Christmas Displays, or a Study in the Dynamic

It's time for a return to the horrors of Sophie's photography, for which I'm sure you're all exactly as grateful as you should be! Behold:

This picture represents our main holiday decorating endeavor this year. You will notice, no tree is involved. Now I'm as big a fan of the Christmas tree as anyone, but you have to admit, it can often feel very stagnant as you dutifully place the same silver balls, glass pickle, and so forth, year after year, trying to make it feel fresh.

That's where the holiday display comes in. This picture was inspired by a Martha Stewart spread of a Scandanavian-themed mantle. Hence we used light woods, antlers and fresh greenery--all very organic. The silver accents then stood out and brightened everything up. And the presents in the background make it clear that this is more than a winter themed table, it's our holiday focal point.

Lights, greenery, silver...why this has a lot of elements of our old friend the Christmas tree, but it feels a lot fresher and more dynamic. Best of all, we didn't have to buy a thing for it--everything in this photo was stashed here and there around the house.

How are you making holiday decorating fresh this year?

Mother's Turkey Soup

Every year, for the holiday season, my mother makes this wonderful soup of leftovers, and every year, I like it far better than the meal that preceded it. It is the most forgiving soup imaginable. Everything in the ingredients list below, saving the turkey, is a suggestion rather than an imperative. Whatever vegetables or sides you have cooked for your meal will go wonderfully into the pot, although I will admit that the cranberries are perhaps my favorite part as they add a lovely tart sweetness. Please note that the ingredients below such as yams are pre-cooked.

Mother's Turkey Soup

2 cups turkey drippings
4-5 cups water
Turkey carcass split in half and its meat (assuming you have not cleanly picked the bones), turkey wings and meat, etc
2 cups stuffing
1/2-3/4 cup cranberry sauce
1-2 cups yams
1 cup green bean casserole
1 cup mashed potatoes

Boil drippings, water, and carcass 2-3 hours. Remove carcass and strip of its meat. Return meat to the stock. Add remaining ingredients for 30-45 minutes. Allow to sit perhaps a quarter of an hour to blend flavors. You may wish to skim fat from the top of the soup.

On the Pleasures of Bathing

This morning, I took a bath. I consider this notable not because I am habitually dirty, but because most Americans don't bathe for cleanliness, they shower instead. I once had a friend refer to bathing as "stewing in your own juices."

This concept is completely foreign to me. While, yes, a good shower is refreshing, a bath feels like a deep clean--like soaking a pot before you scrub it. My main retort to those who consider bathing "dirty" would be to point out that that dirt was on your body five minutes ago. If you can't stand to bathe, how can you stand to be in your own skin?

I suspect this weird fear of bathing is uniquely American and has something to do with being entirely habituated to flush toilets. We get this idea that everything "dirty," whether it's shit or dead skin cells, has to go down the drain directly or else it will contaminate us. Now, I'm as fond of a flush toilet as anyone else, but I do make distinctions here.

Besides, while showers are lovely, a bath is simply perfect. For most of us, it's as close as we will ever get to returning to the womb, huddling there in a confined space surrounded by warm liquid. Why shouldn't we have that comfort on a daily basis instead of reserving it for that once a year when we feel like breaking out the scented candles and bath salts? Bathing is a cheap luxury that nearly anyone can enjoy.

Travel Chic

I had a marvelous visit to Houston this last weekend--full of brunches and really good cocktails and dear, dear friends.

But in the airport, I found myself thinking less about my destinations and more about the appearance of the travelers around me. I believe there are two pitfalls to be avoided when traveling: the schlubby look and the "business trip" look. Both are equally awful, though if I had to pick one, I'd probably pick the former.

So here is my list of must-haves to give your fellow travelers something nice to look at:

Colorful and well-made luggage (NOT dripping with logos, please)
Neat and comfortable clothes--a slightly conservative chic is best here
Shoes that are easy to get off and on!
No more than ONE electronic device glued to your face
A big smile--whether you're enjoying your trip or not, you WILL stand out in the misery.

For example, for my trip from Houston back home, I wore a white, lace-trimmed tank top; a black pencil skirt; a brown ruched short-sleeve shrug; and a string of pearls. Neat, chic, comfortable.

The best male attire I saw in the airport was a gentleman distinguished by his unrestrained curly hair, a well-cut jacket, jeans, a button-down shirt, and a pair of very stylish ankle boots.

So why not? It's not hard to stand out with a unique style amid a bunch of people in jeans, sweatshirts, and chinos. And you just might cheer up a fellow traveler.

Almond Butter Parfait

For this recipe, I took inspiration from the Peanut Butter Parfait recipe here, then kicked it up a notch. Yes, the baba cakes are required. No, there is no substitute.

Almond Butter Parfait

1/2 c. light brown sugar
3 tbsp cream
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp dark chocolate almond butter (mine was ground and bought in bulk at the health food store)
vanilla bean ice cream to taste
amaretto-soaked baba cakes (available at Italian groceries in nice little glass jars)

Combine sugar, cream, corn syrup, and butter and cook over low heat for approximately five minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, stir in almond butter. Cool to room temperature.

Layer almond butter mixture and ice cream in a parfait glass. Top with two baba cakes.

WARNING: You cannot eat as much of this as you think you can. I promise.

Bringing in the Color

I've thought, recently, that I want to be more visually creative. Not because I think I'm wonderful at it or that I can make anything anyone else would like (oh, listen to the fun negative self-talk!), but because I enjoy sitting and thinking about colors and shapes instead of words sometimes.

With that in mind, I've decided to start keeping a watercolor illustrated journal. I bought a set of Winsor and Newton watercolors, a water brush (so handy!) and a Moleskin watercolor notebook. My goal is going to be to make one illustrated journal entry every day in October.

In the meantime, to practice, I painted a kind of weird-looking pumpkin. But you know, I sort of liked it.

I'm a firm believer that being creative is for you, not for anyone else. If you like to sing, draw, write, whatever, then you should. It's about what makes you happy, not what other people enjoy.

Good Surprises

Teaching is full of surprises, and, frankly, a lot of them are bad. But this morning, I wanted to talk about the good surprises: the quiet student who knocks a recitation out of the park, the lazy-looking kid who turns out to have a brain, or just the moment when one student actually thinks with you rather than having you cram ideas into a vacant space.

It's so easy to be frustrated by the bad surprises, and so easy to forget the good ones. But I've had a couple of good ones already this semester. The first one happened when I assigned a peer editing session. Sure, half the class just basically went through the motions and did their thing as quickly as possible. But the other half took their time and really worked to help each other, to the point where one group actually stayed after class to finish up.

Another small, simple surprise came when two of my students emailed me to ask where the homework that I had (embarrassingly) forgotten to post was. It would have been easy for them to keep their heads down and hope to avoid homework--but they didn't.

So this is my thank you to those students who surprise me in the best way possible. You make teaching bearable.