Write From the Soul

If you've watched the national news in the past four days, or live in the Atlanta area, you are aware of the snow and ice that has immobilized our town. Today the temp is getting up to 40 degrees - woo hoo! - and those of us with "cabin fever" and too many bags of trash, can hardly wait to get outside and go somewhere. Okay, so maybe it's just to the dumpster or maybe to the grocery store, but it's outside my condo and that's all that counts!

I thought I'd get the "melting mojo" going with some snowman cartoons, like this one:  

and this one 

                        

                                        also this one  

                         
and lastly, this one.












For those of you with kids, grandkids, or students, here's a fun activity...make melting snowman cookies! (Okay you can make them just for yourself or your cabin-fevered friends, I won't tell!) Make regular sugar cookies (or use the Pillsbury ones in the rolled up can). Grab about a golfball size of dough and flatten it, not too thin- 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick- and bake. Get a microwave-safe plate, but not paper because it will stick, and heat a some marshmellows just until they start to get soft. Cover the cooled cookie with white icing and plop the marshmellow on it for the head. You can use raisins or 
M & Ms for the buttons and pretzel sticks for arms. Even easier... just make facial features, scarf, arms out of colored icing. Super easier? Get a graham cracker square, blob white icing on it, pop on a marshmellow, use darker icing to make face and arms, and color in the top of marshmellow like a hat.

Some recipes call for gingerbread cookie underneath, not my fav. Some recipes say to use malted milk balls and cover in melted white chocolate, waaay too much work for me! Some recipes took orange icing, made triangular noses, refrigerated to harden them. I say use candy if you can find it or cut a piece of carrot, OR  make a dot with the dark icing. Easy peasey.
Cookie voodoo to rid us of all the snow and ice, now you're talking!!!

Write From the Soul

Atlanta (and much of Georgia) just had an ice storm.

Our winters are mild compared to the North- coming from Michigan, I have the right to say that. 

We usually get one "snow storm" (2-5 inches) a season and maybe an ice storm (black ice). These cause great drama and trauma in Georgia because our snow removal system is 2 men and a broom! Just kidding, our snow removal includes some salt but mostly gravel. Now whoever came up with the gravel idea obviously never lived in the North! Gravel just makes snow gritty and tracks into your house! And you still have snow and/or ice to contend with. Grrrr...

 Anyway.... the ice and cold made me think about my upcoming trip back to Boston to visit with family. And the family tradition we've started. 

My sister and brother-in-law have a 

rental property near Loon Mountain in New Hampshire. (Shameless plug here...it sleeps 10 people, is beautiful, close to skiing and hiking when it's not winter and is available for rental all year, just contact me and I'll connect you to the right people.) 

We are Jewish and don't celebrate Christmas and it seems that most folks who do celebrate Christmas, like to stay at home or near family, rather than go skiing over the holiday, so the condo remains available at that time. Of course everyone wants to rent it over New Year's apparently. Sorry, I digress. 

Our tradition has become to take the family, and the nephews bring a friend, to New Hampshire over Christmas. As much as I DON'T love the cold, snow, bulky clothes of winter, I DO enjoy this respite getaway. 
                                                
There's a large fireplace, big windows overlooking mountains, pine trees, and of course, snow. Let the others go skiing; Mom and I stay in and read. It's great, it's peaceful, it's our tradition. 

Sometimes, we  spend part of Christmas Day at the movies. We used to find one movie that we all could see, but as the nephews got older, our "tastes" became more diverse. 
Last year, the guys went to one movie and the girls to another. We were at the same theater complex though and went to dinner afterward together. We  go out for Chinese/Thai food- the only restaurant in the small town open that night- along with the rest of the community.


Family traditions make wonderful memories. What are your family traditions during this holiday season?


In case I don't make it back to the blog before the end of the year, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!