fruit-themed tree.  She has actually tied real grapes onto this tree with ribbon.  My grapes are already moldy and I just bought them yesterday.  There's no way I'm going to have a moldy-fruit-themed tree in my house and it isn't just on account of the ants.  What's Christmassy about that?

The cookie recipes are doable.  I'll probably give them a try.

On page 76, Martha explains how to make a "Keepsake Box".  It's a lovely gold pyramid with a bead and ribbon coming out the top.  I think you put stuff inside.  I could put one of my truffles inside and give it to the neighbor whose cuttings I stole for the sphagum-moss wreath.  Step 1:  using a compass (??), draw a circle with a 2" radius on cardboard.  From the center, mark five 72° segments on the perimeter with a protractor.  (More gibberish here.)  "Open compass the length of one side, place its point at b and draw an arc.  From c draw an arc intersecting the first . . . extend a straight line from center a through d to point e 9 inches from a . . . "  I'm not kidding.  There's more, and it includes an X-Acto knife.  And this is all just step one.  I'm not that desperate for a truffle box.

But, the best bit in the book, better than making your own candles, using potatoes for rubber stamps or sewing your gift bags closed with a needle and thread, is the Acorn Box.  First of all, you have to decide what you can give someone that would fit inside an acorn.  Then:  "Gently remove the cap from a newly fallen acorn.  Carve out the white circle underneath and remove the soft meat . . wrap fine-grade sandpaper around a pencil eraser and smooth the inside . . STAIN THE OUTSIDE WITH WOOD STAIN . . . select a cork that snugly fits . . . "  Seriously?


Here's a link to Martha's Thanksgiving site.  In her defense, this book is from 1995.   Her publications seem to have become more practical lately for some reason.

Gobble gobble.

Christmas Cakes!

For the past 25 years I have been using a Christmas Cake recipe from The Farmhouse Kitchen by Mary Norwak.  This book is so old, I can't find a picture of it online and since I'm too lazy to take a picture and upload it, you'll just have to imagine.  I found this book on a sale table in front of a grocery store in about 1986.  It's absolutely delightfully chock full of English photos and English recipes that require translation. 

The messiest page is 209 which includes Special Christmas Cake.  (For those who don't cook:  messy = well used.)  Interestingly, it also includes Miss Pedeltys Christmas Cake which I haven't tried.  Yet.  Even though it has a much more whimsical name.  I have a feeling Miss Pedelty was a teetotaler.  I notice a lack of (much) brandy in that recipe, which means that I probably won't be trying it.  Because you absolutely have to have brandy in your Christmas Cake or else, what's the point?  Not only that, but you make them early and let them ripen in a puddle of brandy.  So there.

It's not so much a puddle as a basting

UPDATE:  One of my loyal readers has written and requested Miss Pedelty's Christmas Cake (see comments below) so I am publishing it here.  I'm sorry if I'm in violation of copyright laws but this person has tried in vain to find the recipe.  So here it is:

8 oz butter

8 oz Demerara sugar

5 eggs

10oz plain flour

2 oz ground almonds

8 oz sultanas

8 oz currants

4 oz peel

4 oz glace cherries

2 oz chopped almonds

1 tsp mixed spice

1 grated orange rind

1 grated lemon rind

1.5 fl oz rum

1/4 pint milk

Mix like the previous cake (cream together butter and sugars til light and fluffy.  Beat eggs well and add gradually with a little of the sifted flour and spices.  Fold in the rest of the ingredients.  Turn into prepared tin and make a slight hollow in the center.) bake for 2.5 to 3 hours at 325° F, 170° C, gas mark 3.  This makes a nice Christmas cake which will keep moist for a long time.

And since I put that recipe in, I may as well include the recipe I use, which is called:

Special Christmas Cake (In parenthesis I have included the conversion and doubled the recipe, which is the way I make mine every Christmas)

10oz butter (2 1/2 C)

5 oz caster sugar (1 1/4 C)

5 oz light soft brown sugar (1 1/4 C)

5 eggs (10)

12 oz plain flour, sifted (3 C)

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (1 t)

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon (1 1/2 t)

8 oz currants (2 C)

8 oz sultanas (2 C)

8 oz seedless raisins (2 C)

4 oz glace cherries - quartered (1 C)

4 oz chopped candied peel (1 C)

1 lemon (2)

4 oz chopped walnuts (1 C)

2 T brandy (4 T)

Grease and line an eight-inch tin (2 tins) and tie a band of brown paper round the outside. (Follow steps from above recipe.) Bake at 300° F, 150° C, gas mark 2 for two hours, then reduce heat to 275° F, 140° C, gas mark 1 for two hours.  Cover top with a sheet of paper if getting too brown.  Keep for three weeks before cutting.  This makes a lovely moist cake.

So I made my Christmas Cakes a couple of weeks ago, dribbled brandy all over them and wrapped them up.  That's when I noticed that sometime between moving out of the old house we had lived in for 21 years, moving to our interim residence, then finally (FINALLY) into Wellington, I seem to have misplaced my Christmas cake tin.  It's not that I didn't make the cakes last year (I did).  I was just on cloud nine and must not have noticed the tins were missing.  But this year I've noticed and there can only be two explanations.  1.  they're in the garage somewhere; 2.  The Hub donated them to someone else.  I'm guessing #2.  It's my belief that you can never have too many tins, and in this belief I am apparently alone when it comes to my marriage.  So I say it's time to shop for a new old tin.  Until then, they are napping in my Tupperware cake keeper.  I have a feeling that's where last year's cakes spent a good part of their holiday season, but it's mostly a blur so I can't be sure.

Speaking of Christmas Cakes, I am currently reading a book entitled An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor.  It's very evocative which is the whole point of Christmas stories.  One scene in this book deals with the cook showing a woman how she decorates her Christmas Cakes.  I follow a very similar method.   First I roll out a layer of marzipan.  Then I mold it over the cake.  Then I make a royal icing and spread it on.  Finally I create a snow scene with tiny Christmas ornaments I save year after year.

But for now, the Christmas Cakes are ripening in the pantry in my Tupperware container.  I'll add an update once they're decorated which should be around December 20.  Or if I manage to find new tins.  (For those who aren't British:  Christmas Cake = fruit cake.)  (I'm only British by marriage.)  (But I'm counting it, especially at Christmas.)

Quonset Hut Update 2

Readers of The Blog will remember that around the corner on East K Street, there is construction going on!  This is our gorgeous, historic City Hall building.  There used to be two quonset huts in front, so you couldn't even appreciate this architecture.  They have been torn down and the parking lot is being rebuilt (see original post here ).  Solar panels are also in the works.  It will be a definite improvement.

It already is.  Because look!  Those are the new steps coming up from East K Street.  It used to be when you walked along East K street you had to move as quickly as possible so as not to be buried under ruble created by the collapse of the damaged retaining walls.  I would say this is way better.

And you can appreciate how gorgeous the old Benicia High School (now our City Hall) truly is!

Autumn Trees

The trees in this post are from my Mom and Sister's house.  I love autumn and I love trees, so it stands to reason that I love autumn trees.  The one above is an elm.  It's at least 40 years old.  Mom has been told it's the oldest elm in the county!

Here are a couple of birch trees.  My sister's favorite.

A Japanese Maple.  They have a lot of these.  One of them I grew from a little baby seed.  It's now six feet tall!  (It's in the back.)

I have no idea what this one is.  There are four in their driveway.  Update:  It's a Chinese Elm.

Here is a view up the street.  Is this so gorgeous?  The tree to the left is a fig tree.  My mom was just telling me that she had recently seen some wild turkeys IN the tree, eating the late-season figs. . .

. . . when suddenly, the turkeys came around the corner! 

It was a beautiful day.