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Christmas Cookies

I finally decided to do some Christmas baking this year. Did I make cookies for the neighbors? No. I made cookies for the dogs.

Actually, I probably wouldn't have done that, but Ashley dropped off a jar of dog cookie mix as a treat for Lizzie and Sheila and it seemed like a good thing to do. I can take treats to Ned & Marta's dog for Christmas.

I have to admit the mix smelled good! And why not--it's loaded with good stuff:

1 cup unbleached or whole wheat flour
1 cup of oatmeal, blended into flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp beef or chicken bouillon granules
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup skim milk powder
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (approximately) of flour, or enough to fill a 1 qt jar

To this mix, you add 2 eggs and 1 cup of hot water, adding more water or more flour as needed to make the dough workable. I actually added about a cup more flour.

Lizzie was delighted and watched me like a hawk when I was rolling and cutting the dough because she'd already tasted bits that had fallen on the floor when I was mixing it all together.

It all bakes at 250º for 90 minutes, after which you let the pan sit in the oven until the cookies are dried out.

So now I have doggie treats to give as gifts (and lots for our dogs too, of course). I was sorry that I've given away all of my cookie cutters, so I made donut shapes and donut holes.

This was the day when I started actually doing housework. I am embarrassed to admit I don't know how long it's been since I dusted the living room, but suffice to say I didn't get it all dusted before Christmas last year and haven't touched it since. I never go in there except at night, when the lights are off, and we never entertain, so I just never think about it. My mother will be appalled to read that (but probably not surprised).

I blocked off the door, because Chunk has diarrhea and I don't want a puppy with diarrhea running around on the only rug in the house. The dogs were not happy to find themselves excluded.

I made a dent in the living room cleaning, got lots of Christmas cards addressed, and we ended the night watching Lillies of the Field and The Miracle Worker on the local PBS station. At one point I looked around me and realized that I had 4 dogs and one husband all dozing.

This was DILO day for Flickr, so I've tried to keep a running photo journal of the day, though it was a pretty boring day for photographs, all things considered.

The Deadline Looms

I decided to get serious about Christmas today. I didn't want to rush it, of course. No point in being ready ahead of time, even though "ready" doesn't mean what it has meant for the past 42 years. I kinda miss "Mom's Christmas Crisis."

But I did get Christmas gifts gathered together to see if I was missing anything. I'm not really, except one gift that I know I bought but can't find. I have looked everywhere and in the process have significantly lowered the piles of junk around here -- and found the printer cartridge I have been looking for as well -- but still no gift. I saw it within the last two days. I remember holding it in my hands in the last two days. But where in the world is it...?

Tom's gift, which was reported to have been mailed on 2/15, also hasn't arrived, but I have a bit of leeway on that, since he won't be here for Christmas and it will be delivered to him by Walt, Jeri and Phil after Christmas (I hope). The company tells me to "allow 7 days," which time will be up tomorrow. Hold the good thought.

Walt went out shopping in the early afternoon and came home to report that it was miserable downtown and that he had to park quite a distance from the store he was going to.

By the time he got home it was after 3 p.m., and I was hoping that I might hit the lull between the "stay at home shoppers" and the "after work shoppers."

I started out at Costco and found a place to park within the parking lot very close to the store. I spent a lot of time in there and found lots of stuff I would have done something creative with had I started in that store a few weeks ago. Just as well I didn't. But I did get a gift box put together for our dog sitters and then snuck out to drop it off on their front door.

Then it was time to head downtown. I had little hope of actually finding a parking spot when I noticed that while I was waiting at a red light at least eight cars went into the Borders' parking lot, but miracle of miracles, I actually did find a spot.

When I entered the store, the line of people waiting to check out stretched almost the entire length of the store. I put my merriest "Christmas is almost here and this will only be a half hour out of my life" face on and went searching. Found the few things I was looking for, by which time the line at check-out had shrunk to only three people.

When I got back into the car, I realized that I had done it. I had finished my shopping list and had even purchased an alternative gift to replace the one that I can't find (it will be a big coup if the first gift actually shows up, but I'm getting the feeling that somehow, I don't have a clue how, I inadvertently threw it out.

It's only the 21st and I've finished my shopping and almost everything is wrapped. How did that happen?

It ain't a lot, but we're a small group

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My Dream Vacation

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Off to See the Wizard

I spent the evening with good witches and bad witches, with lions and scarecrows, with munchkins, with tin men, with big Dorothys and little Dorothys, and a little dog too.

And queens. Lots and lots of queens.

Davies Hall, home to the San Francisco Symphony, may have been the gayest place in San Francisco last night, when the symphony presented The Wizard of Oz shown on a big screen, with live musical accompaniment provided by the symphony orchestra.

We had started the day with Walt's physical therapy appointment in Sacramento (a short one this time) and then we drove to Woodland to do a bit of shopping. I was driving thru the parking lot when this older gentleman in a truck started backing right into me. There was a car behind me so I had nowhere to go and honked the horn several times, but he didn't see or hear me and smashed right into the front of the car.

The damage is minimal and I know it will raise the old folks' insurance if we report it, so we decided we'd just live with the damage (tho we haven't told them that yet).

Around 3, we fed all the dogs and hit the road heading for Emerald City. One thing you DO forget when you live out in the boonies is how a big city dresses up for the holidays. Davies Symphony Hall is directly across from the opera house, which is entertaining audiences with Nutcracker this week and is dressed appropriately.

Looking across the street into the windows of Davies hall was also lovely.

The decorations at Davis were a bit more subtle when seen from the outside, but the lobby was a mass of specially decorated Christmas trees--everything from a teddy bear tree to a tree decorated by kindergartners, to one by Sees candy, to a "Diversity" tree. There was a giant balloon rainbow over the stairs.

Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Glinda were all on hand to greet the folks arriving for the show and the kids were especially adorable meeting their idols.

We got a turkey wrap and sat by the SPCA tree, overlooking City Hall. We missed the costume contest and Wizard of Oz sing-along, because they were on the second floor and I didn't realize they were going on. So that means I don't know if the guys who came as a field of poppies won anything or not!

When it came time for the movie to begin, we went into the hall itself. I can't begin to explain what great fun it was. From the opening notes of the overture, to the applause that greeted Judy Garland's first appearance, the applause after Over the Rainbow, the boos and hisses for the witch...it was just...a happening.

The critic in me feels the need to point out that it wasn't perfect. In a couple of places the orchestra was not with the movie for a bar or two, but it was almost imperceptible. For some reason in a couple of spots the dialog was missing--I don't know why. E.g., when Glinda introduces Dorothy to the munchkins and sings "and Kansas, she says, is the name of the star," the munchkins repeat it back to her, but for some reason that part of the sound was missing. Also, the soldiers didn't say "oh-eee-oh, oh-oh," for some reason. And once or twice dialog wasn't able to be heard over the orchestra.

The oddest thing is that when Dorothy and friends go to get spruced up to meet the Wizard, she asks, in a sing-song voice, "can you even dye my eyes to match my gown?" and for some reason the sound track had her singing it, which she does not. I can only assume they had someone sing that one line and hope nobody would notice that it wasn't Judy Garland...but I noticed!

But that's all quibbling. It was at least 95% (if not more) great and the experience was in just being there and sharing all the fun with everyone else.

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