This strange (normal for Kansas) weather pattern of vacillating between really cold days and some warmer days has allowed me to squeeze in a few walks outside. Some days when it is cold and gray I want to make myself go outside, knowing I will feel better for doing it, but I just can’t talk myself into it. The spirit is willing but the body is weak, or something like that.
Anyway, this was a lovely morning, and all the elements of the out of doors filled me with that sense of “rightness” that can happen when all systems are in synch.
The church of the glassy river is a holy place.
There was a stop after the walk on Massachusetts street for a spot of coffee and some recording of events, thoughts, plans, dreams, etc. Right when I walked in a young man said “I like your green top ma’m”. Then he told a lady at the counter he liked her holiday sweater. I liked him.
I did not fill the remaining pages of this journal with anything earth shattering. There was no list of favorite things done in 2025. No resolutions made for 2026. I plan to have some joy-filled moments, but I am going to let them arrive when I least expect them, like this day in the coffee shop, sitting back as life unfolded quietly.
Oh what a sky on the day after, the day after, Christmas. And if this wasn’t enough, when I looked down there was an orange cat twirling around a flower pot and then between my slippers and ankles. Sheer delight, you can imagine the cooing, talking, petting that went on. It was shamelessly wonderful.
The new version of Hansel and Gretel by Stephen King was read and returned to the library. The story sticks pretty much to the basics (sad father, mean stepmother, dark forest, bread crumbs, wicked witch) if memory serves correctly. I had forgotten the wonderful line… “nibble nibble little mouse, who is nibbling at my house”. Spoken deliciously by the evil witch trying to lure the children inside and trap them. For that reason, AND for the fabulous illustrations by Maurice Sendak, it should be picked up and flipped through. Even better if you can find someone to read it aloud to you. But not before bed.
We watched the latest Knives Out mystery on Christmas Eve. Equally as good as the first one, better than the second one, with award winning performances by Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Kerry Washington, and of course Daniel Craig. It’s on Netflix right now.
I am deep into being mode. Not doing a thing that smells even slightly of should. Playing around with some quilt blocks, hanging out at coffee shops, doing some yoga, reading a book, lighting candles, loosening up my drawing mojo, drinking the last of the eggnog with a shot of bourbon. Good stuff, all of it.
If you are sitting alone, looking at the fire tonight, while you wait for Santa to make a delivery, may I suggest you listen to Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie? Written in 1938 it’s a timeless classic. Who killed Simeon Lee inside the locked room in an old English mansion in the countryside? Was it one of the son’s? A daughter in law? The stranger from South Africa? The newly discovered granddaughter from Spain? The valet? Or someone entirely different. Not to worry, Hercule is on the case. It’s a fast 6 hours and most atmospheric. I am going to suggest a glass of eggnog with a good shot of bourbon to go with. Narrated by Hugh Fraser, it’s a great listen. Be sure to have your pajamas on, a place to prop up your feet, and maybe a bit of knitting in a basket by your side.
It will likely make you want to get out the game of Clue and have round or two. Again, it’s a fun diversion for a quiet holiday for one or two. Most of the Thanksgiving crowd we had over last month, came down with something after that holiday so we are staying in our respective homes for the 25th. If you think you can’t play Clue with just 2 – look up how to do it on the internet. They have answers for everything.
On another holiday front, I decided at the last minute to whip up a new set of napkins for Christmas. I saw this bundle of fat quarters at Sarah’s downtown on Mass street and I jumped on them.
I am a sucker for making a mitered corner. Mostly because I used to think it was impossibly hard, and after about 10 sets of multiple napkins it is easy. I did not even burn my fingers once on the steam from my iron when I was getting them ready to sew.
I also decided in the last several days that I needed a new mitten for the mitten garland over the fireplace. Here it is in the leftovers from my Sophie scarf with a little something else for the right gauge.
As I put this post to bed tonight and get ready to go sit in front of the tree, I am thinking about how making stuff is so much like playing. Using your imagination and materials of some sort to pull something out of nothing. I wish you lots of playing, making, and anything else that makes you happy during the holidays.
In these days of Ho! Ho! Ho! and Fa-La-La-La-La, my time has been occupied by the very worthy task of enjoying this little poinsettia on my table. Why did I go with the mini version this year? Because I saw it, I knew I had a little pot to put it in, and was certain it would be perfect on the table. It could be that I will only get a tiny poinsettia from now on.
A good batch of corn muffins was made in anticipation of the arrival of soup and stew season. Chris made a pot of ham and beans recently that may have been his best ever. Butternut squash got roasted before I forgot about it in the pantry until spring. We’ve all done it.
Christmas card writing was another task crossed off the list. I don’t send as many as in years past, but a few just want to be written. This year I ordered a selection of cards from Cambridge Imprint across the pond in England. Their paper is so so wonderful to write on. Same goes for Hammerpress right here in Kansas City – love their designs.
Perhaps the thing that has been delighting me the most is this paperwhite bulb purchased at the Holiday Farmers Market. Absolutely amazing! It’s growing, growing, growing, taller every hour. And the roots are mesmerizing; reaching down to the water in the pebbles. No Christmas in the future will be complete without one (or three) of them.
When we were kids, we always got fruit in our stockings, at least one apple and one orange, plus nuts we had to crack open. This pear, which came in a box of fruit from Ray and Cheryl Jean, keeps that memory alive for me. They seem extra good this year. Brother and I also had a hilarious conversation about how good fruitcake is and that we like mincemeat pie. If only Angie could have joined in.
One of the absolute pleasures of getting older is finally relating to all the things your parents thought were good… and having siblings to talk about it with.
The “21 color slouch” hat has been completed. Here I am in the mirror that Alice retrieved from some barn, on some old homestead near Russell Kansas in the early 1980’s, and thought we needed in our house. She was right, of course. What I wouldn’t give to sit down and have a conversation with her right this minute. But that’s a post for another time – the one about all the talks you want, with all the memorable people in your life who have died. Let’s get back to the hat for now.
I tried many different methods of working in the ends as I went along. Some were better than others, I am not sure I have the best method figured out, but it was all good practice. Bottom line, I loved every bit of the knitting and the working in. Good knitting for when you are listening to a book by a cozy fire. I love that this turned out exactly as I thought it would. You know how sometimes you make something and when you put it on you are disappointed and know you will be unlikely to wear it? That is not the case with the 21 color slouch! It is slouchy without being too baggy, it is not itchy, and I just LOVE all the colors.
Santa was giving out hugs at the Holiday Farmers Market in Lawrence on Saturday. I was second in line after Karen Pendleton, creator of those fabulous gourds in the photo below.
They also had paperwhites, in the proper containers, with clear instructions on what to do with them when you got them home. Which is – nothing. Watch them and be amazed. Just don’t let the bulb get wet. Only the roots. Check.
There was some good music coming out of this group, spirits were high, smiles were plentiful.
There were some creative, wonderful, useful items for sale.
I have been meaning to try Mrs. Peters’ sugar cookies for years. This year is the year. I got the box that came complete with cookies, frosting in bags, sprinkles, and some instructions. She told me to report back to her how they came out.
If you are a hot cocoa fan, these gnomes came complete with the hot chocolate bomb and all the toppings you could ask for. Clever idea.
I was delighted to see the holiday cakes from Chonky sweets and eats. I nabbed a piece of the peppermint mocha and the gingerbread. Along with a couple of the original chocolate chip cookies with a touch of sea salt on top. It’s going to be a long winter. One must be prepared.
They won the award for best looking family at the market. Love those smiles.
Good smiles from this group too… plus dogs!
I wanted to buy everyone on my gift list a bag of flour. The bags are so beautiful.
It was when I was taking pictures of the flower ornaments that a really nice lady came up and asked me if I was Carol. She said I had taken photos of her son and his dog several times over the years at the market and so had become a blog reader! Oh how I love a moment of connection like this. I should have gotten a photo but I think we will likely run into each other again. Her name was Mary Pat and she said she and her husband would like to go to the beaches that Mary Ann and I walk in California. I so love it when people who read the blog talk to me.
These two know how to wear a stocking hat, and how about the gloves with the snowflakes? I wanted to hug them, but refrained.
Speaking of stocking hats?!?? Just when I think the succulent man at the market has come up with his best idea ever… he comes up with something even better. Loved these.
The guy below had on a great cat hat that you really can’t see in this photo so just take my word for it. They were well prepared in their layers and with plenty of baskets and bags for their purchases.
You could also get your presents wrapped at the market. If you were so inclined. These two were armed and ready to cut, fold, tape, and apply bows.
Here is what came home with me Saturday. The thing you cannot see but I hope you “get” through the pictures, are what a wonderful time I had there. It was good to get a dose of “my people”. There is nothing like the holiday farmers market to get your mind right and your spirits lifted.
P.S. The cookies were very fun to decorate and the cookies themselves – delicious! The frosting was tasty, really easy to apply, and firmed up nicely. I will admit to being quite liberal with it and the sprinkles. Which is the joy of a do it yourself decorating party. Chris and I gave the whole project 4 thumbs up.
Over the course of the last 14 days I have spent a full 26 hours listening to The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai. It is read (masterfully) by Sneer Mathan. It is hard to condense into a few sentences what this book is about. On the surface it is the story of 2 young people from India and their relationship, but is is so much deeper than that. It is filled with details, customs, traditions, and a cast of interesting, vibrant characters who show us their worries, doubts, superstitions, and beliefs. We see the complex love of family with ways that are rooted in the past but still with us today. Whether you are knowledgable about the culture of India or not, you will likely feel the similarities that inevitably exist in all families.
The writing in this book is such a pleasure to read. Early on, I found myself stopping to write down particular lines, but gave that up so as not to interrupt the flow of the book. I will leave you with this one though from early on… “it was essential to remain close to those who had caused you harm so that the ghost of guilt might breathe through their dreams, that their guilt might slowly mature to it’s fullest potential”.
I have not read The Inheritance of Loss, Desai’s previous book, but have added it to my list. I need to let this one sit with me for awhile and fully enjoy the magical quality of it. Extremely HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. After I read it, I looked at a review of it that said it was “too long and fragmented” and wondered if we had read the same book. Yes, it is long, but so skillfully woven together that it is seamless. I found myself caught up in the lives of ALL the characters, not just Sonia and Sunny. In particular Sunny’s mother (Babita) and Sonia’s father.
Before the first snow of the season, I managed to squeeze in one more good walk out at Clinton lake. It was glorious. Foggy, moist, full of the aroma of decomposing leaves, cool but not of the type requiring a heavy coat. In other words, some of my favorite conditions for walking.
It was a perfectly, perfect, walk.
On the ground a plethora of hedge apples. But this tree below retained its fruit, in the manner of a tree decorated for the holidays.
I love the hedge apples from the Osage Orange tree. Food for the squirrels, quite useful for hedge ball bowling on the trail, some say if you put one in your basement it will discourage crickets from camping out.
On this day my Merlin bird call app told me I was hearing Carolina wrens, American crows, white throated sparrows, a tufted titmouse, and a white breasted nuthatch. But the most interesting bird related sound I heard was the noise made when the gulls feet hit the water as they landed. They were flying about, low, over the water, not calling to each other, and every once in a while they would land for a few seconds. It was so quiet and still I could hear their feet as they slapped the water. It is etched in my mind.
The weather is nothing you can depend on in the winter in Kansas. You never know when it might be face freezing cold, snowy, muddy, or windy. It made this day even more special.
This walk on a day in late November, showcases perfectly the beauty of the season. Gray-ish sky turning blue by spells, the gold/wheat/tan/browns of the grasses, the turned leaves that are nonetheless spectacular, especially against the water and the sky.
The dark branches of the trees.
As a special treat, how about that great blue heron just standing there posing for me. Things like this stop me in my tracks and cause me to exclaim to no one at all (and anyone who might be in hearing distance) “will you just look at that?!”
These are things to be thankful for. Also that the Thanksgiving gathering turned out well, the food was delectable (Sean made some amazing cider-glazed Brussels sprouts with apples and bacon – link below to the recipe), there were no catastrophes, it was nice to see everyone, and of course for the house that has been put back in order and the leftovers doled out so we don’t end up with too many.
All imagined fracases and disasters averted. Isn’t that the way of it so often?
On the day before the day before Thanksgiving, this post goes out in honor of one of the things I am very thankful for. The Lawrence Farmers market… and all the wonderful people that make it happen.
On duty for the last farmers market of the regular season, these 2 brought their very best smiles. The number of vendors has dwindled greatly but I still managed to get what I needed, along with some parting shots of all the great people who contribute to making our farmers market what it is.
When I was getting a shot of the squash, the Westside Bagel guy told me not to turn the camera on him or the lens would crack. I of course had to prove him, and his great supporting cast wrong.
There was no chance of this sweetie cracking a lens. All snuggled up with tigger and waiting in line with mom and grandma for a breakfast treat, there is nothing but anticipation of something good happening on that face.
Thuy was having a great conversation with a regular about getting juice and protein balls in the off season.
I ran into my favorite big sister/little brother combo while they were waiting for juice too. She told me I did not have to be scared of her brother because it was “just an alligator hat”.
The variety of sweet potatoes is vast and plentiful and Mellowfields farm has you covered for Thanksgiving side dishes.
You gotta love this group of hipsters at the Wild Alive fermenters booth. They have your gut microbiome taken care of and then some.
Oh how I will miss my weekly supply of locally grown greens, but everything in it’s season. In the meantime I am eating the heck out of them. There is truly nothing better.
I love coming home, washing them, letting them dry out a bit, and I am good to go for the week. You don’t truly appreciate the taste of really good greens, until you don’t have them.
Tall Tales from Kansas 