Holiday Traditions : Cross Country Skiing Christmas Day

The one thing my family likes to do every year on Christmas Day is cross-country skiing. There's nothing like a cross-country ski run to get the blood moving again after a heavy holiday meal.

I grew up on a farm in the rolling hills and woods of Northern Wisconsin. My brother and I learned to cross country ski when we were 5 and 6 years old. We've been doing it most of our lives. I remember one year, we went to ski out in the flat fields by Gramma Matucheski's house. Seth fell down, and was too stubborn to get back up. Dad and I skied around the field and came back to him. I guess Seth just wanted/needed a break. He got back up then ...

My Dad's land was just down the road--now it's in their back yard. How nice! Dad takes care of the trails so skiing and hiking is very nice there.

In recent years, we haven't always had snow at Christmas, so some years, we just hike. These days, my mom doesn't care to go out--She prefers her sewing room. Dad is too busy with his own stuff, or he went out earlier and couldn't wait for the rest of us ... So my own little family of 3 goes out to ski. Yes--Oliver is doing very well on his little skis. This year when he falls down, he gets right back up. He just chugs along like a train ... At one point, I fell, and Oliver said. "Ok, Mumma. I'm not going to wait for you ..."

When we go now, we like to ski in the nearby woods flowage groomed with excellent cross-country ski trails for novice to expert. Down by the river is a small cabin where we build a fire and have a little picnic. We sit on the porch and watch the chickadees flit around the bird feeder with a view of the bridge in the background.

I can't think of anyplace else I'd rather be in December. Even better if it's snowing!

Even a stump looks elegant in the snow!

Christmas Ornaments and their Meanings

We finally got the Christmas tree up a week before Christmas. We were a little behind schedule this year. I was determined to keep it simple--I only put up ornaments that did NOT require extensive packaging. Just the free-form, free-wheeling ornaments floating around the box.

As I trimmed the tree, I was struck by the MEANING that flooded back for a few of them ...

The Fan : On the first day of school in the mid-1950s, Little Holly made a paper-folded fan. She gave it to another girl in class named Sally. Holly said, "I'll give you this fan if you be my friend." That was the start of a lifelong friendship. Sally's mother (Gramma B.) made a similar ornament and shared the story many years later. The story has entered our family lore.

Seahorse Symbolism : Back in my single days, I had a seahorse ornament that I kept up and out all year long. The seahorse held significant symbolism for me : The male seahorse keeps the seahorse babies in a pouch (like a kangaroo). The male seahorse is the nurturer and caregiver of the seahorse family. That's what I was looking for in a mate. And I found it in CL!

Holiday Traditions : Fanny & Alexander

Fanny & Alexander is the other film we like to watch over the Christmas Holidays.
Here's a movie trailer on YouTube that can give you an idea of the MAGIC of this film.



Here's my all-time favorite scene of Christmas Eve at the Ekdahls :


"Christmas Eve was always a production at our house. The towering tree in the central hall, covered with shiny red ornaments, draped in silvery tinsel, lighted with real candles. The staff, in their long black uniforms with starched white aprons and caps, setting out piles of generously wrapped gifts underneath the tree. There were tall white candles on the dining table, where after dinner (which always began at 4:30 pm) we sang and toasted everyone's health. Mother wore red brocade and Father, like all the men in the family, wore white tie. Eventually we all held hands and danced through the house, singing until we fell exhusted, into our chairs and listened to an uncle read the Nativity story from the second chapter of Luke. In lovely, lilting Swedish. Oh, no, wait. That was Fanny & Alexander."
--Anita Gates, "Holiday Films : Celluloid Visions are What Dance in My Head, New York times, November 5, 2000.

It's neat to see this wonderful film has had a similar effect on other people! For us, it just isn't Christmas without seeing this wonderful film with the family dancing through the apartment singing, "Uyauyaly" (whatever that means!)

Fanny and Alexander came out in 1982 and depicts a wonderful Christmas in turn-of-the-century Sweden. It is filled with so much light, laughter, and RED, a few tears, family (great and exasperating). Wonderful characters, as you would expect in any Ingmar Bergman film!

And Isaac's apartment is a place of MAGIC, literally. There's so much STUFF there : puppets and books and antiques, and a crazy brother ...

Little Holly on Christmas Day

This is a picture of my mom on Christmas day back in the 1950s when she was still an only child. Christmas has always been "big business" for her because she was born on Christmas Day. She always makes it a nice holiday for everyone, even now.


Even though it's a black and white picture, you can really see the sparkling tinsel on the tree in the corner.

One year, Great Gramma Josephine was left in charge of Little Holly on Christmas Eve while Gramma Pickles and Eddie did the barn chores. When they got back to the house, they discovered that Great Gramma had "watched" Holly open ALL the presents. Great Gramma was having a GREAT time watching Holly ... There were all the presents, opened on the floor with no idea what gift was for whom. Grappa could have "crowned" Gramma.

I Remember Gramma Matucheski : Homemade Egg Nog

Gramma Matucheski used to babysit me and my brother out on the farm when we were small. We were the last of that generation's grandchildren (before the great grandchildren started coming).

Gramma used to make us home-made egg nog as a regular treat. Creamy and rich, we loved it!

A few years ago, I found the cups above that also reminded me of the coffee mugs that hung on hooks beneath the kitchen cupboards. Each of her 6 children had a mug with their name on it with this sort of classic glaze ...

Here's the recipe :

Gramma's Egg Nog

2 eggs
2 cups milk (not cream)
vanilla
sugar

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Enjoy!

Gramma had an old style hand-cranked egg beater that did the job magnificently.

I've taken to straining out the stringy parts of the raw egg before we drink it. We also like to add a splash of rum these days.

Gramma Matucheski died in February 2007. This is how I remember her.

Warning : Drinking/eating raw eggs may be hazardous to your health. Consider pasturizing the nog before you partake. That just means heating it to a certain temp to kill any microbes, but not enough to cook the egg. (My mom is Director of Public Health in her county, so she's tracked enough salmonella cases back to raw eggs. She'd have a heart attack if she knew I still drank this! Just once in a while ... ;-)

A Cookie to Keep Him Quiet ...

Up until this fall, Grappa Eddie has lived on the same land his whole life. His parents were immigrants from Bohemia who met again in Chicago, decided to get married and head to Northern Wisconsin to start a life together. They bought some land outside of Polar and laid little Grappa down under a tree with a cookie to keep him occupied while Josephine and Albert set about the awesome task of building a house ...

A Warm Pair of Boots on a Cold Winter's Day

Winters were cold in Northern Wisconsin. The farm kids had to walk to school in their un-insulated leather boots over snow-covered fields. They stamped their feet in the snow to get rid of the pins and needles of the cold poking at their feet. Grappa didn't like that so much. One day, one of his cohorts, Otto Pavek said, "Eddo--Here, try these felt liners for your feet. If you don't want 'em, I'll take 'em back." So Grappa gave 'em a try. He was amazed that these gray liners kept his feet toasty and warm all day long!

Letter from Grappa

This is a letter Grappa sent to Gramma Pickles from the nursing home earlier this month. It made me laugh to see that he is settling in so comfortably at the nursing home where "Everything is free!"

Here's the transcription (in case you can't read the above):

"Oct. ??? Don't know the town.

Dear Violet My Love
It is hard to write as there is nothing to lay the tablet on. Wish I was home. How is everything there? I hope good. You could come up here for a while. Everything is free. Food all you want. To eat, or whatever you do. You don't pay for anything. There is a lot of people you know. And best thing they do is keep you happy. Everybody gets a wheel cart so you can get around. Excuse my writing. The wheel cart goes pretty fast or slow as you want. I hope you can drop me a few lines.
Your love, Ed."

Great News! Grappa seems to be adjusting to life in the nursing home. That's good! The don't let him sleep during the day (He was sleeping most of the time at home, out of boredom, I suspect.). They keep him busy with entertainment, activities, and company. He knows many of the other residents there, too. They keep a handle on his diabetes--Gramma really didn't understand what needed to be done to manage it. And he's been on anti-depressants for the transition. When my family goes to visit him now, several times they haven't been able to find him there--he's off and doing somewhere there.

All this means Gramma can go back to being his wife, not his caregiver. That's great! Maybe absence does make the heart grow finder.

One More Recipe for Fall : Wisconsin Cranberry Walnut Pie

This is called a pie, but it's more like a coffee cake ... I left out the pie shell here, planning to serve it more like crisp (without the crisp layer).

The picture above is before baking, and before the sweet, buttery batter is spooged across the top (see 1/3 pie to the left). I had to take a picture because I thought the cranberries were so pretty!

Wisconsin Cranberry Walnut Pie

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust, homemade or purchased
2 cups whole fresh cranberries washed, drained
1 cup whole walnut halves
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp soda

Place cranberries and walnuts in unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar.
In a small mixing bowl, mix egg, butter, flour, salt, sugar, soda. Mixture will be thick. Spread evenly over cranberry layer with spatula.
Bake in pre-heated 325-degree oven for 60-65 minutes. (You may increase oven temperature to 350 degrees the last 5 minutes if you like a golden-brown surface.)
Makes 8-10 servings. Serve warm or cold.

The cranberries are from Wisconsin. :-)

Wild Rice Cranberry Salad

Here's the recipe for my very favorite Thanksgiving dish. I've been making it every year for several years now. There's always a lot left. Few other people seem to know just how tasty it is, so I'm happy to have the left-overs! We're getting ready for the annual Saturday-After Thanksgiving Feast at our house, so we haven't really celebrated yet ... My husband cooks. I just do appetizers and side dishes.

I got the recipe from Ann B. in Madison about 10 years ago. I have modified it only slightly.

Wild Rice - Cranberry Salad

1 cup wild rice
2-3/4 cups water
1 pat of butter
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped (1 T dried)
4 green onions (scallions), chopped
1/2 c olive oil
1 cup pecan halves, chopped
Rind of 1 orange, grated
3/4 c. orange juice
black pepper, freshly ground

Combine water, butter and wild rice. Simmer about 40 minutes until the rice starts to open out. While the rice cooks, combine mint, cranberries, orange rind, juice and scallions. Let stand. When rice is done, drain in collander. Add olive oil to rice. Combine all ingredients except pecans. Let stand for at least 2 hours for flavors to blend. Just before serving, add the pecans.

This is one dish that gets better with age!

In Northern Wisconsin, the Native Americans grow and harvest the wild rice I buy. I'm a little concerned because I had heard that the crop this year was not very good due to lack of water on some of the lakes this year ... Global warming in our own back yard.