Christmas

Picking up where we left off...  despite all the seasonal indicators, there were a handful of reasons why things didn't quite seem like Christmas this year.  I'll leave those off for now and touch on the week leading up to Christmas.  I attended and played for a reconciliation service at Old St. Pat's, followed by an Advent talk by Jack Shea.  Jack is a gifted story teller who really has a nice knack for bringing out impactful themes in the well-known story of Christmas.  Laura and I provided punctuating musical segments throughout the talk and it was quite nice.  Later in the week was a "night of pause", which afforded a span of time to just "be" in the quiet of our church, amidst the busyness (and business) of the season.  Aimee and Laura sang, lightly accompanied by acoustic guitar in the balcony.

We didn't do a whole lot of baking this year but Aimee adhered to her tradition, nonetheless, of making a nice batch of kolacky cookies.  A Polish and otherwise eastern European dessert item, its sweet smell of fruit and flaky butter biscuit has graced our kitchen each year.  Here is a brief video of the process....

Meanwhile, the "wine alcove" continues to be "well used" by both us drinkers of fruit of the vine and, most recently, by the incarnate Son of God and soon... wisemen (but they are currently lost).

Christmas bells are ringing!  Aimee and I were joined by Megan, as well as 12-13 budding Irish musicians, for the 3pm Christmas Eve Vigil mass in the gym next to OSP.  It was fun to have both Aimee and Megan singing -- it made for great music.  Plus it was the last time I have to play Rose in December this calendar year.

We traveled to Crown Point, Indiana for a brief, yet festive, Christmas gathering with Aimee's extended family.  Then came straight back for the Midnight mass.  Katie and Aimee sang in the choir (at least for a while) and Aimee's parents were able to come and sit with me in the assembly.  It started with an amended version of the Deck the Hall concert at 11:15pm (I'll just say for now:  there were some interesting artistic decisions made).  Fr. Hurley presided and delivered a wonderfully crafted message and created an experience of liturgy that many of us at OSP have come to expect; and that many of the "Christers" will hopefully come back to partake in.  By the way, we say some new words at mass now, pay attention folks.

We spent the first part of Christmas morning together at home and then made our way to Munster for the next two days.  Below are a sampling of pictures from that.

Many of you have heard this story...  we had an interesting experience at Blackie's recently for brunch. They were crowded because of the Bears game and this doll of a woman greets us, unconvinced if we'll be lucky enough to dine in their famed establishment due to the crowds.  She hesitates, "I think I can seat you in the bar".  She then indicates at me, and says to Aimee: "oh but he's not 21".  Merry Christmas to you too.

Coming up!  Cabaret (still to come) and a trip to Lansing in t-minus 95 minutes...

Pre-Christmas

As the year begins its race to the finish line, there are a few events in our lives that signal the coming of the Christmas season.  Black Friday is not one of them.  Holiday parties and festive epicurean creations on the secular side, combined with the spiritual warmth of Advent and Christmas concerts are some of those events that mark this time of pre-Christmas.

It started with the Old St. Pat's annual Deck the Hall concert.  The metropolis symphony orchestra joined the 85-voice OSP concert choir for three sold out evenings of candle light performances.  Of note was the Cathedral Christmas medley and Arvo Part's Bogoróditse Djévo.  Everyone did a fantastic job, especially those who dedicate arguably the most time to this endeavor, the ones who are not paid to sing (nor pay to sing), but the massive volunteer choir who rehearse twice a week since September.   Also of note was Megan's party afterwards.  As always, her brilliant personality and friendship make for great hostessing and party fun.  We left around 2:30 -- you can only drag your feet so long!

Next in the list comes the baking, the cooking, and the purchasing of more butter than we buy in the remaining 11 months of the year -- though it turns out you can use too much butter.  Now vanilla you cannot.  Especially if it's pure Mexican vanilla, or, better yet, comes from the bean itself (shown below).  Aimee found a great recipe (especially so if you know my tastes) for Vanilla Cherry Chocolate Chip cookies.  In addition to this, she made lemon sugar cookies featuring lemon zest and juice.  Both recipes made an appearance at the annual Heineman Christmas Cookie Exchange party up in Skokie.  

The baking continued as we readied ourselves for the annual Castillo gathering.  Aimee made a cherry pie for this one and it was wonderful.  Below is a picture, along with a few shots from the evening.

Aimee and I with Jaclyn and Chris

Our most gracious hosts

Next on the list was our dinner with Ed Foley.  A brilliant man who is smart (a triple domer!) yet grounded, passionate yet quietly insightful -- he deserved nothing less than Aimee's homemade lasagna, featuring Giada's béchamel sauce (oh, thanks for the cookbook again Jenny, we use it all the time).  

Surely something must mark the season for Crowley too right?  I think it's when her sweater comes out.  Here she is, with a defeated look:

Much less benign are the boots though, and I think our video from last year (when Atlanta got hit with an ice storm) is worth a repost:

Coming up -- Christmas!  Cabaret!  And a trip to visit our missed Atlantans in January!

In a word: Thanksgiving

It was Thanksgiving time again in Michigan where we found ourselves most grateful for our health, for our rich family bonds and faith traditions, and, it turns out, for candy.  As we gathered around the harvest table at the de Varona home, we thoughtfully verbalized the things we hold dear to our hearts.  In a rare case where I prefer literal translations, it's interesting to note the Spanish name for the day: día de Acción de Gracias.  It connotes a deeper expression of action to give thanks which contrasts somewhat with our notion of simply being "thankful".  So while Justin was thankful for candy, I think we found ourselves really giving thanks to God and to each other for our deeper blessings this Thanksgiving.


Now, Vox Clara and ICEL, don't get too excited.  Your literal translations have descended upon us Advent people like the dewfall and we're all set on adding any additional literal equivalency to our mass.  I hope everyone's Advent season was kicked off well, lexicographically speaking however.  Old St. Pat's has done a fairly good job of introducing the changes and accepting (and expecting) the awkwardness of it.  To be perfectly honest and fair though, our experience of the new Roman Missal could be described as the "lite" version due our omission of a recited Confetior and Gloria, switching to the scarcely-changed Apostles Creed, and not using any of the new Mystery of Faith acclamations.  This is okay but I think there is room here for a deeper expression.  Certainly, the presiders have done a fantastic job of incorporating their revised text into the liturgy of the familiar.  


We are nailing the "And with your spirit" though.  However, I noted yesterday the tendency to put emphasis on "with" (And with your spirit):  a clear linkage of relative emphasis to "And also with you".  With the operative words now being your (or possibly spirit), I tried to more fully embrace the text by saying: "And with your spirit".  That is, when I remembered to say it in the first place.


As always, Stephen Colbert had something to say as well.


Below are a few pictures from the weekend.  The full Thanksgiving album is also available on Picasa for your enjoyment.  First some food, then the first annual omelette cook off!  Aimee led us all in explaining the carefully devised rules and scoring:  four judges will assess omelettes from four chefs on the basis of cooking technique, taste, use of available ingredients, and omelette integrity.  Despite a good showing, my arugula pesto with chèvre and shallots, my creation, did not win.  But Kari's did -- and it was very delicious!

The deliciously moist turkey

Aimee's amazing apple pie

Aimee and I with Crowley (who is much more focused on the kids than the camera)

Dad's Omelette preparations (where's the cottage cheese?)

Aimee and Kari readying their ingredients

I believe I was caught stealing ingredients.

To kick it all off, we had a nice visit with Sarah and Matt at the Blundy residence.  Crowley came over to meet their 8 month old puppy Sparty.  It was quite cute.  Once they sorted out their relative hierarchy, they played pretty well together!

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving holiday was replenishing and enjoyable.  In a few words, literally speaking, we give thanks for:

1. Our family's health, especially my Mom and Kari
2. Our family traditions which we honor by invigorating and passing on each year
3. The generosity, honesty, and hospitality of our friends
4. The passionate embrace of faith by our church and the dedication of those who serve it
5. Crowley

Girl & the Goat, Boy & the iMac

This is one of those random update posts.  First of all, this happened:

Part of me feels like I'm defecting but, at the same time, it was time for some upgraded computing power around here.  So far, I'm loving the [ridiculously big] screen size, Finale, Garage Band, etc.  And no, 12 GB of memory isn't overkill.

Moving on.  We've had a reservation at Stephanie Izzard's Girl and the Goat since early August and we finally got to go last night.  It really was amazing.  We had the roasted cauliflower (with pickled peppers,  pine nuts, and mint), mussels (with goat sausage croutons), the wood oven roasted pig face (yep), along with some amazing desserts and drinks.

exterior from Randolph

menu

wood oven roasted pig face

Megan and her roommates graciously invited us over afterwards for some quality Monday night TV (Castle and Jeopardy).  Earlier in the weekend, we celebrated Kristen's birthday with her family and friends up in Wrigleyville.  Her mom prepared a delicious, homestyle feast for us all.

Earlier yet, we attended our first ever Turkey Fry at Steve and Rachelle's house.  I've never had turkey that moist and succulent.  Special thanks to your hospitality and great friendship -- we had a great time!

Back one more day to Friday, Jami and Scott were in town with our niece and nephew (Megan and Justin).  They stayed downtown and did some shopping, ambling about the city among the crowds.  They joined us for dinner Friday night at Salatino's in Little Italy which was great and then came to the 10am at Old St. Pat's.    And finally a random picture of the piano at church for good measure:

Our Thanksgiving travels will take us up to Lansing this year.  We are more than ready to have a few days to relax and visit with friends and family.  Up next:  a family picture, omelette cook off, doggie play dates,

Will Run for Chocolate

On Thursday we got to have our near-annual visit with Jenny, in from DC.  Last time was their wedding!  We went to one of our new favorites, the Davanti Enoteca, in Little Italy.  Nice wine, great company, subtle, yet comfortable ambiance (right Jenny?), and burrata – a cream filled fresh mozzarella cheese:  can’t go wrong!

I was inspired by the delicious baked goods and realized that I’ve not baked bread in a while so in preparation for our post-race brunch on Saturday, I made a loaf of cinnamon swirl and regular bread.  These are just amazing in the new toaster oven by the way.  Nothing fancy in the recipe, just the standard Better Homes and Gardens recipe (although I did craft my own cinnamon filling but you really can’t go wrong with cinnamon, sugar, brown sugar and Mexican vanilla!).

  

Friday was Michael and Keara’s Wedding Reception at Old St. Pat’s.  It was fun to get all dressed up and be in a space of frequent, otherwise casual socializing to celebrate their marriage.  What a great couple, we are blessed to call them friends.

Saturday was race day.

The Hot Chocolate 15k was finally upon us.  We had a beautiful day and gathered with about 15,000 other chocolate-motivated runners in Grant Park for the start (including Fr. Tom, Emily, Megan, Meghan, Michael).  It was in the mid to high 40s all day with bright sun throughout.  In terms of results, Aimee and I were both really happy with our times, considering this was the farthest either of us had ever run.  We ran 10.5 minute miles which was definitely faster than expected, thanks to Aimee’s unflagging determination to power through.  The official ranking aren’t quite as impressive, but hey, there were a lot of people running….

	Overall	Our Age Group	Men/Women
Mark	9,946th	806 / 903	3,745 / 4,348
Aimee	9,953rd		1,173 / 1,758		6,194 / 9,067

Below is a picture of the route we ran (taken from Nike+ on my iPhone) and Aimee enjoying her post-race Ghirardelli chocolate fondue.

                   

Post-fondue was brunch hosted by Michael and Joanna.  Crowley got to tag along for this one but didn’t get to enjoy the French Toast Casserole, Swiss Chard Egg Dish, fresh fruit parfaits, mimosas, Blood Marys, and doughnuts.  Well, she may have gotten a little doughnut.

Many Happy Returns!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife and caring friend; loving companion, warm-spirited, smart, hard working and very often selfless:  I couldn’t imagine my life with anyone else and had a wonderful time celebrating her birthday this weekend.  As the Indian girls I work with say:  Many Happy Returns of the Day!!

On Friday night, I made a taco fiesta dinner at our place for us and Sara, Adam, and Kristen.  Shredded fajita chicken and tasty steak filled our tacos, accompanied by homemade guacamole and strawberry daiquiris to fill our tummies.  

I did some shopping at Bed, Bath, and Beyond this year but also at Ballyea Jewelry Designs (for fine Irish inspired rings, pendants, etc).  It’s run by Bernadette Moore from OSP and is nestled in on the 6th floor in Jewelers Row in the loop. I got Aimee a Trinity Knot pendant (see above) and a toaster oven (see below).  Yet another appliance added to our kitchen means a need for increased counter space so I got and installed a knife rack as well!

On Saturday night we made plans to celebrate Aimee’s birthday again and to re-visit a new great Italian Restaurant:  Salatino’s on Racine near Taylor.  Katie very graciously drove in to be with Aimee and me for dinner (which meant a lot… thank you!).  We had an unexpected bottle of wine delivered to our table courtesy of the Castillo’s quite needless generosity.  Of course, we walked back over to their house afterwards for more wine!  We are blessed with such great friends here who we are happy to call family.

Sunday was a very full day too.  I did my weekly accessibility mass with Laura and then rushed home to have brunch with MB and BB at Meli on Grand. 

Quick review:  great space and much larger than the one in Greektown so easier to get in.  The service was extremely inattentive but, other than consistently empty coffee cups, accurate.  My Count Chocula French Toast was delicious but two more mainstay breakfast items at our table (benedicts) contained dreadfully poached eggs which is tough to get past.

Then before mass, I stood awkwardly and humbly before a group who had gathered in the church hall to sing through my mass setting.  I am so grateful to have that chance to hear the music in person.  It has already spurred some new thinking which I’ll continue to work through. 

After mass we celebrated the birthdays of Aimee and Elena, and the great camaraderie of our 5 o’clock music group with a potluck in the rectory.

   

So it’s Halloween here in Austin and it is about what you’d expect on Halloween: a random mix of people collectively realizing that they need to step up their normal efforts to stand out.  It’s been fun to see all the different costumes though!  Looking forward to this weekend already:  an evening with Jenny, Keara and Michael’s wedding reception, running (and maybe even finishing) the Hot Chocolate 15k, and I’m sure more to come!

Family, Drama, and Beautiful Singing

I need to start off on a sad note…  On Sunday, October 16th, my grandma on my mom’s side passed away at the age of 94.  She lived a full life, had a welcoming spirit, and has been a memorable, inspiring figure to so many, including me, my parents, and my sisters and their families. Grandma, you are, and will be missed!

 
The funeral afforded us that unplanned time to celebrate her life and be with our close family up in Lansing this past week.  It was a good reminder of the importance of building and supporting the family in our lives and recognizing the loving bonds of relationships that allow those families to grow and prosper.

Pardon the rough transition, but Saturday evening at the opera gave us a tragic glimpse of how those family bonds can be occluded by feuding and conflict.  Through the creative minds and talented performers of the Lyric Opera, Aimee and I took in the first of our 5 operas this season in what I’m deeming our “Opera Experiment”.  Playing on Saturday was Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.  Susanna Phillips was spectacular and, as the only real female role, shined heads above the rest of the cast.  The drama was ever-present on stage though the music itself, an archetype of the bel canto Italian style, never led you too far away from “pretty” melodies and contented rhythms.  From the Lyric’s website…

In Scotland, Lucia and Edgardo are breathlessly, desperately in love. But their two clans are bitter rivals, so Lucia’s villainous brother Enrico sets out to quell his young sister’s romance. And he deploys every devious device he can muster, including lies, forgery, and finally the false revelation of Edgardo’s infidelity.  Little wonder that Lucia is mentally crushed and destroyed, driven to madness and murder before she dies of a broken heart. 

Turns out that wasn’t the only tragedy on Saturday night as Notre Dame got outplayed by USC and lost miserably.  Avoiding that depressing spectacle, we favored the Halloween Party at Megan’s apartment instead.  We showed our creative spirits and attended, dressed up, as it were, as opera patrons.

Aimee also sang a wedding on Saturday afternoon at OSP before getting on with the rest of that night.  Then on Sunday morning, I played at the 10am accessibility mass (as I have every Sunday since the beginning of August) but this time accompanying my lovely wife.  Later it was off to Best Buy where I ordered this:  the new Canon PowerShot S100.  If it’s anything like the S95, it will be an amazing camera!  Pictures will surely be posted.

This brought us to brunch at Stax in Little Italy. I had the blueberry pancakes with black pepper bacon and Aimee got the brisket hash with egg whites (pictured below).  All in all, I was pretty impressed with the ambiance, service, and food.  The $5 orange juice was steep, but delicious. 

And for a Crowley picture, here’s a recent one of her perfecting the puppy dog eyes.  In this case, I think she was pining for some cheese (definitely not a mushroom; she demonstrated that she shares our abhorrence for the fungi earlier this week):

We closed out the weekend back at Old St. Pat’s with mass at 5 (more singing!) and a leisurely dinner at Greek Islands.  It was a great way to wind down the weekend and get ready for the week ahead.  Back to Austin!!