Monday, December 22, 2014

Monday, December 1

This has been a quiet week in my journal.  I don't have many details written down, only bits and pieces of what has been going on.  At home, life goes on as usual, but there are bigger things in the world to focus on: protests reminding us of how much we still need to learn about how to treat our fellow human beings, news of disease, unrest, and war.

Still there are a bright spots that stand out.

At daycare we start thinking about the upcoming holidays, crafting simple things like paper trees decorated with markers, stickers and circle shaped ornaments.  We make paper chains, and look for decorations while we are out on our walks.

It has been a funny fall.  The weather has been so warm we still find pumpkins scattered throughout the neighborhood. The appearance of evergreens and holiday lights on porches adorned with pumpkins seems wrong somehow.  I remind myself that it is still fall after all and the pumpkins can enjoy their time, as I secretly hope a squirrel will come along and feast on the out of place fruit. 

Julie is still in town until Wednesday morning, and before knitting on Tuesday, we go out to dinner at one of her favorite spots, Rue De L'espoir.  She has been missing fresh east coast sea food that is not available in her Rocky Mountain home, especially scallops.  It is delightful to sit with her and watch her enjoy this food she has been missing.  Julie gets a side of scallops and a bowl of cheesy and delicious onion soup.  Sticking with the sea food theme, I get fish and chips, something I have been craving for a while.  There is warm, fragrant, crusty bread served by the waitperson from a large, woven basket carried over her lower arm.  Inside is a large linen napkin lining keeping the bread soft and warm.  The waitperson carefully picks out a slice with long tongs, and places it on a plate.   It is a treat to inhale the scent of this beautiful bread, and heavenly to eat, especially when it is spread with soft butter that melts into the interior of the bread.

When we get to knitting, we are glad to have skipped dessert.  Alison had mentioned that she would be bringing her traditional pumpkin pie in this evening, but we were in for a tasty surprise when Nancy, remembering that I had been looking for a good yellow cake recipe, not only brought in the recipe, but also a sampling of the cake! 

It was a full house this evening, some occasional attendees stopped in to spend time visiting with Julie.  This was the perfect night for it, and with the food, there was a celebratory.

Thursday it is chilly, so we make pizza to make the house feel warm and cozy.

 In the afternoon  the weather is drizzly, but it clears up in time for the Hope Street Stroll happening in the evening.  Kaileigh and I go to quickly check things out before we head to stained glass.  Part of me  wants to stay, I know there will be fire juggling and the What Cheer band is scheduled to play along with other enticing entertainment.  Many of my daycare families will be there, and it is always fun to run into these friends out in the world. I try to stay focused, there are projects we need to finish, and if we skip tonight, they will not be done on time.

We walk the through the whole festival once, to take it all in.  It is early, so there is not too much going on yet.  We spot a living dreidel dancing along the street, and a sleigh with singing elves stops to create some mischief. There are so many families out to enjoy the evening, and there are kids everywhere!  The air is cool and and the ground is damp, but there is no rain.  The reflection of the lights on the damp pavement adds to the atmosphere and makes things look beautiful.  The petting zoo is getting busy, everyone wants to pet the small furry animals hopping around the fenced in area in the bank parking lot.  The bunnies don't even seem to mind being handled by their young visitors.  There are Hanukkah crafts to be made, cookies to decorate, and soon, Santa is scheduled to make his appearance.

Our real goal on this stroll is to grab some dinner from one of the many food trucks that line the street.  Steven is out this evening, and getting dinner together on busy nights doesn't always work out so well.  The food trucks offer a delicious and quick alternative.  After much deliberation, I get a pulled pork sandwich from Noble Knots.  It is spicy, but not overly so, and the meat is very tender.  It is served on a knotted roll, hence the name of the food truck.  Kaileigh gets a vegetarian version of my meal from the Ohh Mommi! vegetarian truck. It is a pulled portobello mushroom sandwich.  Her sandwich has coleslaw on it, which makes gives it a satisfying crunch.  She declares it delicious.  What we really love from this food truck is the fresh made french fries.  They are unbelievably good.  I have to restrain myself from eating too many.

Things are starting to roll at the festival, so I need to leave before I find I can't extricate myself from the fun.  We stop in the parking lot of the bakery to watch a short children's animated film presented by the Providence Children's Film Festival. They have set up an inflatable movie screen with hay bales to sit on and scattered some heaters around the area to keep the chill away.  Kaileigh has never seen this theater set up before and thoroughly enjoys it.    

We manage to leave after one short, and make it to stained glass just a little later than we had planned.




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