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