The Dog Ate Our Christmas Tree - Memories of Me Monday

Christmas 1960
Me, my older brother, Mike, and my little brother, Stephen

Today's memory jogger as posted in last Monday's blog: "What tradition at Christmas is your very favorite?"

That's easy - Santa! I LOVE the guy. I always have, and I always will, love everything about him; letters to Santa, sitting on Santa's lap, getting photographed with Santa, his reindeer and his red suit, his sleigh full of presents and his fluffy white beard, his shiny black boots and his hearty "Ho, Ho, Ho!" I even love that he lives at the frigid North Pole, even though I don't like the cold! There's just not a more likable guy and I won't tolerate a word to be said against him.

The best Christmas parties always include Santa. In the early 60's my parents had a group of friends that they were very close to. The Luceros, the Harris's, and the Sessions. They got together with them frequently, so all of us kids saw each other a lot as well. Shelly Sessions was my best friend. (In the years to come the Luceros would move away, Giselle Harris would often babysit me and my siblings, and I would develop a terrible crush on Kevin!)

The adults had dinner parties, played cards, and took us to the beach, the mountains, and, once, camping in Mexico. We probably often got together for Christmas, but the one year I remember well was when we had a party and Santa showed up as a surprise guest!

Christmas approx. 1963
at the Lucero's home in Hermosa Beach, CA.
I'm on the very far right, half-hidden behind Giselle Harris;
others pictured are David Lucero, Kevin Harris, and Shelly Sessions

Another tradition I loved, growing up, was Christmas Eve at Grandma Ware's house:

Christmas 1967
Steve, Lisa, and Grandma Ware
Hawthorne, CA.

Gram always made a huge dinner, had a decorated tree and gifts for everyone, and planned games and activities for us kids. All my cousins came, too, the Bisks and the Lutes, so as our families grew we became quite the crowd.

I will admit that one thing I did NOT like about these Christmas Eve parties was my Gram's Christmas pudding. Oh, it was horrible! The only way I can describe it is as a super-heavy, very dense, fruitcake-y thing with a thick & sugary burnt-maple-flavored sauce poured over it. Apparently, it was a tradition that Gram had grown up with in Canada and that she was determined to continue. On the way to her house each Christmas Eve we kids (and my Dad, too) would be threatened to within an inch of our lives to NOT let on that we didn't like the pudding. We were to thank Gram and eat every bite!

I don't know if Gram ever figured out that none of us liked her Christmas pudding!

Although I love Christmas traditions, I have learned that the most memorable Christmases are the ones where there's something different, new, or unusual. Once, just once, our family had a flocked Christmas tree:

Christmas 1965 - Hopkins, MN

Scary - my brother, Mike, got a BB gun!

It was so pretty; all white with just blue glass balls for decoration. Very different from the usual green tree with construction paper chains, lights, and a variety of ornaments. I can even remember watching as the men at the Christmas tree lot sprayed the white flocking onto the tree. I never knew, until very recently, why we never had another one like it. Turns out my mom hadn't liked it, she thought it was too "cold."

Christmas 1965 or 1966 - Hopkins, MN
Me, our new puppy Elkie, and my brother, Steve

Only once did we ever receive a pet for a Christmas gift. It was a Norwegian Elkhound that we named Elkie. We were so excited! Elkie was trouble, though; we couldn't keep her away from the Christmas tree. She chewed on it every chance she got, as well as our toys and shoes. I can imagine the hassle of housebreaking her in the middle of winter with several feet of snow on the ground. In our neighborhood there were no fences so she ran free most of the time when she was outside. She was not very obedient and would run off whenever she wanted. One day she got run over by the school bus and broke her leg. She recovered and our family brought her with us when we moved back to California in 1968. Our new house in the suburbs of Redondo Beach had a very small yard and she was unhappy there, so we eventually gave her away to a family with more room.

Another Christmas that's memorable to me is the one when I was about 8 or 9. That year I discovered the closet where my mom had hidden our wrapped gifts. I excitedly peeked in every single package! But then on Christmas morning I felt sad because there were no surprises.

I think the best & most memorable Christmases are those with both long-standing traditions and something new or different.


FOR NEXT WEEK: "Describe the buildings, grounds, etc., of the junior high you attended. What was it like walking to school?"

Suisun City Waterfront - A Walk with Friends

Mike, with our friends, Linda and Allen, from Roseville.

The four of us met in Suisun City for lunch and a stroll around this charming little town; none of us had ever been here before. It was terribly windy, but not too cold and the sun was out in full force so it was actually a pretty nice day. The old building they are standing in front of caught my eye, of course, due to my recent fascination with old buildings, especially falling-down ones. And this one is falling down; check out this next photo:
Funniest part is, the building is for sale! (I had Mike stand directly in front of the For Sale sign so that it wouldn't ruin my picture, ha!) We peeked in the windows and could see that this building used to house a mexican restaurant. My guess is whoever buys it will have to bulldoze it down completely and start over, which is actually kind of a shame.

Here are several photos of the Suisun City waterfront, a nice little area with restaurants, shops, offices and, of course, boats.


That lighthouse is not a real one; we walked over there and found it is more a piece of art, built in the late 1990's and was dedicated on July 4th. I did find a reference on the internet to Suisun City's huge fireworks show each Independence Day; it is supposed to be the biggest in the area. We may have to check that out this summer.

We had lunch at Bab's Delta Diner:
It is 50's style and had a really friendly crew. Our waitress told us Babs is her grandmother, and that several generations of the family still own and work at the restaurant including her mother, Debbie, and her son, who works on weekends. The food was good and the service friendly. I'd definitely eat there again and next time I won't pass up the home-made bluberry cobbler!

While walking around the very interesting residential area we came across this old Dodge that Linda said was just like a car she'd had when she was a lot younger, except hers had been red.

I wish I'd taken more photos of the houses; they all had so much personality. One looked like it used to be a schoolhouse, and it was on School Street, too. I did get this one photo but I was actually more interested in that amazing purple wisteria.
I know we only saw a small part of this little town, since we were on foot. I'd like to go back with our bicycles and really explore the entire area. I read that the It's-It ice cream sandwiches are made here, somewhere, and that the company has recently opened a small retail store next to their factory, where you can buy the sandwiches.

That alone is worth a trip back! Who's up for meeting us there???

An Outing with Yarn Yumminess

So one-half of the team who housesat for us last year during our 8-week sailing cruise, Mary (of Richard and Mary), is currently nearby in San Jose at a housesit there. Mary and I took advantage of being within 90 minutes of each other to meet halfway, in Dublin, CA., for lunch. It has been almost exactly one year since we saw each other and it was fun to get together and catch up on each other's lives.

We had lunch at Taqueria Los Pericos and, luckily for us, we arrived at 11:30 so we ordered, got seated, and were eating when the lunch crowd arrived. The line went out the door! Mary had researched the restaurant on-line since neither of us is familiar with Dublin and it was as good (and popular) as reported. And reasonable, too, always a plus! Mary had the tostada and I had nachos and both dishes were fresh, tasted great, and arrived quickly.

Afterwards we visited a nearby yarn shop, That Yarn Shop, at 7164 Regional Street, where we spent...oh, I don't want to say how long, oohing and aahing over the yummy yarns! Wow, I think I picked up fingered and rubbed on my face a skein of every brand and type of yarn in the entire store! I took the picture below when I got home, but it definitely doesn't do the yarn justice.I can't wait to knit with these yarns, they're so soft...I have plans for them but can't say what those plans are just in case I get an item or two done in time to give away for Christmas! Of course, my gifts-to-be-made list is soooo long, and there's not nearly enough time to do everything. Still, I'm having a lot fun trying. Oh, the yarn info is: blue/purple blend is by Teseo in Italy, 55% Wool and 45% Microfibre, the red/gray/black variegated is by Berroco in Uxbridge, MA., and is 41% wool and 59% rayon. (I don't like 100% wool as I find it scratchy against my skin.)

It was a really nice outing, especially since I've been at my computer almost constantly for the past week or so, working on client projects for my digital scrapbook business. So nice to get out of the house and, once I was across the Benicia/Martinez Bridge which was socked in with fog like most of Benicia, I found myself in sunshine! Gorgeous, warm sunshine.

I have got to get out more!

Good Friends, their Cats, and Steinmart

I had a great time at my friend, Linda's, house this past weekend. She and her husband, Allen, are the ultimate host and hostess. Linda is a gourmet cook; Allen a wonderful conversationalist. And they have three gorgeous Maine Coon cats, Winston, Skelton, and Sophie.

Here are the kitties:

Winston

Skelton

and the little girl, Sofie:

Doesn't she have the cutest little white triangle on her nose?

Linda and I went shopping and found some AMAZING sales at Steinmart. I had never been to a Steinmart before. I found a dress that I loved and felt I just had to have, and when I got to the checkout counter found it was ON SALE!!! Normally $69, I paid only $48. I was happy! I got two pairs of capri pants, too, for only $12 each.

Linda cooked amazing meals, and Allen drove me to the pharmacy (late) when I realized I had a bladder infection coming on and needed to get some medication.

Thank you, Linda and Allen, for an amazing visit. And, of course, Winston, Skelton, and Sofie!

All I Ever Needed to Know About Friendship . . .

. . . I learned from reading "Papillon."

The movie's great, but the book is even better. One of the most important things I've ever learned about making and keeping friends is from this book.

If you aren't familiar with the story, Papillon, it's about a French thief, Henri "Papillon" Charriere (nicknamed "Papillon" due to the butterfly tattooed on his chest - papillon is French for butterfly), who is imprisoned in South America, escapes several times, and finally is sent to (inescapable) Devil's Island in French Guiana. Conditions are extraordinarily harsh, as befits (at that time anyway) repeat offenders and escapists. Papillon had made his living mainly as a safe-cracker, but was wrongly accused of murdering a pimp. Once he got put into the "system," he kept breaking out, getting recaptured, and receiving even harsher sentences.

I'll never forget the scene in the movie (and book) where Papillon is standing knee-deep in cold, miserable, muddy water in his cell, along with all the other prisoners in their own individual cells. I don't remember exactly where, but somewhere he had gotten hold of six cigarettes. Well, cigarettes in prison are like gold. They are used as currency, they are hoarded, they are prized because of their scarcity and because, when smoked, the smoker enjoys a rush and feeling of good-will unmatched by anything else available to them.

What does Papillon do? He gives away five cigarettes, and keeps only one to smoke himself. I may be wrong about the number; he may have given away all six, I'll need to re-read the book. But you get the point?

He instantly had five (or six) loyal friends. We all know when someone has given us something of great value. It means something. This was not just "sharing," this was giving up something we'd really rather have kept, for the sake of those around us.

It has an impact.

Chat de Mer, and a new Blog of Note

We're going sailing tomorrow. Our friend, Leo, owns a 43-foot catamaran and has invited us out for the day. Here is a photo of Leo's boat, the Chat de Mer, as he is pulling up to his spot at the dock in the Richmond Harbor. The name is french and, translated, means "SeaCat." It's a gorgeous boat, with three cabins, two heads (with showers!), a very nice galley including a small fridge (and freezer!), a t.v. with DVD-player, solar panels, single side-band radio (in addition to the usual VHF), honestly, I don't even know what all he's got on there. Pretty much all the bells and whistles any sea-going captain could ever want.

I've never crewed on a catamaran before so I have a lot to learn. Luckily, Leo seems to be pretty patient and good-natured (unlike that last captain I sailed with) so I'm looking forward to a fun day. Mike will be crew, too, so that should bring him down a notch or two!

The only downside is that I will not be able to make it to a Jazzercise class tomorrow. I've managed to get to class for 10 (yes, TEN) days in a row, and now I'll have to miss a day. I briefly considered attending twice one day to make up for it, but I think I'll just modify my goal to be "25 classes in 26 days" or, since I will miss class the following Saturday too, to attend a PhotoShop laptop crop at Adobe HQ in San Jose with my friend Susan) I'd better make it "25 classes in 27 days."

Still, I think that's pretty great! Going to all the extra classes has been fun. I'm moving out of my comfort zone by going to classes with different instructors, at different times of the day, and even going to regular Jazzercise, instead of only Step classes. All the variations are good; it keeps me from using the same muscles over and over every day. Instead, I'm getting a great, overall workout. And my new shoes are fabulous! No blisters.

My BFF (best friends forever), Judy, has a blog!! I'm very excited. She writes in such an entertaining manner and always includes lots of details (which I'm usually too lazy to do, but am trying to improve). I've been urging her for awhile now to start a blog, and I think so have some of her other friends, and she's finally done it. I especially enjoy the photos she posts. Guess that's why I love blogs so much. It's like email, but illustrated. I've always been priveledged, via our frequent emails to each other, to "hear" Judy's stories (all true) and enjoy her philosophy of life, and the meaning she finds in everyday things; I'm happy to know that now lots more people will also get to enjoy them.

Judy: You Go, Girl!

Oh, and I'm tickled to be able to say I'm the FIRST to subscribe to your blog!!! Can't wait to see what you post next!

Last Post from China

I only have a few minutes for one last post from China, so thought I'd leave you with a photo of me trying sheep eyeballs for the very first time! Yeah, they were delicious -- NOT! I also tried sheep testicles! Now I can say I've tried them and didn't like them!

I have more stories about eating strange things in China; hopefully, I will have time to post some of them when I get home. So much more to tell and just not enough time! We've got another travel adventure ahead of us, too, as we take a taxi to the train station, a sleeper train to Shanghai, then either a bus or another train to the Shanghai airport. It's truly exhausting. Then I've got a 14 hour, overnight flight ahead of me as well. Hm, somehow it's just not sounding so bad when HOME is at the end of it all!

That's it for now; thanks for coming along with me on this incredible journey! Next stop -- The United States of America!!!

Attending Class in China

Michael took me to his classes as a special guest. He has over 220 students! I think I went to class 4 0r 5 times before I met everyone. Each time when I walked in the door at the beginning of class the students applauded and were all smiles. Everyone wanted to meet "Michael's mom."

In each class we showed pictures of Michael as a little boy, his family and friends, and places in America. I had also scanned a lot of Michael's elementary schoolwork and the class enjoyed seeing the mistakes he made when he was learning to read and write. After the picture show we opened up the session to any questions the students had that they wanted to ask either me or Michael. I can't tell you how often, over the course of all the classes, I was asked whether Michael had been naughty as a little boy! Everyone wanted to know what he was like when he was small.

They were also very interested in my impressions of China, the Chinese people, and life in China. I also got questions about, of all things, women's liberation, and which presidential candidate I favored.
At the end of the classes we passed out the hand-made cards I had brought, and which had been made and donated by a lot of my scrapbooking friends. Beaded bracelets made by California girl scouts, and crisp new dollar bills, were given to the students brave enough to ask me a question. Suddenly I got TONS of questions!
A room full of very attentive students.
At the end of class the students posed with their cards and bracelets. I'm in this photo, too, but you probably can't see me. Let's just say I'm up to my nose in Chinese students!

More of my Birthday in China

As mentioned in a previous post, Michael threw a big birthday party for me at his regular Wednesday night dinner. Many of his friends and colleagues came, there was a fantastic meal, I got presents, and we had a huge cake.Here we are having dinner cooked by Michael and his friends. I met a lot of new people that evening, as well as got to see many that I already knew from my previous trip here, or from attending Michael's classes.
My cake. That's Xiao Rui (Michael's girlfriend) to my left. Not only did I have a big dinner and cake, but I also got treated by Dr. Lee and another doctor, Faye, to a splint for my wrist.They arrived with the splint and sling and, when they realized they didn't have anything to tie the splint on with, they used the laces from a pair of Michael's shoes! Behind us you can see Dr. Lee showing off his new watch -- it takes photographs!
Michael with Faye, Aggie (from Portugal), and Mike from Spain. Faye is Chinese and a doctor here in Luoyang, and Aggie and Mike (also known as Spanish Mike) are also teachers.
Dr. Lee in front. In back is Aggie, Xiao Rui (right next to me), and Faye on the far right. I can't remember the names of the two Chinese girls.That day, Wed'day, was the third day of a three-day mourning period in all of China, in memory of the earthquake victims (which are now numbering over 55,000). One of Michael's friends brought white candles, placed them in a heart shape on the table, and lit them so that we could offer a few moments of silence.
Another birthday cake, this time at a nightclub called "The Image" where many of the foreigners living in Luoyang gather for dinner each Friday evening. This was my "real" birthday so I was treated again to dinner, friends, and a cake. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me and I blew out the tall, skinny chinese candles. The cakes are not as sweet as in the U.S. but they are very good and have a cream & and fruit filling. And they are huge!
One of the new people I got to meet that evening was Jim Medsea, the original drummer for the 70's rock band "Boston!" That was great fun and I got to sit and talk with him and another friend, Allen, about their experiences living in China. Jim still plays the drums and is going on a revival tour with Boston this summer, but most of the time he lives here in China teaching English to kindergartners! He absolutely loves it here and has no plans to go back to the U.S. on a permanent basis anytime soon.

Hard to believe my visit is winding down soon. I have much more to blog about, though, so stay tuned for photos and description of my "appearances" as a special guest in Michael's classroom, and Animal Rights in China, to name a couple of the upcoming subjects!

Take care, all!

Searching for Mary Perdew

This is a scan of the envelope of a letter I wrote in 1994 to the last-known address of my friend, Mary Perdew. We had lost touch around the mid-80's so I was not surprised, but still disappointed, when the letter came back. I have been looking for her ever since.

I knew Mary when I lived in Hampton, Virginia. She was our across-the-hall neighbor in the apartment complex I lived in with my first husband and our two little boys. Mary's husband and mine were both in the Air Force and stationed at Langley AFB. Mary's husband's name was Robert Perdew, and she has a son also named Robert, who was called Robbie. Robbie was buddies with my son, Rodrigo.

Mary was my best friend in Virgina, and I still miss her. She was only a couple years older than I am so she'd be in her early 50's now. She was originally from Ohio (as you can see from the letter) where she worked for Sears. She and her family moved back to Ohio around 1982 or 83. Maybe she has gone back to work for Sears. She may also have gone back to her maiden name (which I don't know), or remarried, who knows what has happened in the years since I lost contact with her. This makes it even harder to find her.

Every now and then I Google her name, but so far none of the Mary Perdews I've found are the right Mary Perdew. But I keep hoping that someday I'll find a clue that will help me get in touch with her again. Or that perhaps she'll somehow find me -- if she's looking. I hope she is.

Cajun Food - MmmmmMMMMM!

So . . . brace yourself. You may not want to read this blog if you are hungry -- unless you can afford to buy a full-fare airline ticket to Louisiana and leave immediately!

Shrimp Creole served over white rice with garlic bread, sweet corn, and a scoop of potato salad, as served at B&C Seafood in Vachere, LA. Contrary to popular opinion most Cajun food is NOT spicy. Flavorful & rich, yes, but not spicy!

Sausage and Seafood Gumbo. Gumbo is always served over rice and with a side-car of potato salad. Cajuns feel it's important that this dish is eaten correctly so my friends and I got a lesson: With a spoon scoop up some potato salad, then drag the spoon through the rice and gumbo until you have a bit of everything on it. Heaven!

Seafood Gumbo with crab legs, shrimp, oysters, and shrimp. Again, note the sidecar of potato salad. Yum! This gumbo was made by Louisianans Brent & Tookie who invited us over to their home which sits on the route of one of the many parades we saw (more about those in a later blog). The crab legs made for an extra exciting gumbo!

At another parade we had a tailgate lunch. Ruth's sister Carolyn prepared awesome pork strips which we then put inside huge Po'Boy rolls with condiments. They called these grillades. Wish I had one right now!
Speaking of Po'Boys! At Larry and Mary's house one evening we had 'em. This one is stuffed with fried shrimp, and oysters. The plate on the left has fried fish (speckled sea bass) and the famous Cajun red beans and rice.
Here's something you probably have never had. Shrimp Spiders. These are the shells of the shrimp after the meat and heads have been removed. The empty body and legs are battered and deep-fried. You can eat these like popcorn they are so good!

Mary made fried dough for breakfast at least twice and is it GOOD! We ate it with fig jam and other preserves. Breakfast was always delicious with eggs, turkey bacon, fruit, coffee, juice, and that old southern specialty - grits.

Ok, so now we need to talk CRAB BOIL. This photo shows Larry out in the back yard with his huge boiling pot.

Inside are six dozen blue crabs and "crab boil" seasoning.

After the crabs are cooked they are dumped into an insulated chest to keep them hot. We each got a plastic tray (not a plate - a tray!) and grabbed several crabs. Ruth taught us the proper way to crack the crabs. It wasn't easy at first! We had to separate the top of the body from the underside, then break the underside in half to get at the good meat. The legs we cracked open by hammering on them with the heavy end of a table knife. Juices, meat, and shells were spread from one end of the table to the other. It's hard to explain how much fun this was and how good these crabs tasted. Maybe this next photo will help!

Notice the big red tray full of shells...and I was just getting started! (Please note: this is NOT the correct way to eat a crab!)

King Cakes were on the menu for any special occasion. Not so much a cake, they are more of a bread shaped in an oval, frosted, and then covered with sugar in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. They have an endless variety of fillings; bavarian cream was my favorite, but there was also strawberry cream cheese, chocolate, raspberry, vanilla pudding, and one even had chocolate-covered strawberries on top.

Somewhere inside a King Cake is a tiny plastic baby. The rule is that whoever finds the baby in their slice of cake gets the priveledge of buying (or making) the next one!

Another dessert: bread pudding. Yummy yummy yummy. To the left you can see a small package of "tea cookies." The bread pudding was awesome; unfortunately, I forgot to try the cookies!

Just writing about all this delicious food makes me long to be back in Cut Off, Louisiana, at the very welcoming and comfortable home of Larry & Mary St. Germaine. I have never had such a good time trying new foods.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

I've crossed another item off my Bucket List! I spent Mardi Gras IN Louisiana!! This picture shows me standing in front of the apartments that my friends, Judy, Ruth, Sabrina, and I stayed in on our first night in Louisiana. Ruth's friends, Kent and Tookie, let us use their apartments right IN the French Quarter!
The first thing we did the next morning was head directly over to the famous Cafe du Monde and have their world-famous beignets. Ohhhhh, they were heavenly. They are a square donut-type pastry, but even better tasting, sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar, and served warm straight from the fryer. Amazing!

That meal sort of set the stage for the rest of our week-long trip which turned out NOT to be all about Mardi Gras, but all about Cajun food! Check out all the stuff they serve at the restaurant/market in the photo below!Truly, the food is the reason to go to Louisiana, if you ask me, the food and the incredibly friendly people. I'm the sort that wants to try local cuisine, especially if there's something I've never had, and I had ample opportunity for it on this trip. More on that later!This is a picture of (allegedly) Brad Pitt's house. I don't remember exactly what parish or little town this house is in, and I say allegedly because although we drove by this house a number of times we never did see anyone outside, let alone Brad, Angelina, or their kids. Isn't it a beauty, though? And totally surrounded by very old, very stately and gorgeous oak trees hung with moss. I knew Brad lived somewhere near New Orleans from hearing about his Make it Right Foundation on the Ellen Degeneris show. The foundation is raising money for post-Katrina re-building and Ellen (who was born in New Orleans) spent most of January helping raise money for the foundation.

Speaking of Katrina damage, I'll be posting some photos of the damage I saw when Larry drove Ruth and I through the 9th Ward, which was hard hit. I'm still going through the nearly 1,000 photos I came home with, weeding out the bad ones (way more than I like to admit!) and I'll also be receiving copies of the pictures taken by my friends, so I may post some of those as well.

Also speaking of Katrina damage, let it be known that Louisiana, and New Orleans in particular, is NO LONGER underwater!! The people there are very anxious for tourism to return to its pre-Katrina level because so many people make their living from tourist dollars. I HIGHLY recommend a visit there; you will love it. From the lovely old plantations, to the fascinating Bayou, to the FOOD, and the crazy Cajun patois, you'll love it!!

I'll be posting more photos and info about my trip there in future posts so I hope you'll check back soon! (Better yet, go to http://www.bloglines.com/ and register to recieve automatic notification whenever I update my blogs!) You won't be sorry!!