Noodle Necklaces from my big girl

Eldest sent me a sweet letter from college today, and it included a drawing. She was apologetic about that drawing, and likened it to the noodle necklaces she made for me when she was in pre-school. Here is what she wrote next:

It is surprising how much college resembles pre-school: crying for mommy, crossing the street without looking for cars, the necessity of snack time, not caring how stupid we look all bundled up with big mittens, playing in the snow, going over to your friend's house and puking, taking naps, and the excitement over a grilled cheese sandwich. And, don't forget, the truly awful handmade gifts (like noodle necklaces)!


This is a random picture I just found on the web (searching for "noodle necklaces", of course), and it does remind me alot of my blond little pre-schooler eons ago. That same intent concentration on the job at hand -- now she applies it to her Engineering degree.

For the record, I LOVED every noodle necklace and Christmas ornament, drawings then and now, the early pottery (where it's your guess as to whether it's a candlestick or a holder for a single pencil), and of course the wonderful pottery she now makes!

Here is my noodle artist all grown up.

In High School, she got a notion to sport dreadlocks -- and we let her. Some of the other moms asked "How could you?!?" Our rule for teens is they're allowed to rebel within reason, such as experiment with fashions that are not permanent (such as tattoos) -- but hair grows! So here are the "before" and "after" dreadlock fotos.



For the record, the dreadlocks only lasted for half a year -- she was on the swim team that semester, and dreads proved a bit cumbersome. I missed those dreads, though... They fit her earthy personality very well (Even though I never had dreadlocks myself, I can see that some of my Granola mama ways have definitely rubbed off on her).

Her nickname from that time was "Medusa".

Nocturnal Animals

There are a few creatures stirring in the night at our house in the wee hours of this morning: humans who cannot sleep, and our new pet, Licky! On Christmas morning Liesl finally got her wish fulfilled -- she had wanted a pet for a long time! We got her a Leopard Gecko, an easy to care for reptile that's also a lot of fun. He/she (juvenile - gender yet undetermined) eats insects, and you should see him hunt the live crickets: he stalks them and then pounces!

Liesl has been very busy with her new pet: besides reading and learning all about her new pet "Mom, did you know that geckos lick their eyeballs?", she has been rearranging the interior of the tank numerous times with logs, rocks and hiding spots. She's worriedly anticipating his first shedding, and is concerned about feeding him a healthy diet "Too many waxworms are not healthy because they're too high in fat -- it's like us eating too much bacon."

Well, rest assure, this little lizard will be well cared for!

Ghosts (photos) of Christmases Past

This year Eldest stayed in Montana for Christmas, and we miss her, of course! We'll be getting together with her after the New Year on a family vacation in sunny Lake Tahoe (California/Nevada). So, in the meantime, here are some photos from Christmases past.

Christmas Eve with all 3 kids. Eldest is reading the Nativity Story aloud. Looks like they already set out a treat for Santa Claus: the American tradition is to set out a plate of cookies with a glass of milk, but by the time Santa Claus makes it to Alaska, we figure he's tired of sweets and would prefers a refreshing beer (he's partial to India Pale Ale).

Our good friends from Mountainpulse always come over to join in some Christmas Cheer!

FOOD: Christmas baking at our house is heavily influenced by our respective cultural backgrounds: German and Scandinavian. But Christmas dinners are less so: no pickled herring or lutefisk at our house! Instead we've developed our own traditions based on what we like, and it so happens that we like it spicy!
On Christmas Eve (and New Year's Eve too), our family always eats Cajun Gumbo and Alaskan King Crab. It's delicious! On Christmas Day we always eat smoked turkey. We all LOVE turkey, and I think the left-overs are the best: turkey soup with dumplings, and, of course, making the next batch of spicy gumbo a couple of days after Christmas (or Thanksgiving, or Easter)...
Here Eldest is cooking the roux for a giant batch of gumbo. Of all her many talents I have to say she's a wonderful cook, quickly surpassing her parents' skills.

Here's wishing ya'll a merry Christmas, good eats and good cheer!

The violinist

Meet the young violinist. Youngest played a Minuet by J.S.Bach at the Christmas Recital a couple of days ago-- and she sounded great! She has gained so much confidence in the year and a half that she's been playing. She's just about outgrown her 3/4 size violin, so we're on the look-out for a new instrument (it's one thing when they outgrow their jeans every semester, but this one's a little pricier...)

Below are pictures from the day she first got her violin. There she is learning how to hold her instrument and bow -- so many things to concentrate on! I am just amazed at how quickly these young people are learning: it is such a JOY to watch them master new skills!

BRAVO, girl, you've come a long way!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Winter Solsctice celebrates the shortest day of the year, and we had a big celebration at the Nature Center. It was a busy day getting ready, and teaching people how to make lanterns. When it got dark, I was asked to lead the lantern parade down the trail to a great bonfire, where we sang songs, and roasted marshmallows and hot dogs. I did not get any official count, but we probably had around 150 people, which is a lot for our little Nature Center.

After 2 am tonight, our days will be getting longer again, YEAH!!!
The picture above was not taken today, but rather one month ago: one of the last times I saw the sun from our house shining through that notch -- since Thanksgiving the sun has been hiding behind those mountains. Around January 15th it will start shining through that notch again -- can't wait!!!

So for many thousands of years, people of the Northern latitudes have celebrated the return of the sun with special ceremonies: the Christmas tree tradition is one of them. Ours is looking festive, with all the lights and ornaments, and, in a rather unique touch dating from the Prof's college days: the Pink Panther with angel wings sits on top!



Here's a very German Christmas item that I brought into the family: the Rauchermaennchen (Smoking Man). He's basically an incence burner, and I inherited him from my maternal grandfather -- can you see the smoke coming out of his mouth?

The other incence burner, the Skihuette (Ski hut), I bought for my husband when we moved here: the smoke comes out of the chimney. When we burn "Tannenduft", it smells like Weihnachten in the Old Country to me!
Isn't it interesting how smells can elicit some of the oldest memories -- the smell of Frankencense incense (Weihrauch) will instantly take me back to being a child in church at High Mass on Christmas Eve.

A dark little secret: I like to grade tests!

The prof had a pile of final exams to grade, and asked me if I would "pretty please" help him with the task -- he still had a backlog of homeworks to grade. And so we spend the morning at the dining room table, listening to Bach's Christmas Oratorio, grading away. I do actually LIKE to grade papers (up to a point -- bad handwriting and lousy grammar do get to me after a while!).

I had the smoothest red ballpoint pen in my hand, and, oooh -- it did such a fine job when I found a glaring mistake and got to cross out incorrect answers -- I found myself marking them up with glee! Yup, the dirty little secret is out: there's a part of me that does enjoy the occasional session with the RED PEN.

But then, ugh, there were bills to be paid, and the checkbook to be balanced, and that was not nearly as much fun -- perhaps I should have used a different color...

Festivals of light in the season of darkness

My assignment for this week: making a bunch of these!


It's only one more week until Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. We definitely celebrate that here in Alaska -- our days are so short now that people are much more atuned to day-length (or shortness, as it may be).
At home, we've got out advent wreath on the dining room table, with three candles lit tonight: only one more Sunday before Christmas. On Saturday morning, December 13th, we celebrated Santa Lucia, a tradition from Scandinavia where the oldest daughter dresses up as Santa Lucia with a wreath of candles on her head, bringing trays of baked goods. Liesl has inherited this important job when Eldest left for college, and she stayed up late with her brother the night before baking German Lebkuchen (literally "Cakes of Life"), which are basically gingerbread. They were yummy, and nevermind the mess they left in the kitchen!


Next weekend the Nature Center holds it's big SOLSTICE event, and I'll be busy getting ready this week. First, I make a ton of ice lanterns for around the building and paths (instructions follow). Then I guide craft programs making lanterns for the lantern walk: we have a procession to a big bonfire where we all sing songs, roast hot-dogs and celebrate the return of the sun.
The Lantern Walk idea was imported from Germany by our founders, who witnessed Sankt Martin's Day parades when they lived in Heidelberg.
All over the world people celebrate the season of darkness by making light, such as Hannukah or lantern festivals in China. Here's a picture from the Philippines of one the ornate Christmas lanterns I remember from living there.

Here's how I'll be spending my week making ice lanterns:
#1: The yoghurt container Method:
Fill a bunch of 32 oz containers with water and place outside. It helps if it's NICE and COLD. Right now it's hovering in the low single-digits (so for you Europeans, it's minus 15 C). Let freeze for 5 hours or so (if it's seriously below 0F you may get away with 4 hrs; at 10F will need at least 6 hrs; if it's hovering in the upper 20's, you probably need all day or night 8-10hrs). Test a couple before bringing them all inside -- if they break handling (sides are too fragile), then give them more time in the great outdoors!

I do this next step at the sink: Run some warm water to loosen ice -- then invert (TOP will become bottom of lantern) as the bottom is the weakest spot. Using a sharp kitchen knife, punch thru ice at the weak spot, then keep on widening/carving the circle until it's large enough to put a candle inside. Empty the ice-cold water, and rinse with some warm/hot water to get rid of any sharp ice protrusions.

#2 Balloon Method:
Fill birthday-party balloons with water. Stick them in a snowbank with the knot down, or else place on individual plates or bowl -- but don't let them touch. When frozen, bring a couple inside to test. Again, the weakest point is the bottom. Cut and peel off the plastic balloon, and using a sharp knife, make a hole at the bottom to drain the water.
My husband invented a great way for the next step: Heat a heavy duty pan on the stove and "melt" off the jagged edge until you have the desired sized opening.
Also, you can use pan for flattening the other end: the ice is really thick there, and you may want it flat to be able to place lantern on a level surface. Otherwise, just stick the wobbly lanterns in the snow!

HINT: If you're making a great # at a time, wear Refrigiwear gloves!