Leap Year - A New Chance to Make a Difference

Today is an ephemeral ghost... A strange amazing day that comes only once every four years. For the rest of the time it does not "exist.



It basically means a "leap" in time, when the calendar has to be adjusted to make up the extra seconds accumulated over the past three years - a little tune up for our calendar.


But today holds another secret - one of those rare moments of delightful transition and opportunity.

A day of unlocked potential.

Should you or shouldn't you? Could you or couldn't you? Will you or won't you?


Let's use this day to do something different, something daring, something extraordinary, maybe even unlike things you might do on 'regular' days. Take a chance - be more compassionate - love unconditionally - throw caution to the wind - make a drastic change - begin a new path. What will you do today?

Happy New Year

I had decided on my New Year post - and then changed my mind - so here I am - wandering among the months of last year.

With the exception of a very scary start to 2011 it has been a grand year. We started off with rushing Don to the ER exactly one year ago today. When you arrive at the ER and state that you had open heart surgery - they will have you in the examining room in 10 seconds flat - no waiting around. He was in and out of the hospital several times with one extended stay - and ended up with surgery in early April (not heart related) - and then things began to turn around for us and the year showered us with loveliness and happiness.

When we finally started the year (I count it as starting in April - after the medical crises in January and February) we found ourselves the owners of a brand new 2011 KIA Optima. Black and shiny and the most fabulous car we've ever owned. Road trips here we come.


In late spring we got our long awaited new deck - it is 12x24 and we were out on it every chance we could get. Our son-in-law Jay headed up the construction - that guy can lift a 24 foot long 8x12 beam and make it look easy - and our other kids and grandkids pitched right in to help. Not only is it a fabulous deck with a ramp for easy access, it is a reminder of how wonderful our family is to us.















Our summer weather was very late in coming - but when it finally got here (and lasted only about 5 weeks) we enjoyed every minute of it.


The event of the year was the birth of our third grandson - Donald Ray Bayne III - in West Virginia on June 2. He is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen, smiling and laughing all the time and charming everyone he meets.



We didn't get to meet him until October, when we flew to West Virginia to spend two wonderful weeks with them. Now we are hoping to have them come out here - or for us to go back there again - I just can't get enough of sweet babies.


Jahn-Zyel and Ben have been a great delightful part of our year. Jahn learned to sew this year, during the time the deck was being built and he wasn't needed out there to help out. He was an amazingly fast learner and was way ahead of my instructions. (And then for Christmas he got his very own sewing machine).


Ben lost his front teeth this summer and fall - and also learned to read like a whiz. One day we were driving in town and he read the sign on the bank - People's Bank. He asked me why it was called People's bank and I replied that I didn't rightly know. He said - "Grammy, it is because animals don't use it, only people". Well, I should have figured that out myself.


We got to have Ben here several days a week during summer vacation and we made good use of the new deck. We would eat lunch out there almost every day and read books and play games - such a delightful summer. Summer time and grandsons is a great combination! Ben also took swimming lessons this summer at the community pool - with Grammy watching and her camera ever ready.


In September, on a whim, I looked in craigslist for a piano and found the most wonderful 1895 Harrington Piano, almost free. We had it professionally moved (no more piano moving for us) and the boys' old toy room is now becoming my music room. For Christmas Don got me a lovely old piano bench (from 1920) that matches the piano very well. After over 10 years of not having a piano (since we moved to Washington) I now have one and am enjoying it so much. Maybe by next Christmas Lori and and I can play duets for the holidays - me on the piano - Lori on the cello.


Also in September, Jahn started 4th grade in a new school, and Ben started first grade in his much loved Roosevelt School.

September was a huge month - so many happenings we could almost not keep up with them. In September Don and I both had our books published.



Don wrote a training manual for his work with Developmentally Delayed Adults.


My book, Are We Walking To Alaska? is the story of when my family first moved to Alaska when I was only 6, and Alaska was not yet a state. What a thrill it was to receive the final proofs in the mail and to see our books go up for sale. And then in December both books also went up for sale on Kindle. We have indeed had an exciting year.



After we got home from West Virginia it was almost time for the holidays - and what wonderful holidays we had. Ben and Jahn entertained us with their costumes on Halloween - Jahn was a storm trooper and Ben was Batman, with a flashing belt even. Thanksgiving was special - and oh so delicious and then came Christmas.


Baking, eating, visiting, enjoying family and friends - one of our favorite times of the year. Christmas day the boys had so much fun opening their gifts - playing out in the rain with poppers that Grampy had bought for them and wrestling in the bedroom. After dinner our kids and Don pitched in and did all the clean up - I didn't touch one leftover or one dish - what a delightful gift to me it was. I was able to sit and read to the boys (a sneaky, but sweet way they had to keep me out of the kitchen).

And now we come to the end of the year and the beginning of a brand new one. Looking back we see a wonderful year full of family and friends and good times. Looking forward we hope for a happy and healthy new year for all. I've enjoyed wandering back through our fabulous year with you - hope your year was as wonderful.

Winter Solstice

At last the shortest day of the year - a time of celebration and good cheer. The sun is coming back - the days are getting longer - there is hope of spring again - though we have plenty of rain, wind and cold weather - at least is is better than a few years ago, when our world here in NW WA was covered in two feet of snow and more was coming down.

This is one of the favorite celebrations in our family - some are making "sun" cookies with yellow frosting - some are making art that reminds them of spring and sunshine - others are simply enjoying nature and thinking of the good things that have passed through our lives this past year.

Newgrange, in Ireland (Irish: Dún Fhearghusa) is one of the passage tombs in County Meath, one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world and the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites.

Newgrange was built in such a way that at dawn on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, a narrow beam of sunlight for a very short time illuminates the floor of the chamber at the end of the long passageway. This light lasts for 17 minutes on the day of the Winter Solstice. There are many prehistoric sites around the world that are also engineered in this manner.

The Roman midwinter holiday, Saturnalia, was both a gigantic fair and a festival of the home. Merry-making took place, and the halls of houses were decked with boughs of laurel and evergreen trees. Lamps were kept burning to ward off the spirits of darkness. Schools were closed. Friends visited one another, bringing good-luck gifts of fruit, cakes, candles, dolls, jewelry, and incense. Temples were decorated with evergreens symbolizing life's continuity. Many of the modern Christian Christmas traditions were taken from ancient Solstice celebrations, in an attempt to combine the pagan with their beliefs.

In pagan Scandinavia the winter festival was the yule (or juul). Great yule logs were burned, and people drank mead around the bonfires listening to minstrel-poets singing ancient legends. It was believed that the yule log had the magical effect of helping the sun to shine more brightly.

Yule log

A Scandinavian Yule tree - lit with candles.

Mistletoe, which was sacred because it mysteriously grew on the most sacred tree, the oak, was ceremoniously cut and a spray given to each family, to be hung in the doorways as good luck. The celtic Druids also regarded mistletoe as sacred. Druid priests cut it from the tree on which it grew, with a golden sickle, and handed it to the people, calling it All-Heal. To hang it over a doorway or in a room was to offer goodwill to visitors. Kissing under the mistletoe was a pledge of friendship. Mistletoe still has a special place in our Christmas celebrations.

There are great traditions to build on and enjoy this time of year. A wreath is a good place to start - a symbol of the circle of a year. After making the wreath and making wishes for the coming year - it can be placed outdoors. After the new year the wreath can be recycled back to nature - or it can be saved and burned in the Summer Solstice bonfire.

If you like - add some pine cones spread with pnut butter and rolled in bird seeds - to welcome our feathered friends to our homes.

Making desserts is a great way to celebrate - and add birthday candles to the dessert - which often might have the shape of a sun on it. Each family member can light one candle and give a thankful thought about the past year - or a hopeful thought for the coming year.

Big fires in the fireplace - or burning candles if you are not so fortunate to have a fireplace - are both symbolic of the solstice celebration - calling to the sun to come back and shine stronger for a spring and summer of growing food.

Gift giving is a wondeful tradition on the Solstice - either opening one of the many gifts under the tree - or having special gifts in a basket to share with family and friends on this wonderful day.

And baskets of food are often taken to friends and family as part of the Solstice celebration. Don't forget some of those sunny cookies.

And of course singing is a great part of any Solstice celebration - Deck the Halls, and Carol of the Bells are two very significant songs sung at this time of the year. Reminders of our connection with nature and our connection of our past to our future.

We find many of our holiday celebrations come from variations of the ancient celebrations - bringing us all closer together, sharing our celebrations with one another.

Happy Solstice to all - we'd love to hear about your Solstice celebrations.

Christmas Cookies

Today is cookie baking day . . . come in for a cookie and a cup of tea !

. My friend Julie is doing a series of blog posts about Norwegian Cookies that are traditional in her family and I thought I'd post about some of the cookies that we traditionally have for the holidays - though not specific to any nationality - they are favorites that we just couldn't do without every year. Last weekend I finished mixing up three batches of cookies - and have a couple more chilling in the fridge - and yes, recipes are included.

My first and all time favorite is Russian Teacakes. As you might seen in previous posts, growing up in Alaska these cookies were always a big part of the Bishop's Tea at the Bishop's Residence in Sitka, Alaska during Russian Christmas.

RUSSIAN TEACAKES

1	cup butter softened
1/2	cup powdered sugar
1	teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4	cups flour
3/4	cup finely chopped nuts
1/4	teaspoon salt
	Powdered sugar Cream together confectioner's sugar and butter. Add vanilla. Knead in flour by hand until completely mixed. Or if you have a Kitchen Aid Mixer that works just as well. Chill dough for about an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or use parchment paper - my "new" discovery. Roll dough into a ball. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake for about 15 minutes. When baked, dip or roll in confectioner's sugar. Store airtight in layers with waxed paper in between.

THUMBPRINT COOKIES

3/4cup packed brown sugar

1 ½ cup butter softened

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, separated (or 1 egg separated and 1 whole egg)

3cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 cup finely chopped nuts

Jam or jelly

Heat oven to 350ºF.

Mix brown sugar, butter, vanilla and egg yolks (or 1 egg yolk – save the white for later in this recipe - and 1 whole egg) in medium bowl.

Stir in flour and salt until dough holds together.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls.

Beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white.

Roll the cookie balls in chopped nuts. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet, or parchment paper. Press thumb deeply in center of each. Fill the indentation with your favorite jam.

Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, or eat one or two right away – but be careful – that jam is like hot lava.

CRANBERRY PECAN/SHORTBREAD

(for those of you who didn't get this recipe in a previous post) This is a NEW traditionally favorite cookie - simply because it is too good to not make for the holidays.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature (do NOT use margarine)

2/3 cup sugar

1 t. vanilla

2 1/3 cups flour

1/2 t. salt

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Cream the butter until smooth (about 1 - 2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until smooth and creamy (about 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla. Gently stir in the flour and salt just until incorporated.

Fold in the chopped pecans and dried cranberries. (Make sure that the nuts and cranberries are evenly distributed throughout the dough.)

Divide the dough in half. You might have to knead the dough a bit to get it to stick together – this is a rather dry dough. Place the dough on a piece of waxed paper. Smooth and shape the dough into an evenly shaped log that is about 10 inches long and 2 inches wide. Then thoroughly roll the shaped logs in the waxed paper, twist the ends of the paper to seal the logs, and chill for at least two hours, or up to three days. (The logs can also be frozen for about two months. If freezing, it is best to defrost the logs in the refrigerator overnight before slicing and baking.)

Preheat oven to 325, with the rack in the center of the oven. Grease pans or use parchment paper.

Using a thin bladed knife ( I used a good thin, finely serrated knife), slice the logs into ¼ thick cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about ½ inch apart – the cookies don't really spread.

Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 48 shortbread cookies. What I like about these cookies, besides they are the best tasting in the world – is that you mix them up one day and then bake them another, when the kitchen is clean and there is no mixing-up-cookie-dough mess.

Gingerbread Pigs

Here is my favorite recipe for Gingerbread Cookies - online - isn't that handy dandy?!? Or you can use any Gingerbread Cut-out Cookie recipe you like. I found my copper pig cookie cutter many years ago.

These pigs are very popular at our house - got to have that traditional Christmas Pig!

And then there are Sugar Cutout Cookies - but you can find a zillion recipes for those online - or maybe you already have your favorites. Don likes them flavored with Almond Extract.

Today I have baked 10 logs of Summer Sausage, 3 dozen sugar cookies, 2 dozen big Gingerbread Pigs, 3 dozen Pecan/Cranberry Shortbread cookies, dozens of Russian Teacakes, more dozens of Thumbprint cookies with home-made raspberry jam and two loaves of bread for the stuffing on Christmas day - it has been a most excellent day!

And what are your favorite holiday treats?

Christmas Lights

We took a nice drive the other night to look at the Christmas lights - a long time ritual in our family. We've been doing this for over 47 years now.

Here are last year's lights. It is interesting that the houses that had lots of lights last year and not the same ones this year - perhaps the people moved away?

This year we found lots of pretty lights in Ferndale - we'd not been there before to look at the decorations.

One house had lots of wooden painted characters . . .

This one looks like Texas - or Australia . . .

Set on a hill - very pretty . . .

This one turned out prettier when I moved the camera a little, that the one that was in clear focus.

Entering downtown Ferndale - these lighted wreaths lined the streets . . .

These big lights changed color - from blue . . .

to red . . .

to green . . .

Have you been out to look at Christmas lights this year?