There's No Place Like Home For the Holidays

Seasons Greetings to all.

When My Mr. Cham asked what our Christmas theme would be this year, I honestly did not know what to say, because I had not thought about it. I was so glad to be back in our own home, that I had completely forgotten to make any plans for the holidays. Now, it was certainly not the first time that I have had to make or break, or change plans on short notice, due to My Mr. Cham's former (YAY!) occupation, and he says that I actually work better that way. Well, I do not know about that, but I thanked him just the same.

I turned to our video library, and my cookbooks, for inspiration and six days before Christmas Eve, I decided on a Southern theme. 

As you know, I was born in Louisiana, on a sugar cane plantation. We also raise our own Thoroughbreds. A few years after my father's untimely death, we decided to sell most of the land, keeping the smaller of the two homes, the stables and the acreage around them. It made me very sad to do so, considering that it had been in my father's family since the 18th century, but the new owners of the land have continued to grow sugar cane and the house is still standing, so that is something.

Until recently, my mother divided her time between the farm and her house in Florida and Mr. Cham and I with our home in New York. I grew up there and spent many wonderful Southern Christmases, but the last was 
the year that my father died. 

We did not have plans to go there for the holidays this year, but being prevented from doing so by the travel lockdown, only makes me miss it more. I have not seen any of the horses for eleven months, although our longtime farm manager and our trainer have been wonderful about keeping us supplied with pictures, video and updates via telephone and email. It is not the same.  I miss spending time with them at the farm and at the racetrack. They may be just machines to some, but to us and to many others involved in racing, they are our pets, our friends and our family. No different from dogs and cats. Our last homebred was foaled in March and after much deliberation, we have decided not to breed anymore. Sadly, with the lockdown of so many racetracks and the closing of others, it appears that racing in the U.S. may be in the final furlong. I hope not, but we have to be realistic. 

We never sell our runners when they leave the track, they are sent back to our farm, and I need to think ahead about how many can be provided for with a lifetime home and care. I only have available barn space for two more and Mr. Cham and I have discussed sending his saddle horse there when we go to Japan. He has not had any equine companionship since we moved him here from his boarding stable last year (the owner's sold to developers) and our housesitters have told us that they plan to stay in Canada even if the ban is lifted eventually). At the farm he would have a lot of friends and the best care and our dog is related to our farm manager's three dogs, so we think that he would be happier and less lonely there too. We have also discussed taking a few of the horses to Japan with us, as the house is in a rural area, but we want to go over and get the lay of the land beforehand. 

So we had a simple Christmas this year. A simple meal, snuggling by the fire watching a few of our favorite Christmas themed pictures, and feeding homemade treats to our pets and the nearby animals. Presents were simple and homemade too, mostly edible.

We began with Lily's delicious cinnamon rolls with coffee and hot chocolate.

Dinner was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and sweet corn.

Apple cranberry compote

And for dessert 

Lily made little cherry pies

And I made a big batch of Mr.Cham's favorite chocolate chip cookies.

And I sent boxes of peanut brittle and chocolate walnut and peanut butter fudge to my mother and Miss Belle. Hopefully we will all be together next year.

I expressly forbade Mr. Cham from giving me any presents this year, as the gift of my childhood dream will take care of every holiday for the next ten or twenty years! He just chuckled, as he does, and after breakfast I found several packages under the tree. That man.

Our movie choices were 

Little Women (1949)

The Little Colonel (1935)

Friendly Persuasion (1956)

I chose family pictures with happy endings and music. 

We did not stick to our theme very religiously, but we had a nice Christmas and that is all that we could hope for. We hope that you had the same.🌷

 

🕎✡️ OY YAY !!! ✡️🕎

A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness.

-Jewish proverb

 Hey Kids,

Well, Hanukkah is over for another year. Tess and I decided since we couldn't be with our families, that we'd spend 8 days and 8 nights enjoying the peace and quiet. So we turned off the laptops and phones and spent time cooking and baking together and watching the snow and the fireplace.

Then we got bored 😄. So, we agreed to only use the DVD player and the TV. 

It's tradition 😉 in our home to watch two movies every Hanukkah.

And FIDDLER ON THE ROOF.

Throughout the years, I added a few things to the list including :

RUGRATS "CHANUKAH"

SOUTH PARK'S "JEWBILEE" (Tess loves Ike😀).

And FAMILY GUY'S "WHEN YOU WISH UPON A WEINSTEIN".

They're all light hearted and funny and inoffensive (well, Peter Griffin is offensive, but the writers have a good sense of humor in this episode) so I'm not going to complain.

What I do want to complain about, is the serious lack of Hanukkah tv episodes, movies and new songs. I hear all the time how the entertainment industry is "run by the Jews". Really? Well, you could've fooled me. I grew up with all of the Christmas movies, tv episodes, Christmas specials, Christmas carols and not a single thing for Jewish kids at Hanukkah time. If it weren't for the annual party at my grandparents and the party at our Temple, there would've been nothing, and I grew up in New York, the second largest Jewish community in the world !!!

I feel bad for Jewish kids growing up without any Hanukkah entertainment. There are Jewish writers, songwriters, producers, directors, and musicians and none of them are doing anything about it. I think that's sad. All the biblical Cecil B. DeMille movies and not one about the Maccabees!

I'm grateful to Rugrats, South Park, Family Guy, and the Simpsons, but I still think there should be more to look forward to the way kids look forward to Rudolph and Santa Claus.

My Tess, as you know, grew up in Louisiana, and unless you saw "Driving Miss Daisy", you might not know there is a Jewish community there (I didn't 😅). Tess went to Temple (as well as church) and was raised both Jewish and Catholic, but she leans to her Jewish side. She went to several Hanukkah parties each year given by relatives and friends and after we became engaged, I was invited too ! They were warm and fun and the food was great !!! Sadly, they had to be cancelled this year, or that's where we would've been for sure. But this year it was just the three of us. 

Tess has been feeling much better since we came home🙏.

On the 1st night, she made a delicious " Japanese" brisket.

And the traditional sufganiyot but with mango custard filling😋.

And yesterday, for the last night, she made her amazing matzo ball soup with mushrooms, this gorgeous roast chicken with eggplant, rice and carrots (we eat a lot of 🍚) and a scrumdillyitious carrot cake

And for dessert.....mango (there was apparently a sale on mango or something) and pineapple and this yummy carrot cake in honor of JEWBILEE and Kenny 😢.

Present time 🎁!!!

I know there's a joke that even though Jewish kids get 8 presents, that it's stuff like socks and.........

I was getting dressed to deliver a Hanukkah "meals on wheels" to our neighbors (the couple from the National Egg Day post). They've both been sick
(not Covid) and Tess feels guilty for neglecting them while we were in Florida. 
Ok, it's true. Tess has never given me a pair of socks, but my Mom still does. Thanks, Mom😒.

Tess gives great presents. She listens to my wants and needs all year long and then she fulfills my every desire. I'm spoiled rotten 😁.

Tess's Hanukkah hairstyle. 😘

And what did I give to Tess?

I told her that this would be our last Hanukkah together in this house. 

Tess: 😢Have I worn out my welcome?

Me: No, but the house will be ready in February.

Tess: Which house?

Me: Ours, so start packing !!! Here, look ! Fishies !!! 🐟🐟🐟

Tess: 😲 😭 🥴.

Me: Uh oh, I think she fainted 😯😮😆

Tess' Japanese teacher told her about the Akiya (abandoned traditional houses) in Japan and we've been researching it ever since our trip was cancelled. We found a house that both of us really liked, but it needed work because it's 83 years old. The same age as my Dad !😏 Tess thought we shouldn't get in over our heads, but it wasn't as bad as we thought. I knew she was very disappointed. I decided to buy it without telling her and the real estate company arranged for the contractor,etc.  They even found someone to do the garden including the koi pond ! They emailed the pictures a couple of days ago and it's beautiful😯 !  I thought I could wait until Christmas to tell Tess, but she's had a bad year (a few bad years, thanks to me 😔 and.....) and I really want and need to make it up to her. 

Of course, we have no idea when we'll be able to see it in person, but it's something to look forward to, and who doesn't need that, especially right now ?

Take care, Kids. 😉

P.S. If anyone can tell me how to get back our original theme template back, I'd be thrilled. Thanks.