My first taste of Christmas this year was actually in October.
October.
There is a group of men that meets at our house every Tuesday. One of them works for Walgreens, the popular drugstore. He was a little stressed because the shipment of Christmas decor had arrived and needed to be put up. I don’t remember what he said after that because all I could think about was how it wasn’t even November yet and how I’m really, really not ready for two entire months of Christmas.
I love the season, but two months of Christmas is, for me, like eating a huge helping of dessert for dinner, and then having dessert after my dessert dinner. It’s just too much.
When I was a kid, the Christmas season (now renamed “the holiday season” to avoid offending delicate sensitivities) existed only for a few weeks, beginning the day after Thanksgiving. I loved the music and the lights and of course I loved presents. But every year since I’ve enjoyed it less. It’s part attitude, I know, but I get stressed about finding the perfect gift for everyone on my list, and making the list in the first place. And then there’s travel plans and family expectations and holiday parties and everything gets so crammed and rushed. ”Peace on earth,” my foot-it often feels like the least peaceful time of year.
And that’s why, when I saw this video last night, I found it very refreshing.
It has a trendy name (”Advent Conspiracy?”) and a flashy video but it’s a pretty simple idea. I will recap for those of you who cannot watch the film:
Take that money you didn’t spend on gifts and give it to someone who needs it more than you do. (You could buy someone a goat!)
I know it’s a little awkward to be the one pulling back from Christmas. But someone’s got to do it, or it’s going to keep getting crazier. And I firmly believe that the season will be more meaningful when it’s surrounded in less stuff.
Kelly and I will be participating in the Advent Conspiracy this year. Will you?
I woke up in the wee hours of this morning to a very disturbing noise. I will try to sound it out for you:
barap-bum-Barm-bumumapupa!
(pause)
barap-bum-Barm-bumumapupa!
It took me a few seconds to realize that the noise was what had woken me up, and I laid perfectly motionless while it continued. Was it a leftover from a dream? No, it was definitely a real noise.
barap-bum-Barm-bumumapupa!
It was loud, and it sounded like it was coming from the kitchen because of the way it echoed. It sounded as though someone had broken into the house, turned the automatic icemaker on, and left the freezer open, causing batch after batch of ice to cascade onto the floor.
barap-bum-Barm-bumumapupa!
Whatever it was, it wasn’t going away and I realized I was going to have to get up and investigate. My heart started racing with anticipation.
What if there was something wrong with the house? What if it was an intruder, or an animal, or a fire? Some part of my brain (labeled “survival” and shrunken from years of disuse) picked up the adrenaline and caused me to take mental inventory of the weapons available in the immediate area. None. Shoot. Can I walk out of this bedroom unarmed? Is that safe?
barap-bum-Barm-bumumapupa!
I was very still for a moment. I wanted that noise to stop all by itself. But it didn’t. I considered waking up Kelly so we could investigate together. No, I thought, it is my job to investigate things that go bump in the night. And keep going bump. Even after they should have stopped. I stirred for the first time and lifted my head to get out of bed.
And the noise stopped.
It was then, my heart still pumping dutifully, that I realized what had happened. The breath from my very own left nostril had sent little ripples through the flannel fabric on my pillowcase, causing a series of thumping noises that echoed in my left ear using much the same acoustic principle that allows you to “hear the ocean” by holding up a seashell to your ear. These had, in turn, been misinterpreted by my sleep-heavy brain as coming from the other side of the house.
I have rarely been so grateful to go back to sleep. And, in the last moments before I drifted off, I resolved to get a baseball bat, or something.
You might recognize him as the PC in the now-ubiquitous “Hi, I’m a PC, and I’m a Mac” commercials.
Apple, however, did not find him on the streets. Hodgman was a former professional literary agent and has recently become an author in his own right, publishing two books of facts that are, for the most part, completely made up. He’s a frequent guest on This American Life, which I adore, and The Daily Show, which I would probably adore if I watched it.
John came to Seattle on tour with his new book, More Information Than You Require, and his musical friend Jonathan Coulton. We got to see them last night in Town Hall with some special guests and friends for “an evening of comedy and music”; it was a bit like attending the recording of an old-time radio variety show. John read from his book and told stories. Jonathan played some songs. And afterwards, I got my book signed by Hodgman himself. It was a fantastic evening.
As he was signing my book, I asked him if he was planning on writing a third book of “Complete World Knowledge.” “Yes,” he said, “of course. Here is a preview.” And he wrote on my book with a red magic marker the same phrase with which he insists on ending every one of his blog posts:
Today is my dad’s birthday. Happy Birthday! I hope you get to do something fun, like consume a pile of steak! I’m sure glad you’re my father and not some lame-o loser.
And for those of you who haven’t spent much time with my Dad, here are some photos for your enjoyment (and mine):
Pretending to be cacti at Volunteer Park
Chillin’ with the sibs at Pike Place Market on Father’s day
Crazy fun times at the family reunion
Who doesn’t love this one of my parents in autumn?
At the farm, heading to the back 40, which is really an entirely different farm.
It doesn’t matter if you agree with the republicans or the democrats or you’re one of those crazy green party or constitution party members, just vote. Okay? I will admit that I voted last night in my pajammies while sitting in bed, but hey, that’s what happens when you let a gal mail in her ballot! I’m pretty sure I’d rather go to the polling location next time. We don’t have any “I voted” stickers at our house.
Okay, this is the last recipe for the day, but I’m not going to lie, it was a good one! I’ve been having a hard time looking for slow cooker recipes that do not take less than nine hours to finish or require meat on the bone (one of us doesn’t like meat on the bone)…..I finally found one!
I prepped the veggies last night and put them in the crock pot before we left for work and it looked like this:
Upon our return home, we found this:
I added some funky Trader Joe’s mix of couscous and some other stuff to it and here’s the final product:
The verdict: We have ourselves a winner! It is like a delightful autumn stewy thing. It’s both sweet and spiced and it was a really nice way to end the day.
In a slow cooker, toss together the parsnips, turnips, onions, carrots, apricots, and prunes. Season with turmeric, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, parsley, and cilantro. Pour in the vegetable broth.
Cover, and cook 9 hours on Low.
McPhersonisms on this: I have no idea how much of each vegetable I put in here. I just bought a turnip, a couple of parsnips and had some carrots so in they went. I used three onions because I happened to have three and I didn’t use the same amount of spice…we use frozen cilantro from Trader Joe’s so we put eight cubes in rather than the measured amount of dried. I also use heaps or scoops of spices so it was maybe a little more zesty. Upon reading the comments on allrecipes, I also added an additional 1/2 can of broth. I set the crock pot to cook on low for only eight hours, knowing it would have an additional two hours to be on “warm” before we returned home. It worked out very well. If you’re so inclined, one could easily add some chicken.
And now a confession. I had no idea whether I was holding a turnip or a rutabaga at the store, so I bought both. Anybody know what to do with a rutabaga around 1.5 to 2lbs in size?
For Jonathan’s birthday, he asked me to cook up a new recipe for dinner (we had already gone out to eat the previous two evenings and we like to keep things balanced). I offered up a selection from the various cookbooks and magazines we’ve got around the house and this is what he selected. (From Real Simple, November 2008) I did not really change much on this, but I did use salmon with the skin because I wasn’t paying attention. Not such a big deal. It was delicious!
Heat oven to 400° F. In a large roasting pan, toss the fennel, lemons, garlic, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Roast until the fennel begins to soften, about 8 minutes.
Season the salmon with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nestle in the fennel. Roast until the salmon is opaque throughout, 12 to 15 minutes.
Squeeze the garlic out of the skins into a small bowl and mash to a paste. Squeeze the lemon pulp and juice into the bowl. Stir in the honey, rosemary, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place the salmon and fennel on the greens. Drizzle with the dressing.
Yield: Makes 4 servings
NUTRITION PER SERVING CALORIES 372; FAT 17g (sat 2g); CHOLESTEROL 97mg; CARBOHYDRATE 17g; CALORIES FROM FAT 40%; SODIUM 696mg; PROTEIN 40g; FIBER 6g; SUGAR 4g
I wrote a few months ago about a trip to South Africa that we are going on with a group from our church. We have more details and many of you have received our “McPherson South Africa” email lately, but I thought I’d blog about it as well…. Basically, we will be in the town of Durban, South Africa for two weeks. There is a group of seven of us going and we’ll be helping out with two camps and with two transition homes (orphanages) during our time there. This means we’ll be doing anything from leading songs to playing soccer to giving messages and sharing in small group discussion with middle schoolers to spending time caring for babies and generally helping out where we can be of use. Why am I blogging about this right now, oh because we leave soon! The first week of December we’ll be on a plane and on our way! We are thankful for our friends and family who have supported us financially and with your prayers and kind words of encouragement. We’re hoping to blog a couple of times while we’re away, but we’ll for sure blog about our trip upon our return!
Also, I made a delicious dinner for Jonathan’s birthday on Sunday. I’ll post more about that soon. And I’m working on a root vegetable tagine for the crock pot tomorrow. This could open a whole new door of slow cooking possibilities for us or leave us with a pile of left overs and a sincere desire for more ketchup or cheese. I’ll keep you posted.
Kelly and I try to have a date night every week. It’s a tradition we carried over from our dating days (I know, we haven’t even been married a year so I probably haven’t yet earned the right to say “our dating days”). Last week, however, both of us were very very busy at work, and that’s when Kelly suggested we have a date day instead.
So here, gentle reader, is the story of our adventures that day.
ACT I: PETE’S EGG NEST
We kicked the day off with breakfast brunch at Pete’s Egg Nest. Pete’s Egg Nest is the real deal–we were seated in the crowded little restaurant and promptly served coffee by an kindly waitress with a raspy voice, right before some mountainous men hugged her goodbye and lifted all four and a half feet of her clean off the ground.
Just as we were about to leave, an old man with an extremely unkempt beard shuffled to our table. I braced myself for a short story about being down on his luck and whether we had any change.
“Excuse me–do you want to hear a TRUE STORY?” the man asked.
We didn’t say a word but our faces must have shown curiousity.
“When I was young,” he said, “glasses used to cost thirty-nine cents.” He waited for this to sink in, then continued: “One day, I sat on them. I had to work for three days to get enough money to get another pair.”
We kept looking at him. He hadn’t asked for another 39 cents so things were going well so far.
“When I got another pair, I sure didn’t want to sit on them again, so I decided to put them… on my head.” And here he smiled, conspirationally. “Then some women came by.” (”Women,” he added after a second.) “And they thought it was a neat idea, so they did it too. I went into town a few days later and saw someone else doing it.”
He leaned back. “Not many people know how people started doing that,” he said.
I touched the sunglasses that were, indeed, on my head in recognition. “Thanks,” I said. “That was a really good idea.”
ACT II: WALKING AROUND GREENLAKE
Then we had a nice walk. There are no stories about our walk but I’d like to share some photos with you.
Us right on the Greenlake shore. (One of us needs a shave, and it’s not Kelly.)
Some golden leaves in the afternoon sun. It really was a beautiful day.
Kelly. She’s so beautiful!
ACT III: SUPER JOCK N’ JILL
What is Super Jock N’ Jill? It is a store that sells supplies for runners and other athletes. We swung by for some running shoes.
We loved this little place. They don’t just let you try on shoes until you find a pair you like. They actually watch you run in shoes, suggest pairs that will give you the sort of support you need, and tell you what to look for. It was awesome.
And we wound up walking out with two pair of running shoes. Watch out, world! Kelly and Jonathan are going to be runners. (We’ve gone twice so far this week!)
ACT IV: COFFEE AT EL DIABLO
We had coffee at “The El” (hee hee) and perused some books at the neighboring bookstore. Delightful.
ACT V: CALL AND RESPONSE
We drove down to the Uptown theater and watched a film called Call and Response with some friends. It’s about the slave trade, and it’s not a history lesson–it’s a mix of eye-opening (and gut-wrenching) facts about modern-day slavery, interviews, and music videos. It’s not being played widely. Here’s a taste:
All that adventure in one short day. That’s life with the McPhersons.
I thought about making these brownies again and taking a photo because they really didn’t last long at our house, but I think you all just need to try them in your own home.
Here you go, from Martha Stewart:
Chocolate Ginger Brownies
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar (I used less-maybe 3/4 cup-I’d like to keep all my teeth)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s because we had it and HOLY SMOKES Dutch cocoa powder is expensive!)
2 eggs
1 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Line bottom with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over 2 sides. Butter parchment; set aside.
Melt butter and chocolate together in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth.
Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Pour batter into prepared dish and smooth top with a rubber spatula.
Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs, 30 to 35 minutes.
Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Lift out, and let cool completely on rack. Cut into sixteen 2-inch squares. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.
These were moist and chewy, just like a brownie should taste and the spices gave them a nice flavor-not too chocolaty. I did use the parchment paper this go round, but I think next time I’ll just skip it. I stored the brownies in the pyrex because it has it’s own cover and why waste good parchment paper? Oh, this does not make 16 brownies. Well, it does, but some people then have to eat two!
Jonathan and Kelly are two all-American kids living it up in Redmond, WA-a suburb of Seattle. In our spare time, we enjoy photography, cooking, general hijinx and having adventures. If you’re ever in the area, let us know. I’m sure we can find a way to meet up with you!
