-
Traditions
Autumn has fallen upon us with force. Halloween decorations have been long put away and thoughts of Thanksgiving meals are upon us; followed quickly by Christmas lights, gifts and carols. ‘Tis The Season My family will soon pack up the minivan to drive ‘over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go!’ A long-weekend with my parents, siblings and nieces and nephews. But that is just a piece of the ‘Thankgiving Tradition’. Some years we do Thanksgiving with my husband’s family which involves his grandmother and all of her siblings and their families. It’s a HUGE gathering! As an Air Force Brat there were years that my…
-
Tradition, Home, Strength and Character: Sears Heroes at Home Registry
Do you remember your kitchen growing up as a kid? I can see the Kenmore refrigerator… a prize possession in the corner. No other color available at the time than white. Mix Master purchased as a huge anniversary gift to Mom along with a variety of small appliances. Items that made it possible to have family gatherings of the magnitude that the Johansens did. Food streamed from our kitchen in Palisades Park, NJ. Mom learned to fill the house with marinara sauce from the Italian neighbors to the right, Polish stuffed veal pockets recipe came from the left. We never had boiled potatoes an fish without a fresh Norwegian remoulade…
-
Tradition The Depths Can Be Only be Measured in Your Mind.
It’s traditional. And traditions in December, at Christmas time cause my thoughts to go spelunking… cave diving around the spirals of my mind. There are so many places, so many faces, so many hurdles jumped, parties attended and given, gifts purchased, cards written and received, children’s programs directed and those that we were in the audience over the years. Wonderful traditions and celebrations all. The filing cabinet for these remembrances is now standing in the living room. Twelve feet tall and lit up: 2009’s Christmas tree. Yeee Ha! It’s up, lit and decorated. And it is beautiful. We sat last night just looking at it and pointing to our history.…
-
Birthdays are a Fantastic Excuse for a Party No Matter What the Age.
Who does not like to celebrate? Sometimes we need an excuse for acting a bit out of the normal everyday responsible adult role. A party seems the sure ticket here. Enter at your own risk. Kick your heels up and let down some walls. Take off the uniform, put down the computer, leave the book on the table and turn off the stove. This is party time with the kids – your kids, the neighbor kids, your adult friends who are going to be laughing like kids. We are all kids! Dale and I have lived our lives looking forward to that next party. Loving the responsibilities that were given…
-
Happy May Day!
May 1st. A day I *HATED* as a child. Mom would gather all of her construction paper, glue, markers, and tape together and we would sit at the table after school and make little baskets. Then she would fill the make-shift construction-paper baskets with candy and we would all head outside. Ah, what great memories… until happy memories came to a grinding, screeching halt… The three of us, myself and two younger brothers, and any neighborhood friends we would rally up to make May Day baskets would all line up in the front yard, our backs all facing the same direction. Then the competition would begin. Mom would start the…
-
Fish and Asparagus: A spring time specialty
The season of Lent is the harbinger of Spring… I guess some folks have the robin. I love the smells of hot cross buns in the bakery. I love seeing the pastels popping out in stores and crocus filled gardens. Even though it is snowing outside as I write, I know that it will not pile up to be 4 feet and stay around for an extra 3 weeks. Warm weather, gardens and walks are out there.I love cooking fish during Lent. This was never a tradition in my family growing up, but we did have it more often during lent because the grocers always had fresh varieties available, and…
-
The Military Community Celebrations!
The military community understands that celebrations are important to morale and finds frequent ways to do just that: CELEBRATE! This Sunday the troops overseas will see the Super Bowl live in many cases and those in combat zones will even get two beers! Many units in the US will celebrate together as well! What fun for everyone as units and friends socialize and get to watch the game and cheer on the Steelers (or that other team in the game)! 🙂 But what else do we celebrate? Think promotions! New babies! New arrivals to a unit and saying goodbye to friends and unit members who are getting ready to PCS.…
-
“Elf on a Shelf” – A New Christmas Tradition
Thanksgiving is over, the boys will be heading back to school tomorrow, a sense of normalcy might actually overcome this house… or maybe not. To say my children have been rapscallions the past three-days is putting it mildly. They have been at each other’s throats, in each other’s way, beating on each other (known to some as wrestling … but when it ends in tears 9 out of 10 times I call it ‘beating on your brother’). I am ready for school to start again! Traditions are fun and so is starting new ones. This year we are trying something a friend shared with me last month called ‘Elf on…
-
Russian Blintzes: Birthday Traditional Favorite
As the children grew, so did their tastes and desires. Birthdays celebrate that growth and add a personal touch to the day. One birthday tradition was the ability to pick the dinner of their choice. Our son Dan was our breakfast boy… that was his favorite meal of the day. For him, the joy of his birthday started the first thing of the day with energy which fueled him. So, bring on the Russians… blintzes that is and let the celebration start. Russian Blinchiky with Cream Cheese1 c flour3 T sugar divided1/2 t salt2 eggs, slightly beaten1 c milk1 (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature1/4 c sour cream1/8 t cinnamon1…
-
Traditions Tape Memories on the Calendar
Do you think Christmas comes in December because we like to save the best for last? Could be. But first we have to draw out the thrill of the time and get the family psyched for the old traditions, and build some new ones each year! Seems I never got the ‘tradition line up’ perfected… but I certainly enjoyed reliving past season’s fun times and memories with the building and blending of new ideas and local culture. I love learning about other families traditions. My own were never enough! It’s the holiday season – and just like presents… I like like to handle as many as possible. We learned and…
