Luscious Fibers, Food and Life

holiday meme

My friend Kirstin published this meme. I enjoyed reading her responses and thought I'd give it a try.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I like both
2. Real tree or artificial? Generally real and this year we tried potted.
3. When do you put up the tree? No specific time.
4. When do you take the tree down? Soon after new years, though I think my husband would like to keep it up for weeks.
5. Do you like eggnog? Not really.  I’ve never been a milk drinker.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? The stove and refrigerator my father made me when I was little. I loved that when you flipped the switch, the burners lit up.
7. Hardest person to buy for? No one comes to mind.
8. Easiest person to buy for? My mother. She loves everything.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? No.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail and hopefully we’ll get those out soon.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Well I didn't like it very much...mittens from my aunt. I was 8 or 9, it was boring. However, days later when I tried them on, I found money in each one. That was incredible.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Umm…everything. Chocolate Crinkles.
15. Lights on the tree? Of course! All white.
16. Favorite Christmas song? Oh, Holy Night. I love hearing my father sing it.
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel to Georgia and Maine.
18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yup…I can still sing them out thanks to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
19. Angel on the tree top or a star? We have used the same star made of aluminum foil for the past 8 years.
20. Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Sometimes people are grumpy. I don’t get it.
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? I don’t think I follow any theme or color. I go holiday rogue.
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Good memories to keep forever.
24. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November probably, but Grant and I picked up a gift for his sister this summer.
25. Favorite Christmas dinner? Tofurkey and all the fixins. Christmas breakfast also has it’s traditional foods…ployes, cinnamon rolls…I used to eat egg-bake but I haven’t figured out how to veganize that one yet.

James, Michael, Sarah, and Lisa, you've been tagged.
Happy Holidays.

merry christmas charlie brown

So there you have it - this year's tree. Grant and I decided to simplify this year so we only unpacked a few decorations and got a smaller, potted tree. Sunday night after dinner we decorated the tree, which Grant picked out all by himself (I'll give him ALL the credit), and put out a few decorations. We played holiday music and had a nice, quiet evening. We've enjoyed our tree and decorations the past couple nights and we're happy we got into the holiday spirit a little early this year.

More pictures....

a butterfly and pumpkin two ways

Yesterday I had a nice time hanging out with friends and their little ones. I was lucky enough to see Marcella and Eli in their Halloween costumes a few days early. They were really cute and quite happy with themselves as you can see from the photo.

In the morning I tried a new recipe from the Joy of Vegan Baking....Pumpkin Spice Bread. It was a hit. I made the version with a little oil and less applesauce and it was quite luscious. I highly recommend this recipe and it's perfect for fall.

On the train

So it's 1:30am, we're on the train and we're some place in Conn. We're in the quiet car and it's nice because there are only a couple other people sharing the car with us. I've actually slept for a couple hours, but Grant is pulling an all nighter so he can see the entire route (he's never taken this train route before.) We'll be home in about 6 hours. I'm looking forward to seeing the cats and meeting Marcella.

Oh and yeah Patriots!!! The conductor gave us updates (i also checked online). It was a nail-bitter.

a great holiday

Christmas Daryl 2007 331, originally uploaded by dcjay64.

Our holiday was lovely. Mum, dad, James, Daryl, Grant and I started Christmas day with some coffee and warm cinnamon rolls by the fire outside. Tut thought the conditions were just right and Grant and I agreed.

We spent the day opening gifts, laughting and admiring many wonderful and thoughtful gifts.  For dinner we headed to my brother's house to have an incredible dinner together and open gifts to each other.  Again, lots of laughing and appreciation of each other.

I'll write more about some holiday knitting and cooking. I've uploaded more pictures here. You can also check out my brother's blogs for more pics (James and Mike.)

a little holiday cheer

A friend sent me this yesterday. I thought it was cute. Click here.

Happy Holidays...

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made it through the storm

Yesterday we spent the day inside because of the snow storm going on outside.  It snowed all day and into the evening. I think we got about 8 inches, which was much less than the 3ft originally predicted.  Since we knew that we'd pretty much be inside all day, we had made plans for inside entertainment.

Dad made us brunch at exactly 11:15. We had ployes and vegan sausage. Ployes are a traditional French Acadian pancake and my dad makes them perfectly...nice and thin.  They are great with syrup and fruit - yum!

Mum and I decorated the tree on and off most of the day.  She and dad have so many ornaments. Many bring back wonderful memories from growing up and she has a number that I'm not as familiar with, but that are quite beautiful. I, of course, want to look at each one which makes trimming the tree a longer process.  I think the tree looks great!

In the afternoon I cut up some "tud" (fudge for those of you that don't know the family pronunciation, thanks to my niece Sarah) that I made on Saturday.  I made the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking and it's the first time I've made fudge. I think it's pretty good and my dad does too as he can't stop eating it.

For dinner I made some curried couscous with cranberries and garlic roasted brussel sprouts, along with some leftover white bean and garlic stew.  All very tasty!!

It was a terrific snowy Sunday. Something I haven't had in a long, long time. Here are a couple more snowy pics...

Elf Yourself Fun

Can you believe it...another post so soon, but I forgot to post this yesterday.  Some holiday cheer from me and my brothers.  Click here to see our cheerful moves.

A Very Vegan Thanksgiving

 

It was my first vegan Thanksgiving and I have to say...it was delicious!

So Grant and I made our Thanksgiving meal yesterday since we were gone on Thursday.  We spent most of the day prepping and cooking, but it was worth it.   It was our first time cooking vegan for Thanksgiving and it was no problem at all.  Everything was tasty and amazingly good.  Here's what we had...

- Roasted Tofurkey
- Mushroom gravy
- Homemade stuffing*
- Acorn Squash
- Mashed potatoes with optional caramelized onions*
- Kale with onions and almonds
- Peas (for Grant)
- Cranberry sauce
- Mac and Cheez from Jess
- Pumpkin Pie with homemade soy whip*

* these recipes are from Compassionate Cooks.

See more pics here. I'm looking forward to leftovers tonight!

DC Emancipation Day and Representation for All

Celebrating the freedom of enslaved persons in the District of Columbia...

It was 145 years ago today that Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District...nine months earlier than the Emancipation Proclamation.  I suppose Lincoln figured why not start with change close to home and make known his intension for the future.  More than 3000 slaves were freed upon the signing of this bill. In 2005 former Mayor Williams declared this day a District public holiday and it's also why everyone in the US has an extra day to file their taxes.  Speaking of taxes...

Another major event happening in conjunction with this District holiday is the March for DC Voting Rights. In case you didn't know...and many people don't, the District of Columbia, a place where I live and pay federal taxes, does not have voting representation in the House or Senate.   Does this sound crazy and unbelievable to you?  Yeah, me too.  Remember the slogan from the 1760s "No Taxation without Representation"...well it's alive here in DC.  Even if you don't live in the District, please consider calling or writing your state Congress Rep today and urge them to support the DC Voting Rights Act and give our city a voice.

Want to learn more? Check out the DC Vote page and check out the TV ads. I also encourage you to listen to one of my favorite groups, Sweet Honey in the Rock, sing about DC voting rights, or lack of...

Give The People Their Right To Vote by Sweet Honey In The Rock. Lyrics, Music & Arrangement by Nitanju Bolade Casel

We Want The Vote by Sweet Honey In The Rock. Composed by Ysaye Maria Barnwell.

 

Image Credit: National Archives.