Our Version of "A Christmas Carol"

Monkey is very grumpy and does not like holidays - mostly the "holiday guests" part. The Francisco Nyktas Theatre Co. version of one of the best christmas stories stars Monkey as the old miserable Ebeneezer Scrooge. Elvis will play the part of happy-g0-lucky Bob Crachett, with Turtle as Tiny Tim. Merrlyn (my old cat that Monkey replaced, who was also very shy) will visit Monkey as the ghost of Jacob Marley. The Ghost of Christmas Past will be Yorkie, my first dog. Rosie, my sweet, recently passed, golden retriever is the second visitor, the Ghost of Christmas Present. And finally (the kicker) the Ghost of Christmas Future is not any particular animal that has been a pet of ours, but one of the skunks who is often seen foraging in the back yard.

Casting by Steve, Sarah, & Catherine.

Christmas Menu

Well here it is December 23rd, or as my family likes to call it Christmas-Eve-Eve. It's our first Christmas in our new house and so it seemed appropriate that we would host an event here at Francisco Nyktas! We invited my mom, Ed, and Catherine for the 24th & 25th. (Steve gets brownie points here because it was HIS idea.) They will be arriving tomorrow afternoon.

In true Christmas fashion, I came down with a cold (which seems to have been hanging around for much of December) that bloomed into a wonderful sinus infection. I was pretty miserable last weekend at the Ohio Nyktas Christmas party. But the show must go on - antibiotics in tow. The decorations are up. The house is (generally) clean. And this evening has been devoted to prepping for some meals I'm really excited about.

I'm also very very very very very excited that my christmas cactus may indeed be blooming!!!! The idea of mentioning this makes me nervous, however, as last year this same plant produced many a "faker" bud for me to get frantic about.... but nothing came of these stupid little teasers. They dried up and withered away, forming a serious grudge in my heart toward all christmas cacti *hisssssss*. I was about ready to pitch the damn thing when my dear friend Brittany gave me a few hints. A north facing window (even one that is 3 feet from the brick wall next door) seems to have an effect. Watering also helps..... hhhmm.... watering - who knew? So now I have 3 swollen pink buds dangling, waiting to open... I hope. And several others that seem to be following suit. My fear is that they will crap out because i moved it to the dining room table for the centerpiece. We shalllllll seeeeeee.

Okay so back to the menu. Here is what we are having. Not much of it is new, I'm just really excited about cooking a holiday meal for my family.

Christmas Eve

hors d'oeuvres - spanikopita, shrimp cocktail, mom's snickerdoodles and peanut butter fingers

main course - scallops with basil sauce, mushroom risotto, roasted brussels sprouts, cheddar chive garlic scones

dessert - pumpkin pie

beverages - wine, milk punch

Christmas Morning

mimosas & bacon, tomato, cheddar breakfast bake w/eggs

Christmas Day snacks

parsnip bacon, tiki snack mix, candy & cookies, lemon stilton cheese

Christmas Dinner

pork loin roast with a pork reduction mushroom sauce

Stanley's kielbasa

potato and butternut gratin

cranberry salad (Granny's version)

green beans

& maple mousse pie with candied cranberries for dessert!!!

Wishlists

First order of business in the new life of me blogging again - WISHLISTS. This is a very important matter. So lets get right down to it, shall we?

Just in case you're wondering what I want for Christmas (Moms and Dads, take note). Or you're a friend or family member who insists on purchasing a housewarming/belated wedding gift for us *batts eyelashes and smiles*. This post is for you.

Here are two want(er, wish)lists I've compiled containing mostly things that we need. Because everyone needs to go camping. And everyone needs to make ice cream. And everyone needs to listen to christmas music..... or at least I know I do.

Crate & Barrel List (essentially, this is the wedding registry updated)

Amazon List

As far as the camping equipment goes, I don't necessarily need the exact items on the list, so if you think you know what's more appropriate that's fine with me!

Public

My blog is no longer private :) Going to start posting again....

The past year...

It's been a very long time since my last blog entry. This year (actually, 2 years) have zoomed past me at lightening speed and I'm pretty sure I've figured out where they've gone. I can attribute this increased velocity to how busy I've been. So here's a list of what I've been doing over the last year and what's new.

- MARRIAGE: (I now have an official husband. His name is Steve.) This is probably one of the biggest things, even though it hasn't changed our day to day lives very much. But the wedding itself was lovely and fabulous and the best day of my life.... to be discussed in another entry.

- BOUGHT A HOUSE: Yes that's right. We are {finally!} homeowners. I never thought I'd be able to afford a condo in Chicago and here were are living in our own brick box with our own green square right behind it. And another wooden box we can park the Subes in :) HAPPINESS

- WENT TO VANCOUVER: This was the biggest trip I went on over the last 12 months. One of my CapeTown friends was studying there for a semester.

- TAUGHT A KIDS KNITTING CLASS: Five kids, ages 7-18 + knitting needles + yarn = lots of fun! Although I will admit that I've had to sacrifice my own knitting for all of these other real life projects.

- EXPERIENCED BURGLARY: Unfortunately our apartment was burgled halfway through our move. It was so much more terrifying, violating, and traumatic than I ever thought it would be. We lost some valuable things and some things that weren't so valuable to anyone but me. That was the saddest part. Luckily so many of our family and friends were there to support us during that time (shout out to Eli & Gabe!) That's all I'm gonna say because we've moved on and I'm so glad it's over.

- GOODBYE, ROSIE: The last "family" dog that belonged to all four members of my family passed away. It was the end of an era and we will never forget our Golden Rose.

- SOLVED MONKEY'S ISSUE: In other pet news we found a special food that has been working for Monkey for the past year. What a relief.

- BECAME A BIG: I am a Big Sister to a sweet girl named Jasmine.

- BUDDIES & BUTTERS: All of my friends are multiplying! So many cute lil babes being had right now. And they are all doing a fabulous job of being parents. In addition, Devin, one of my besties, married Mr. Right last month and I couldn't be more thrilled. And last but not least, my Chicago bestie ERIN picked up her whole life and moved it across the country to Seattle. I'll just have to plan a trip to the PNW one of these days....Well at least she taught me how to make risotto before she left.