Advent Calendar 2011 - Holiday Food - And Plenty Of It!

[Note: This post originally ran during the first Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories in December, 2007]


Growing up in upstate New York, the holidays at my house meant one thing: baking. And I mean baking in a big way. You'd have thought that the Pillsbury dough boy and the Keebler elves had set up shop at our house.

It didn't matter that we didn't have much when it came to money. Mom saved up money and also knew to buy items she would need in bulk during the year. We'd start baking about two weeks before Christmas and made the following treats:

- Date Nut Bread
- Welsh Cookies
- Sugar Cookies
- Butter Cookies
- No Cook Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- and Peanut Blossoms

The hyperlinked recipes above are all listed on my recipe blog called And I Helped!

We made at least 25 to 30 loaves of date nut bread. I'm not kidding. We'd use the disposable foil loaf pans and get a production line going. A loaf of date nut bread and a tub of whipped cream cheese was Mom's basic calling card during a holiday visit. Wrapped in aluminum foil, tied with ribbon.

Cookie making was split into different tasks spread over several nights. The first night we mixed all the dough since most of it had to be refrigerated before rolling out and cutting into shapes. The next night was for baking with lots of rolling, cutting and cookie sheets. And storage bins!

The last night was the best: cookie decorating. Mom usually organized a party with my cousins, neighbor kids or kids of co-workers. She'd take an old linen banquet tablecloth about 8 feet long and cover the dining room table. Then we set out all the cookies - mostly butter and sugar. Frosting was made with confectioner's sugar and milk. Then it was separated out into white coffee mugs (so you could see how much food coloring was needed) and colored.

Then the kids went to town working on their creations. The little artists worked in various styles: the "Designer" (aka Rembrandt) who fastidiously executed true-to-life renderings of Santa and snowflakes; the "Drizzler" (aka Jackson Pollack) who took a spoon, loaded it with icing and drizzled it across the cookie (and usually a neighboring artist's cookies as well); and the "Deranged" (aka Dali) who mixed different colored icings, layered icing and sprinkles, and created an abstract vision of melting Santas and warped stars.

When it was all done, Mom let the cookies dry overnight, stacked them in the storage bins, and simply shook out the tablecloth in the snow and placed it in the washing machine. Throughout the winter I would see scraps of frosting, bits of cookies and brightly colored sprinkles peek through the snow.

While I thought it was lots of fun and something to look forward to each Christmas, years later I realized there was a lesson in all this effort: It wasn't necessary to have a lot in order to give a lot. You did what you did best, added your own special touch, and gave it from the heart. It reminds me of the last verse of one of my favorite Christmas songs, In the Bleak Midwinter:

What can I give him
Poor as I am
If I were a sheperd
I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man
I would do my part
But what I can I give him
Give him my heart

Photo: Recipes for Good Eating, Crisco cookbook, 1944. [Author's note: for some reason this photo just seems bizarre to me as does the title. Do you think there was ever a "Recipes for Bad Eating" cookbook? And the scene is right out of Mommie Dearest.]

© 2011, copyright Thomas MacEntee

O Holy Night

[Editor's Note: This is my entry for this year's Blog Caroling over at Footnote Maven's blog.]

Although the song O Holy Night is incredibly beautiful, very often I think it is either overplayed during the holiday season or it is just butchered in its rendition, even by well-known vocalists. I appreciate it when someone, like Angelique Kidjo, can take a song like O Holy Night and offer up a unique arrangement. Enjoy!

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Cookiepalooza!

Gingerbread and Sugar Cookies spread out on the dining room table,
ready to be decorated

The weather outside is frightful (or will be - rain then sleet then snow then -10F with a -30F wind chill here in Chicago this weekend) so I am in the middle of a "cookie lockdown" until Monday.

I'll be making many of the cookies that I grew up with or that are part of my family' history:

• Butter Cookies
• Gingerbread Cookies
• Lime Meltaways
• Peanut Butter Blossoms
• Reindeer Balls (they're not what you think!)
• Sugar Cookies
• Thumbprint Cookies

You can read more about Cookiepalooza 2007 here.

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Advent Calendar 2010 - Holiday Food - And Plenty Of It!

[Note: This post originally ran during the first Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories in December, 2007]


Growing up in upstate New York, the holidays at my house meant one thing: baking. And I mean baking in a big way. You'd have thought that the Pillsbury dough boy and the Keebler elves had set up shop at our house.

It didn't matter that we didn't have much when it came to money. Mom saved up money and also knew to buy items she would need in bulk during the year. We'd start baking about two weeks before Christmas and made the following treats:

- Date Nut Bread
- Welsh Cookies
- Sugar Cookies
- Butter Cookies
- No Cook Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- and Peanut Blossoms

The hyperlinked recipes above are all listed on my recipe blog called And I Helped!

We made at least 25 to 30 loaves of date nut bread. I'm not kidding. We'd use the disposable foil loaf pans and get a production line going. A loaf of date nut bread and a tub of whipped cream cheese was Mom's basic calling card during a holiday visit. Wrapped in aluminum foil, tied with ribbon.

Cookie making was split into different tasks spread over several nights. The first night we mixed all the dough since most of it had to be refrigerated before rolling out and cutting into shapes. The next night was for baking with lots of rolling, cutting and cookie sheets. And storage bins!

The last night was the best: cookie decorating. Mom usually organized a party with my cousins, neighbor kids or kids of co-workers. She'd take an old linen banquet tablecloth about 8 feet long and cover the dining room table. Then we set out all the cookies - mostly butter and sugar. Frosting was made with confectioner's sugar and milk. Then it was separated out into white coffee mugs (so you could see how much food coloring was needed) and colored.

Then the kids went to town working on their creations. The little artists worked in various styles: the "Designer" (aka Rembrandt) who fastidiously executed true-to-life renderings of Santa and snowflakes; the "Drizzler" (aka Jackson Pollack) who took a spoon, loaded it with icing and drizzled it across the cookie (and usually a neighboring artist's cookies as well); and the "Deranged" (aka Dali) who mixed different colored icings, layered icing and sprinkles, and created an abstract vision of melting Santas and warped stars.

When it was all done, Mom let the cookies dry overnight, stacked them in the storage bins, and simply shook out the tablecloth in the snow and placed it in the washing machine. Throughout the winter I would see scraps of frosting, bits of cookies and brightly colored sprinkles peek through the snow.

While I thought it was lots of fun and something to look forward to each Christmas, years later I realized there was a lesson in all this effort: It wasn't necessary to have a lot in order to give a lot. You did what you did best, added your own special touch, and gave it from the heart. It reminds me of the last verse of one of my favorite Christmas songs, In the Bleak Midwinter:

What can I give him
Poor as I am
If I were a sheperd
I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man
I would do my part
But what I can I give him
Give him my heart

Photo: Recipes for Good Eating, Crisco cookbook, 1944. [Author's note: for some reason this photo just seems bizarre to me as does the title. Do you think there was ever a "Recipes for Bad Eating" cookbook? And the scene is right out of Mommie Dearest.]

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Memorial Day 2010

For this Memorial Day, I thought I'd repost one of my favorite quotes from Gen. Colin Powell:

As we come up on Memorial Day and I think about my relatives and ancestors who sacrificed their lives during military service, I always begin to ponder the "why" behind such service. There are times when a country just has to use "hard power" vs. "soft power" and I don't think I could explain it better than this segment of a speech by Gen. Colin Powell on January 26, 2003:

The United States believes strongly in what you call soft power, the value of democracy, the value of the free economic system, the value of making sure that each citizen is free and free to pursue their own God-given ambitions and to use the talents that they were given by God. And that is what we say to the rest of the world. That is why we participated in establishing a community of democracy within the Western Hemisphere. It's why we participate in all of these great international organizations.

There is nothing in American experience or in American political life or in our culture that suggests we want to use hard power. But what we have found over the decades is that unless you do have hard power -- and here I think you're referring to military power -- then sometimes you are faced with situations that you can't deal with.

I mean, it was not soft power that freed Europe. It was hard power. And what followed immediately after hard power? Did the United States ask for dominion over a single nation in Europe? No. Soft power came in the Marshall Plan. Soft power came with American GIs who put their weapons down once the war was over and helped all those nations rebuild. We did the same thing in Japan.

So our record of living our values and letting our values be an inspiration to others I think is clear. And I don't think I have anything to be ashamed of or apologize for with respect to what America has done for the world.

We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last hundred years -- and we’ve done this as recently as the last year in Afghanistan -- and put wonderful young men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in, and otherwise we have returned home to seek our own, you know, to seek our own lives in peace, to live our own lives in peace. But there comes a time when soft power or talking with evil will not work where, unfortunately, hard power is the only thing that works.

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Advent Calendar - Holiday Food - And Plenty Of It!

[Note: This post originally ran during the first Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories in December, 2007]


Growing up in upstate New York, the holidays at my house meant one thing: baking. And I mean baking in a big way. You'd have thought that the Pillsbury dough boy and the Keebler elves had set up shop at our house.

It didn't matter that we didn't have much when it came to money. Mom saved up money and also knew to buy items she would need in bulk during the year. We'd start baking about two weeks before Christmas and made the following treats:

- Date Nut Bread
- Welsh Cookies
- Sugar Cookies
- Butter Cookies
- No Cook Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- and Peanut Blossoms

The hyperlinked recipes above are all listed on my recipe blog called And I Helped!

We made at least 25 to 30 loaves of date nut bread. I'm not kidding. We'd use the disposable foil loaf pans and get a production line going. A loaf of date nut bread and a tub of whipped cream cheese was Mom's basic calling card during a holiday visit. Wrapped in aluminum foil, tied with ribbon.

Cookie making was split into different tasks spread over several nights. The first night we mixed all the dough since most of it had to be refrigerated before rolling out and cutting into shapes. The next night was for baking with lots of rolling, cutting and cookie sheets. And storage bins!

The last night was the best: cookie decorating. Mom usually organized a party with my cousins, neighbor kids or kids of co-workers. She'd take an old linen banquet tablecloth about 8 feet long and cover the dining room table. Then we set out all the cookies - mostly butter and sugar. Frosting was made with confectioner's sugar and milk. Then it was separated out into white coffee mugs (so you could see how much food coloring was needed) and colored.

Then the kids went to town working on their creations. The little artists worked in various styles: the "Designer" (aka Rembrandt) who fastidiously executed true-to-life renderings of Santa and snowflakes; the "Drizzler" (aka Jackson Pollack) who took a spoon, loaded it with icing and drizzled it across the cookie (and usually a neighboring artist's cookies as well); and the "Deranged" (aka Dali) who mixed different colored icings, layered icing and sprinkles, and created an abstract vision of melting Santas and warped stars.

When it was all done, Mom let the cookies dry overnight, stacked them in the storage bins, and simply shook out the tablecloth in the snow and placed it in the washing machine. Throughout the winter I would see scraps of frosting, bits of cookies and brightly colored sprinkles peek through the snow.

While I thought it was lots of fun and something to look forward to each Christmas, years later I realized there was a lesson in all this effort: It wasn't necessary to have a lot in order to give a lot. You did what you did best, added your own special touch, and gave it from the heart. It reminds me of the last verse of one of my favorite Christmas songs, In the Bleak Midwinter:

What can I give him
Poor as I am
If I were a sheperd
I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man
I would do my part
But what I can I give him
Give him my heart

Photo: Recipes for Good Eating, Crisco cookbook, 1944. [Author's note: for some reason this photo just seems bizarre to me as does the title. Do you think there was ever a "Recipes for Bad Eating" cookbook? And the scene is right out of Mommie Dearest.]

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Holiday Blog Decorating!

As you can see, Destination: Austin Family has taken on a holiday look! I'd appreciate any feedback in the comments area as to what works, doesn't work etc.

Also, in case you want to do you own holiday decorating at your site, check out these resources over at GeneaBloggers:

• Resources for Holiday Blog Decorating

• Part 1: Backing Up Your Blogger Blog Before Installing A Holiday Template (video)

• Part 2: Installing A Holiday Template in Blogger (video)

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

A Christmas Tour - Chicago

[Note: this post was written for the Christmas Tour of Blogs over at the fantastic Moultrie Creek blog run by Denise Olson.]

As if being a Christmas baby weren't enough, your indication that I love the holidays can be seen the in the decorations at my home here in Chicago.  While this year we've scaled things down (like almost everyone we know), I can give a tour of what went on here last year which was a busy but beautiful Christmas.

The main focus of the holidays for us was creating over 300 handmade ornaments for a 10 1/2 foot tall live tree, along with purchasing over 600 glass ball ornaments and 1,500 lights.  As you can image, the process of planning started in June and purchasing started in September and October before the prices on items climbed!



Above you can see the packages of Glass Ball Ornaments in jewel tone colors of gold, champagne, ivory, chocolate, rust, moss green and more.  Also some of the completed ornaments like the Gilded Walnut Garlands, the Copper Pine Cones and the Glitter Glass Pine Cones are in boxes and ready to be hung on the tree.

Once all the materials were in place, all of October and November was spent drilling and painting walnuts, assembling feathers, gluing cinnamon sticks together etc.  Here's a gallery of images of the items I made:













So with all the items ready, and after having picked out a great Fraser Fir tree at my local gardening store, there it sat in the living room right in front of the bay windows.



Here is the finished product and some closeups of the ornaments as they hung on the tree:









And a tree can't be complete without a nice big shiny star:




So with the tree completed, the next task was deciding what to do with the ten gilded walnut garlands each over nine feet long. It turns out the garlands were way too heavy for the tree so time to get creative. I decided to string them along the curtain rods in the living room and then along the oak staircase which is the entrance to my home:







Additional decorations include the gold twig tree in the entrance way with shiny and matte red balls:





Then the rest of the house is decked out with bowls filled with mercury glass ornaments:





Once the house is decorated, well you need sustenance for all those guests and something to give as gifts for visitors and the people who take care of you all year round:









You can learn more about each ornament over at A Catskill Christmas blog which documents by holiday project last year. And if you want Christmas cookie recipes, go visit And I Helped!, my cooking and food memories blog.

Blog Caroling - In The Bleak Midwinter

Footnote maven has caught the holiday spirit and is making certain it is spread.  Again this year she is holding her Blog Caroling festival and has invited all genea-bloggers to participate by listing their favorite Christmas carol.

If I were forced to choose, I'd have to say In The Bleak Midwinter which might sound like a right dreary choice but stick around, give a listen and read more about this wonderful song.

The words below were written by Christina Rossetti sometime before 1872 but the song did not become popular until after the turn of the century when the words were set to music by Gustav Holst.

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen,
Snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign;
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God incarnate,
Jesus Christ.

Worship night and day
A breast full of milk
And a manger full of hay.
Enough for him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
which adore.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But his mother only,
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what can I give Him —
Give my heart.

I have several versions of In The Bleak Midwinter among the 1,690 holiday songs in my iTunes. My favorite is by the a capella group Chanticleer:

Giving Thanks - What I Am Thankful For

Julie Cahill Tarr over at GenBlog by Julie has a great meme started called "Thanksgiving Meme & a Game of Tag." You can get more information over at the Genea-Bloggers group at Facebook by clicking here. And if you aren't already a member of the Genea-Bloggers group consider signing up!

It is difficult for me to slim my list of items for which I am thankful down to just two. Even with a tough holiday season coming up due to unemployment and trying to start a new business, and some health issues - I always try to see the glass as half full and my basket filled with thankful items.

Technology

This is a no-brainer for me, but by listing it I hope others will think about even the little bits of technology they take for granted. I am thankful I live in an age where technological advances are made every day. Having worked in the Information Technology field for the past 25 years, I've come to appreciate the many changes and innovations made in the computing field. What I hope is that we can place these creations in perspective both from a personal standpoint and in a historical perspective.

Right now I can't conceive of a world or my life without an Internet connection. But I think about what life was like before the Internet and consider how people interacted differently, for better or worse. I worry that my Internet usage can easily disconnect me from people but at the same time I look at groups like Genea-Bloggers on Facebook and realize I would never have been able to connect with so many wonderful people otherwise.

I try to remember that the technology itself is "innocent" and the good or bad comes from how we choose to use it, or not use it, in our daily lives.

Health

This has been a tough year for me battling increasingly painful osteo-arthritis in both hips and weight gain. I am improving and in fact November has seen great strides made especially at the gym, working with a trainer, etc. Even with these issues, I am grateful I have full use of most of my body parts and all five senses are still intact despite the ravages of age. I am able to get up each morning, get out of bed, dress myself, prepare a meal, look out my patio window and get started with my day. In keeping with my upbringing and what my mother and great-grandmother taught me, there are many people who have it much worse than I do. I consider myself blessed and trust that I am where I am and in the state of health I am for a reason.

There is so much more to be thankful for and I'll think about those things on Thursday as I sit down with family and celebrate.

And I now tag Apple over at Apple's Tree!

Christmas Blog Tour

Thanks to the efforts of Denise Olson over at Moultrie Creek, I'll be participating in the upcoming Christmas Tour of Blogs and I can't wait.

As I've said before, this year will be a bit low key compared to other past Christmases but I look forward to bringing out old photos and showing off my trees and decorations from years gone by.

Check it out here and sign up today!

On This Date: September 11

On this day, Patriot Day, it didn't seem appropriate to list the births, baptisms, marriages and deaths of my ancestors. It is just after 6:00 am here in Chicago and with the sun creeping its way over Lake Michigan, I walked outside to hang my 5 foot x 8 foot United States flag as a way of remembering this day seven years ago.

As if I or anyone could ever forget.


Photo: A piece of the World Trade Center imbedded in the Tribune Tower in Chicago, Illinois. June 2007. Digital image. Wikimedia Commons, 2008.

Reminder: Saturday, June 14th Is Flag Day

I will be flying my large 8 foot by 5 foot flag off the side of my deck here in Chicago - I just wanted to remind readers that as we prepare for Father's Day on Sunday, June 15th don't forget Flag Day on Saturday, June 14th.

Also, if you have any family stories involving the Stars and Stripes I'd love to hear them!

Drops of Stars and Stripes. Photograph. July 2, 2007. Digital image. Published on Flickr by Steve Wall. 2007.

Honoring Our Leaders

For this week's family history blogging/journaling prompt over at AnceStories2: Stories of Me for My Descendants, Miriam has chosen the topic of Honoring Our Leaders.

As a child, do you remember celebrating either Lincoln or Washington's birthdays? How did you celebrate them? What do you remember learning about either of these men?

I am old enough to remember there being separate holidays, one for Washington and one for Lincoln. However, Washington's Birthday was always the 3rd Monday in February, not the actual day. In New York we did have February 12th off for Lincoln's Birthday, which here in Illinois, is still a statewide holiday.

Did you get a day off of school, have an assembly, or was there a play performed?

We were off from school. In fact, between the standard Federal holidays, the Christian holidays, and the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hoshanah, Yom Kippur and the first two days of Passover, then throw in a few snow days, our school year ran until the last week of June!

Do you ever remember reading any books or watching any movies about these two leaders?

As a kid we really didn't have access to "movies" the way we do today as in video tapes or DVDs. We had the dreaded "filmstrip" in school which I later found out was how our teacher Ms. Harris dealt with a hangover. LOL.

In your opinion, who was the greatest leader of our country, and why?

This is a very difficult question but in this election year it is so important and relevant. I believe that Americans suffer from trying to see their leaders as "saints" and do the same when they attempt to elect someone for office. Our media has coaxed us to see basic human frailties in officials as "sins" and something which requires discouraging someone from running for office. Take the case of Muskie and his tears or Collin Powell and his wife's history of mental illness. I don't mean outright crimes or misdeeds that truly make someone unfit for office. But for once I'd just like someone who isn't plucked and tweezed both physically and behaviorally.

History has also glamorized our past leaders to the point of disregarding their missteps. Washington and Jefferson, among others, were slave owners. Grant drank. Kennedy philandered. But we choose to put them up on a pedestal and only tout their achievements to the point of glorification.

That's why I like Harry Truman - you knew where you stood with him. He really was just the haberdasher down the street. But one who had to make tough decisions such as using the A-bomb in August of 1945. They really don't make 'em like Harry anymore and I wonder if we'll ever see another leader in this country who could unite a country after a war and put it on the road to prosperity.

In your current career, do you get Presidents Day off? Why or why not?

I do get Presidents Day off as well as Martin Luther King Day. I think the reason I do is this: I am lucky enough to work for a progressive firm that even gives a 6-week sabbatical to all employees after the first 10 years of service, and then every 5 years after that. Our employees are encouraged to volunteer at the local level and can arrange flexible schedules to do so or even receive paid time off. And fathers can arrange for paternity leave in order to bond with a new child.

In many communities, Presidents Day weekend is well-known for sales and special deals. How do you feel about this? Do you like to go shopping on this weekend? Or do you feel this emphasis on commercialism is disrespectful?

I think due to the over-commercialization of life and events in general in this country, you'd think we could avoid a Presidents Day sale. We've come up with Sweetest Day (?), Secretary's Day (sorry, I am not being PC: Administrative Assistant Day or Support Staff Day) and even Bosses Day. I await a Sleazy Landlord Day and a corresponding card from Hallmark.

Once the 3rd Monday in January was made a Federal holiday in honor of Dr. King, I thought for certain there would never be a commercialization of this day with "sales" and special deals. But again, I'm proven wrong.

Presidents Day is also a day when veterans and Purple Heart recipients are honored. Are or were there any Purple Heart recipients in your family or ancestry? Have you written about what they did to earn this great award?

My cousin, Sgt. Kenney Von Ronn, did receive the Purple Heart post-humously after his death in Iraq in January 2005. I have written about him here and intend to remember him and other family veterans killed in battle with several posts around Memorial Day this year.

St. Valentine's Day

Here I am again, conjuring memories of love found and love lost using Miriam's family history blogging/journaling prompt over at AnceStories2: Stories of Me for My Descendants. Appropriate for the upcoming holiday, she asks us about St. Valentine's Day.

What is the first Valentine's Day that you remember? How old were you or what grade were you in?

I really don't remember much about Valentine's Day in school. From what I do remember I didn't like: it was too much of a "popularity contest" what with the box to drop valentine cards up front. Perhaps, and I hope, it is different. I would think schools would use the opportunity to stress and teach love as a concept: the love of neighbor, the love of colleague, the love of co-student and confonting the problem of bullying. I think too much time is spent these days equating love with sex.

Did you have celebrations at school? What were they like? Were there games and refreshments?

I went to Catholic grade school for the first three years, so we learned more about St. Valentine. I really don't remember any celebrations except perhaps a mid-winter dance in high school on a Friday evening.

Did you make some sort of individualized Valentine "mailboxes" to hold the greetings you received? Or did the classroom have one big box? How were they (or it) created and decorated?

The classroom had one large box which the teacher usually decorated.

Did you buy or make Valentine cards? Did you include goodies such as lollipops, candy message hearts, or Hershey kisses?

Mom usually bought the box set of little cards that you'd put in envelopes and then place in the big box.

Do you remember the first boy or girl you had a crush on in school? Did you have the nerve to send him or her a Valentine? If so, what was their reaction/response?

Sort of. In Catholic school I was in the first grade and I had a crush on a very pretty Italian girl. Of course I was a wee boy of six at the time.

Did your crush send you a Valentine?

I don't remember - I actually think that the nuns frowned upon giving Valentines. They frowned upon most things.

How did you feel about Valentine's Day as a child? Was it fun and exciting, or disappointing and sad? Or were you simply bored with it all?

Not disappointed as much as bored and not realizing the big deal. As a teenager I was struggling with my sexual identity so it was difficult to address that let alone sending a Valentine.

As you got older, did you attend any Valentine's Day dances? Tell about your experiences!

Well during my ballroom dancing days, my dance partner Nancy and I would usually go to a Saturday night dance at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. A great setup: no alcohol, no smoking, and pleasant, civil people who respected the ground rules. We both learned quite a bit from the older, more experienced dancers. And I, for some reason, had a flock of older women always asking me for dances. Perhaps it was my Billy Idol/peroxide hair.

What is the nicest card or gift you have ever received for Valentine's Day? Who sent it to you?

I always receive great cards from my partner. I can't say that any one is better than the other - but I've saved them all, as well as birthday and anniversary cards.

How do you celebrate Valentine's Day now?

I usually make a batch of gingerbread cookies - large hearts decorated with pink frosting. Then I have a sheet of "love quotes" that I print out. I cut them into strips with scrapbooking scissors and place them in the large cellophane corsage bags with the cookies. I call them Love Fortunes.

Do you remember hearing how your parents or grandparents celebrated Valentine's Day?

Not really - my family was never very open with affection including husband to wife, wife to husband, etc. If I ever saw my parents or great-grandparents hold hands it was something to stop and note. In a way that's kind of sad. I would rather note when they didn't hold hands or kiss each other.

1001 Reasons Why You Want To Be My Sweetheart

With this being close to Valentine's Day, I thought I'd post my annual list entitled "1001 Reasons Why You Want To Be My Sweetheart." My sweetheart and I are celebrating our 7th such holiday together this year.

I can't claim direct creation of this list. It started with a Craigslist post a few years ago and every instance I've ever seen is usually customized for a specific couple and has many new and funny as well as endearing lines.

By the way - this list is easily adaptable and I encourage outright stealing from me - as long as you promise to customize it with your own little quirks, jokes, good times and bad times - everything that you and your special someone share.

Be in peace and may you have much love.

1001 Reasons Why You Want To Be My Sweetheart

• I didn't vote for either George Bush
  


• I'm slippery when wet
  


• I make Martha Stewart look like a dirty hippie
  


• I'll make you laugh
  


• I know the difference between Sondheim and Webber
  


• I've never been in one of Tommy Lee's movies
  


• I can make a mean pot of Bolognese sauce
  


• I'll pretend I didn't see you look at that cute guy/gal
  


• I know that handcuffs aren't just for the cops
  


• I recycle
  


• I do know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop
  


• I won't steal your vicodin out of the medicine cabinet
  


• I'll take care of you when you're sick
  


• I come with my own set of ear plugs in case of snoring
  


• I'll make fun of you
  


• I can give a great back rub
  


• I haven't been a house guest of O.J. Simpson
  


• I don't care if you leave the seat up
  


• I've got cookies
  


• I take a shower every day, twice even sometimes
  


• I'll keep working until I chip away at your walls
  


• I don't care that you go out with the boys/girls
  


• I don't eat crackers in bed too often
  


• I’ll always respect your parents and enjoy their company
  


• When you wash the dishes it turns me on
  


• My heart will jump every time you walk through the door
  


• I don't care if you cut your toe nails in the living room
  


• I'll save every card you ever give me
  


• I won't ever forget your birthday, and remind you when mine is coming
  


• You just can't stop reading this!
  


• I've never even seen one episode of Dawson's Creek or Gilmore Girls
  


• I'll think you're just about the coolest person I know
  


• I adore your niece and nephew
  


• I think ordering in pizza and watching a movie is the ideal date
  


• I've never been on Americas Most Wanted
  


• I want to grow old with you
  


• I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue
  


• My kisses will take your breath away
  


• You'll never have to cook again
  


• My weird habits you'll find adorable
  


• You'll sleep better when I'm next to you
  


• My tiramisu is the bomb
  


• I'll thank you every time you open the door
  


• I’m just as happy with Crown Roast of Weenies as I am with filet mignon
  


• I'll never waste your love
  


• I love it when you’re opinionated
  


• I'll laugh at every joke even when it's not funny
  


• I'd never embarrass you in front of your friends or family
  


• It gets better every time
  


• I won't ever let you leave for work in the morning without your cell phone
  


• I’d follow you anywhere – and I have
  


• I don't have a big brother, so you don't have to worry about getting your butt kicked ever
  


• I'll help you find your keys
  


• I try not to pick my nose in public
  


• I like to dish
  


• I've never owned anything Hello Kitty
  


• I don't need batteries
  


• I eat red meat
  


• I can kill my own spiders and yours too
  


• I'll clean the house perfect every time
  


• I met John Waters three times
  


• I want to get married
  


• I'll always want more
  


• I smell pretty good most of the time
  


• I don't litter
  


• When I can I give to charity
  


• I can be ready in 30 minutes or less
  


• I look both ways before I cross the street
  


• I never look directly into the sun
  


• You're more hilarious than anyone I know
  


• I’m old enough to remember when the first space shuttle crashed
  


• I can balance a check book
  


• I'll help you not to forget your mom’s birthday
  


• I would never yell "fire" in a crowded theatre
  


• I’m really good at sneaking food into the movies
  


• I'll never say "nothing's wrong" when there really is
  


• I've never cried over spilt milk
  


• I know that being devoted to you means happiness, not a chokehold
  


• I have never stabbed anyone in the eye
  


• I've never smuggled drugs out of the country
  


• I never overload the washer
  


• I’ll take care of you no matter what
  


• What else have you got to do?
  


• I've never auditioned for American Idol
  


• I don't eat yellow snow
  


• My chin fits ‘just right’ in your shoulder when you hold me close
  


• I'm just that good
  


• I never had sexual relations with Bill Clinton
  


• I'm a pepper
  


• You're getting very sleepy . . .
  


• I've never been on Jerry Springer
  


• I may have already won $10,000,000
  


• You won't be able to get me out of your head
  


• I know that objects in the mirror are bigger than they appear
  


• Flowers will get my attention every time
  


• I've never been caught lip synching on SNL
  


• I have a $22.82 credit at Borders
  


• I have clean socks that you can borrow if you run out
  


• I never run with scissors
  


• I know how to keep a secret
  


• I've never failed a survey
  


• I can almost every time find Waldo
  


• I never put my fingers in the light socket
  


• I'm a Capricorn
  


• I have all my shots
  


• I'm pretty damn funny
  


• I'm not a doctor and I've never played one on tv either
  


• I don't care if you eat off my plate
  


• When you're sleeping I'll always try to be quiet
  


• I know the difference between they're, their, and there
  


• You really like having someone to cuddle with on the couch
  


• I know how to get stains out of t-shirts
  


• I'm really good at making lists
  


• After reading this far you've already got too much invested anyways

That Certain Christmas Eve

How do I begin a story that took place 45 years ago and involves kitchen cabinets, Wigilia, Midnight Mass, a game of poker, a generator, a maternity ward and a Christmas stocking? The best way, I guess, is to go exactly in that order of all those mysterious events and items.

My mother was always an active woman, from my memories, and from what relatives have told me. Being the sixth of 12 children she was the doer, the fixer, the healer. So it is not surprise to hear that while she was nine months pregnant, she thought nothing of climbing up and down a step-ladder to clean kitchen cabinets. I guess there was nothing more pressing on that day than to tidy up the place a bit, especially in places that no one else could see.

During this first of two pregnancies, Mom had a relatively easy time of it, barring the fact that she always had to go to the bathroom. With a baby pressing against various other body parts, she figured that urge to always "go" was normal for some women, and her doctor had confirmed that. So when her water broke during that cleaning mission, luckily she was in the bathroom. However, she didn't realize that the birthing process had just started. She thought that once again, she had to "go" and just did.

And so off to parties and gatherings my parents went. One tradition was to spend Christmas Eve with my future god-parents Mike and Elsie Washousky celebrating Wigilia but it was called "Holy Supper" by most of us. Uncle Mike grew up in a Polish household in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania where he had met his future wife Elsie Slaby who was of Slovak descent. Our Wigilia was a blend of both the Polish and Slovak Christmas traditions, leaning more towards his wife's family's traditions of the past.

Holy Supper was held that night in the same way it had been since the early 1950s when the settled in Liberty, New York and would still be up until 1990 when Aunt Elsie had passed away. I remember that the day started with Uncle Mike in the kitchen cooking his family's version of the traditional dishes: unleavened bread, pea soup, sauerkraut soup, mushroom soup, bobalki, fish and potatoes, pierogie, cabbage, beets, and finally, stewed prunes.

Once the first star in the sky appeared, it was time to start. A procession would be made into the living room where a table for 12 to 15 people was set, lit only by candles. Straw was under the table to signify the birth of the baby Jesus. We would begin with the oplatki, a special wafer similar to Roman Catholic communion wafers but very large and imprinted with a scene of the Nativity. My aunt ordered them special delivery from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

We would dip the wafer in bowls of honey scattered around the table and Uncle Mike would begin the Remembering. He'd speak of how his parents kept Wigilia each year and work through a remembrance of the entire family past and present. Small glasses of wine were served and we'd laugh, cry and remember.

The soups would come next. My favorite part were the bobalki. These were not the traditional sweet tiny dough "worms" covered with preserves and butter, served like a Christmas pudding. These were tiny "fingers" of dough fried in oil and onions. Placed in a bowl on the table, they were meant to serve as dumplings for the various soups. For most of us, it helped the sauerkraut soup go down easier.

Once dinner was done, the candles were blown out, and the women began the cleanup. All night long, my god-parents would tell me and my brother and in later years their grandchildren to behave otherwise Santa Claus would not come that night. We always asked how he would arrive - and Uncle Mike stated that you could first hear the sound of sleigh bells.

So off to the upstairs bedrooms the children would go to get dressed for bed. Sleepy and struggling to get into their Dr. Denton's, they all had visions of sugarplums and what Santa would bring them, for they were certain they had been good all year long, not just that night. Meanwhile, the parents were downstairs bringing gift upon gift up from the basement where they had been secreted out of the site of prying young eyes.

Once the presents were all arranged around the tree, my aunt would be at the bottom of the stairs and begin shaking a large belt of sleigh bells. One of the men would be outside either on the roof making noise or if it was too dangerous due to snow, throwing large pieces of wood up there to make noise. Women would be downstairs, in a loud voice, saying "Is that Santa? I think I see him! I know I can hear his sleigh bells!" At that moment several small children would begin screaming, arms flailing, feet stomping as they tried to catch a glimpse of the man in red. They all seemed to tumble down the stairs in one large ball of energy only to be disappointed, once again, at not seeing St. Nick. But he had left them gifts which would be feverishly opened while parents stood with their Polaroids and Instamatics and flash cubes remembering when their own family pulled the same stunt at their Wigilias of past.

My mother kept this tradition that night with people who were good friends, and considered family. The main topic of conversation was her pregnancy and when the baby was due - which was determined to be right around New Year's Day. Someone said they hoped it was before the New Year so that the baby would also be daddy's little tax deduction as well as mommy's little bundle. My Aunt Elsie, being a registered nurse at the local hospital, made a prediction that the child would be born the next day, on Christmas. "Have some more wine!" everyone said with a laugh.

By this time it was 11:00 pm which meant it was time to head down to church for Midnight Mass. If you wanted to get a good seat and to be able to sing Christmas carols before the service, you had to be there by 11:30 pm. Only stragglers and out-of-town visitors would end up in the last pews or standing in the back or along the aisles.

Mom sat through Mass which ended about 1:30 a.m. And not yet having had a full day, she went back to my godparents' house for another tradition: the annual Christmas poker game. Starting about 2:00 a.m., there would be a large group gathered around the same table where Wiglia had been held only hours earlier. Of course the straw had been removed from under the table and now it was filled with shot glasses, whiskey, chips and cards. A transition from the sacred to the profane.

It was during one hand of cards, that my mother felt that something wasn't right. Her labor had begun - it was sudden and unexpected. My aunt, the nurse, then informed my mother that her water had probably broken earlier in the day when she thought it was time to "go." Now it really was time to "go!"

Aunt Elsie called up the hospital and let them know to start the generator in the maternity ward. Seriously. That's how small a town I had. There were not many births, perhaps one or two every two weeks. So a generator was kept to provide extra power and heat in this small wing off of a small hospital in a very small town in upstate New York.

Mom said it was colder than a well-digger's *ss in that room - at least that was the colorful term she always used. It was 4:00 a.m. by time she and the rest of the broken up poker game had arrived. A different game was underway, and Mom didn't know if they next card she received would be a Jack or a Queen, a boy or a girl.

So at 6:50 a.m. that cold Christmas morning, surrounded by friends who had become family, I was born. My first appearance would be in a large red and white striped Christmas stocking which I would later use growing up as my stocking for Santa to fill.

That day it was filled with a child my mother always wanted, wasn't quite expecting so soon, and would always love.

Although she can no longer tell that same story as she told it to me, as with so many memories, I now do the telling. Thanks Mom.

Special Christmases for Special Loved Ones

I'm a firm believer of not going overboard on the first Christmas you spend with your sweetheart. We all see stories and advertisements with couples getting engaged on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day; images of a tiny box with a ring in a stocking or under the tree. I've always stuck to the "TIS The Season" principle: TIS meaning "Take It Slow." Very often I would find myself swept up in the spirit of Christmas to the point where it would cause emotional and rational blindness. You begin overlooking the other person's shortcomings or issues that could turn out to be major issues later on. So I've learned to not make those types of gestures or gifts around Christmas.

Marriages and commitments are a different matter. I went through my genealogy database this morning and realized that there are many of my family members and ancestors who were married on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. It makes perfect sense especially if the happy couple had traveled to be with family. It seems like a no brainer since there is an "instant reception" built right in with a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinner. As long as it didn't detract from the real reason for the season and celebration.

Another common marriage date seems to be New Year's Eve. Not only does it still qualify the happy taxpayers for married status at the end of the year, but again it is already "instant party time."

My Christmas List

I remember as a child, that starting in early November my brother and I would get started on making out our Christmas lists. This, of course, was before we knew the truth about Santa Claus. But even after that time, we continued the tradition of putting our wants and wishes down on paper. And Mom tried very hard to get most if not all items on that list.

Now I am vexed when it comes to the concept of these types of "lists." It seems the concept of letting others know what you want has found its way into wedding preparations and even children's birthday parties (I kid you not - there are now registries for kids on Toys R Us and other sites). While the original concept of a "registry" was used only in the world of weddings so that the happy couple would not receive 15 toasters and no china, current use of the concept seems to turn an invitation into an invoice. Basically the invite says: come to my party and you better bring something.

So I stopped composing lists. As a I grew older and lived 3,000 miles away from Mom, she knew that either a gift certificate or cash would work best. But she always had a little something that she picked out herself - and it represented what she knew about me. I think that is the best part about gift-giving: it forces us to really think about what we know about the recipient and why they are important to us.

So, will I get from Santa what I want this year? I already did and I received something I knew I wanted, but didn't know was actually available.

The gift? Being able to exchange ideas, holiday customs, and comments with a new-found group of people interested in the same aspects of genealogy and family history as me.

Thanks Santa. And I still believe.

Please Don't Play That Christmas Album Again!

As I grew up, it seemed there was only one Christmas album available not only in our home but in the world. My mother would play it incessantly - to the point of frustrating and angering me and my brother.

The album was A Christmas Sound Spectacular by John Klein and was released in 1959. Klein had done much of the arranging for the Your Hit Parade shows and this album, when released, was (and still is) one of a kind. Mom would bring out the album, with its tattered cover and some scratches, place it on the Victrola and we'd begin decorating the Christmas tree. And since it was a four hour ordeal (due to the rule of placing each strand of tinsel individually on the tree), we heard the album at least six times.

When I cleaned out Mom's house this past year, I could not find the album for the life of me, and as much as I detested it, I really wanted to hear it one more time. So I resolved to find a digital version if possible. When I did find it (see below), boy did it bring back memories. And I called Mom, and despite her advanced Alzheimer's, she can recall every little detail if it is at least pre-1995. So she said "Oh, you have 'the album' on. You must be decorating the tree. I'll have to stop by to see it."

So I play my favorite track Medley: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day/Carol Of The Bells and now wonder why I hated these songs so much. I knew if back then Mom had said "You just wait - you'll be older and you'll miss these songs," now she could rightfully say, "See? What did I tell you?"

You can download a preview of A Christmas Sound Spectacular at a neat Christmas music blug called Bongobells. But since the album was reissued in CD format in 2002 and is no longer "out of print," you really should order a copy of this great album for a modest $8.00 at Schulmerich Bells. In fact, John Klein performed all the songs on the 1,143 bell carillon of Schulmerich bells where they are based in Sellersville, Pennsylvania.