The weather outside is frightful

Well, as the post’s title says, the weather was indeed frightful. An impeding sense of doom aka blizzard caused a schedule scramble to happen. Sadly I did not get to spend Christmas with my family as we had planned. A lovely Colorado low sent us an early gift in the form of a blizzard. We could have beaten the storm to my parents but getting back home was the sticking point (and in time for the party WE were hosting).

Turns out it’s the winter for snow thunder, sleet/snow/rain/sleet combos and oodles of snow. Here, we got a lovely foot of snow or so, as I discovered by the shovelful. My parents got an inch of rain and the miles between us got sleet topped with snow. The highways were awful the day we were supposed to have been driving back. Ahh, well. We ended up getting a few little things done and my two days of nothing but deep cleaning the house were somewhat in vain. You win some, you lose some right?

Hooray, for the closet being done! And it turned out wonderful, exactly as I had pictured it. My porch now looks less cluttered and inviting with an air of relaxation. It was a little busy looking before. Sadly I can’t find a 'before' picture. Bummer.

10 steps to host the perfect party

1.       Offer to host the party

2.       Plan to be gone for a couple days right before the party

3.       Have others brings a side dish, veggie platter, etc.

4.       Roast a turkey for the FIRST time

5.       Spend two days deep cleaning the house

6.       Invite a blizzard for a little mayhem, four days before the party

7.       Make delicious krumkake (Scandinavian cookie)

8.       Have guests ‘surprise’ you with three extra side dishes so no eats the creamy mashed potatoes you made

9.       Take out the glass-topped ceramic casserole lovingly housing the now warmed candied sweet potatoes, FORGET it’s 350 degrees F ‘warm’ and take off the glass lid with your hand sans oven mit

10.   Drink a big mug, one a giant would love, of coffee laced with an Irish coffee liquor

11.   Oh, and enjoy the party

I enjoy a well-set table and for the more special dinner parties I put out a nice table cloth, my fancy crystal dishes, linen napkins and delicious food. It’s really a small detail but the little details add up and subtly influence the atmosphere.

The party was fun, food was enjoyed, I burned my fingers and great coffee was had. We played our gift exchange to a ‘Left, Right’ story and each gift was apropos for the person it matched up with in the end. Our new friend of the family and honorary family member also had a good time and enjoyed the camaraderie.

And now, on to the New Year!

Traditions, closing doors on a closet project and the holiday joy

My track record at actually posting on time (my self-imposed timing) is a bit worse for wear lately. Fine, the last month or so. Anywho. I just stepped up to the plate, er, computer after one last admiring glance at the new closet in the porch. Hooray! It will happen, the ‘being done on time’ part. Tonight we’ll hang one door on the track. The other door is still drying from its last coat of espresso colored stain; that, and we don’t have the other set of pulleys yet. Apparently it’s hard to find three inch pulleys in stock (of the style we have on the other door). 

Once I find the support brackets for the closet coat hanger rail, we’ll install in that too. Wish me luck on my hunt for that tomorrow! Oh yes, pictures. I’ll post pictures in the next post of the ‘after.’ If I can find a ‘before,’ that will be included as well. My hubby did well with his carpentry and mad math skills and I’ll admit to lounging and watching him work. And then before I knew it, it was my turn to work. Uff da, that really sneaks up on a person. And that varnish stuff that I was using, is quite smelly. The fumes will intoxicate you and leave you feeling like you’re exhaling fumes for several hours afterwards. Yes, I had and have a fan running. In deference to winter and the extreme negative temperatures here, I opened the door periodically for a fresh air exchange.

While I completed the final coat of varnish on the closet cabinet doors and stained a door, my hubby was in town shopping. By himself. Semi voluntarily, haha. Ah well, I think he survived the experience. What can I say? He had some Christmas shopping to do.

It’s interesting trying to carve out new and similar Christmas traditions when you get married and start a new chapter in life. My family would always watch Christmas movies together the night before Christmas Eve and on Christmas Eve and sometimes Christmas night, if we didn’t have any family gatherings to attend.  The Grinch (animated and live), Christmas with the Kranks, and  Elf are just a few of the favorites we watch. Of course, I’m a complete and total sucker for the uber cheesy, cringe-worthy, sappy, made-for-tv Christmas movies. Sadly, since I don’t have cable or satellite and with slightly unworthy wifi, the only cheesy holiday movies I watch are those that I have on DVD.  My other half has willingly watched some of those movies with me but I suspect he does it only because he knows it makes me happy.  Aww.

This year we’re doing Christmas here and there; and while we visit my parents we’ll also squeeze in a party with the grandparents and the great aunts and uncles. Time with friends? Most likely unlikely, as they’ll be busy with their own family holidays and traditions. But I’ll send a text with a holiday greeting as we always do. 

Of course, mom will make lutefisk, a holiday delicacy. Note, it’s best eaten with tons of butter and hint of salt and pepper. If you don’t like it, it’s most likely due to it was not properly cooked; and by cooked, I mean, boiled. Baked gives an unsatisfactory result. It’s a very delicate fish, you must handle it with the proper respect and finesse in order to cook it to perfection. My little sister just might make more lefse but she and I did make a decent amount at Thanksgiving so we might be good. The meal isn’t replete without a little ham thrown in for the non-lutefisk lovers (those rascals!), mashed potatoes and gravy, pie and a veggie platter. I was toying with the idea of making lefse for the hubby’s fam party we’re hosting. However, I lack the pastry cloth to roll the dough out on and the pastry slip-on cover for the rolling pin. And a lefse stick, that’s absolutely essential. Maybe the hubby will surprise me with the lefse gear? We’ll see. 

What are some of your holiday traditions?

The joys of the holiday

It’s Christmas time, right? The time of year when the malls are crowded with hoardes of people in search of the perfect gift, amazing ‘sales’, and holiday songs fill the air 24-7. It may also be that time when people (okay, women) let crazy ideas take over, try to do too much and generally get a little crazy. Okay, fine, a LOT crazy. 

Well… I may or may not fit into that category. Twist my arm, why dontcha?! Here’s how I fell down the rabbit hole.

My husband’s family doesn’t really have a family Christmas celebration. They’re involved in the local Christmas dinner banquet, helping host or serve. I, on the other hand, LOVE Christmas. My family has several different traditions (see me next week!). I couldn’t bear the thought of no real celebration, early or late, with his family. Family isn’t around forever and I want to make the most of the holidays while the grandparents are still with us. 

Our Charlie Brown tree

This is our first REAL Christmas. Last year, well, not so much. We had no decorations, I had two suitcases of clothes to my name and I was in a different country. Eh? So I count this year as our first real Christmas. We have a real tree; apparently everyone in this area prefers the fake type of tree. Well, last year, we had a baby faux Charlie Brown tree. This year, the tree is awesome.

Right around Thanksgiving I started brainstorming ideas for decorating. Pintrest is my new best friend. My poor hubby adores that site with all his heart (sarcasm anyone?). I, true to my Scandinavian roots, decided to go with a Nordic-styled tree décor. With a few of my childhood ornaments thrown in as well. 

Every time I go to town for groceries or a bit of shopping or what have you, I pick up a few holiday decorations. It’s best to slowly build one’s stash of holiday décor. It looks more like several small, nice sized bites on the budget when I do the books. Ha. 

Then I decided that I couldn’t possibly stand the mish mash décor style of my porch, one of the few rooms untouched (before my reign in the house). So, thankfully due to my long-range thinking, I still had paint left over from when I painted the garage. Intentionally.  Hehe. I used the same color scheme in the porch as I had in the garage. Then to add a bit of interest I stenciled a Dala horse - flower - moose border around the walls. A nod to heritage and my new country.

My hubby thought the porch was done and could go back to normal. Not so! I looked at this one wall that just had coat hooks on it and all the space in the porch that was going unused. And then I thought of how little storage space this house has. Naturally, I came to the conclusion that we should build a closet in the porch. ‘We’ should build. I mean, we already had two doors we could use. It’s just a matter of building the walls and putting a track and hooks on for the doors. I, of course, will be in the shop sanding down the doors and painting them a different color; seeing as how they're stained different colors. Sliding doors are more efficient in this case, especially if you have several people in the porch. 

Then came the added caveat: I would like the closet done and the porch completely wrapped up, ‘done, ma’am, done!’ style BEFORE the Christmas party with his family. The same party that will be hosted at our house. OUR. House.

 

Our Nordic-inspired tree :)

Uff da. Now when I think about it and all the cooking (do not mention the cleaning!) to do, I kind of wonder what I got myself into. On the bright side, it’s all done before the holidays and after the new year I can get into the shop to build another set of end tables. Then if we were to actually go for a holiday somewhere warm, it’s one less project that needs to be done before spring aka a new work season. 

Oh, and bonus, we really only have two weeks in which to get this project done. Yes, it has to be done before Christmas since we’ll be with my family for a few days on Christmas and come back just in time to cook, clean and throw a party. What better way to throw a party?

Uff. Da.

Two weeks + build a closet + put track doors on = ?

Will we get it done?

P.S.  Holiday cards are a crazy business. Eh?!

One year survivor mark

Today is one of those days that shall stand apart from the rest, if not due to great style (can a day have style?!), then most certainly due to the lack of memorable events. 

Yes, it’s Cyber Monday. (I realize I’m a week late but keep reading, you’ll understand soon enough.)

We had celebrated American Thanksgiving with my family and it was only the third time I’d driven to the states that month. Ya, I like putting on miles?! (I’ve realized, with a bit of juggling – and counting of fingers… okay, toes too, that my beloved dream truck will only last me about five more years – should the miles be kind to it. Tear.) Focus, sorry. We had the quintessential turkey and all the fixings, minus the cranberry sauce, Mom thought a break from the norm would be lovely and put lingonberry sauce on the table instead. If that doesn’t show your (cultural) roots, well color me Swede then. The men retreat to the football game, which really is an excuse to not talk and sleep with your eyes open. I wonder if they perfected that skill in college? The ladies stack plates and completely dismiss any further cleaning, on the slim thread of reason that an old family friend had yet to join festivities. Ah, it was well worth it. The old darling was so pleased to be included and to see everyone. Let’s be honest, she was more excited to see me than anyone else. :)

 

Usually the day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday (even in Canada there’s Black Friday, odd given how they celebrate Thanksgiving the month previous, eh there’s not enough coffee in the world right now to caffeinate that logic). I like to go Black Friday shopping. 

My quick rules to survival:

Surviving Black Friday shopping (with all your limbs and sanity) intact

1.       Don’t go. (If you were smart, you’d notice that ‘sale’ prices are just as decent earlier in the year. Don’t get me started on that rant.)

2.       Go early in the morning. The crazies are more ‘cautious’ in their driving if it’s still dark out. (Trust me, their driving skill rapidly deteriorates as the sun climbs in the sky.)

3.       Avoid the main mall at all costs.

4.       Save your sanity!

5.       AVOID the mall (you’re not listening)

6.       Rather, find another shopping center with a few big box stores.

7.       Park in the boonies, you and your car will be scratch free

8.       On second thought, park by a light post or something solid and heavy that the crazies will instinctively avoid. But not by the dumpster, that’s just nasty. (Somehow they’re always off scot-free and you are the one with the repair bill.)

9.       Buy a venti, large, whatever floats your sleepy brain cells coffee

10.   Park your bum on a nice bench

11.   People watch!

12.   Warning! Warning! The sun is coming up and people are waking from their nightly hibernation (okay, okay, sleep) and yet more people, er, crazies, are out driving

13.   Escape the madness!

14.   Arrive home. Safe. Count your limbs, make sure they’re all there. Double check vehicle for scratches.

15.   Go ride your horse (with orange on, those crazy hunters will shoot anything that moves).

  

   Interestingly enough, I found Menards to be a great place to people watch this year. Normally I favor Target (great location, NOT near the mall and it has a Starbucks). I used to think it was a joking myth that families go Black Friday shopping and they all have maps with specific areas and items assigned. Nope. This is confirmation that is a fact, not myth. My husband saw the Menards ad and really wanted to go. So we took my dad with too, haha. He’s so tall you can see him just about anywhere.

My mom and I went to Hobby Lobby later that afternoon, hoping the craziness would have died down a little. Nope. I was conservative in my shopping, only shopping off my list and a mental budget. My hubby on the other hand… ya check out the photo in this post. Uff. Da. Eh.

We were supposed to leave Saturday. Then a call from his dad changed the blast off day to Monday morning. This way we could check out the auction of farm equipment in City1 (that was to be held later in the week) and stop in at the auction going on Monday in City2 in our journey back to Canada. Eh. Hubby agrees, turns to me and says I should be thrilled with this change.

I’m over here wondering if it’s worth it to make the drive back by myself. It wasn’t just Cyber Monday Monday but as in Monday-our-FIRST-anniversary Monday. Yeah… 

I think my dad figured that out faster than my hubby did. Oops. 

Okay, so part of these shenanigans is my fault. When we had talked earlier about how to celebrate I said I didn’t care if we went somewhere but I wanted to have a nice dinner out and wine at home later (I haven’t been feeling well). Well, we went somewhere, check. Nice dinner out, never happened. Wine at home, check.  

Our first anniversary, which I did NOT want to spend doing the everyday normal went exactly as that. Of course, with the added bonus of driving through an auction lot and spending the day on the road driving back. My hubby did surprise me that morning though with a sneaky attack of morning cuddles and kisses and popping a jewelry case in my face with the most gorgeous birth stone pendant necklace. (He had ‘freaked’ the day previous, saying he hadn’t gotten me anything. I’d said it was ok, I had everything I wanted – him. Aww.) 

The one year survivor mark came and went with no special memories of where we went or what we did. A lone necklace had to carry all that weight. I still question if my father in-law even had a clue of what he was asking that day, it most certainly wasn’t a favor to me (to get ‘more’ time with my family). When friends ask how we celebrated our first; I say we spent the whole day on the road, it was raining, we drove through an auction lot and it was dark (not hard to do this time of year, ha) when got home in the evening and it was like any other night. No resentment there, right?

How to NOT spend your first anniversary:

1.       See above two paragraphs

2.       Read CAREFULLY the above two paragraphs

3.       Have a plan!

4.       Have a little surprise

5.       No really, see above two paragraphs for guidance on ‘how NOT to’

Life is a grand one, full of ups and downs, twists and turns. I have my partner for life, that’s all that really matters, but take time to celebrate those special markers. Eh

(Copy and paste has ruined my formatting of this post, oh well, I'm off to get coffee. Cheers!)