Cookie Nostalgia

Today I'm baking springerles for the men in my life at the LCKlopfenstein family Christmas. I always feel as if both my grandmothers would smile knowing I was carrying on their baking tradition for Lynny-Boy and Mark as well as Mike, Joey, and Andrew who never got to eat their wonderful springerles.

I tend to get rather nostalgic when it comes to Christmas baking.

Two years ago this weekend I was in Washington, IL learning how to make these cookies better than I ever had before with Betty Schumacher, my mom's long-time friend and maid of honor. From her I learned a few tips most importantly of which was I NEEDED a KitchenAid mixer. I actually got one in the process of losing my job a year ago. These are the cookies I made with her.

And this is my KitchenAid mixer. I like red.

One year ago I made springerles with my dear Mary Lee. She laughed at my quirks about cookie and especially springerle cookie baking. That's ok--I bake a lot of love into my cookies.

In 1986 my sister Mary came to visit me in IL just before Christmas. We were in a small kitchen store on the square in Washington and saw a springerle rolling pin. We knew Mom really wanted one, but the $17 or $18 price seemed pretty high for two pretty poor recent college grads. However, we splurged to give it to her. Just a few weeks later we were shopping in Boaz, AL and found springerle rolling pins at a kitchen outlet for $2.97!

For the next few years I would make the springerles with Mom's help always trying to recreate the springerles we remembered-mostly misses with an occasional hit.

In 1988 I moved into an apartment in Morton, IL. In another building of that complex my grandmother's first cousin lived. Anna Freidinger was also a springerle extraordinaire who taught me not to roll the dough too thin. She also taught me that it was much better to use a rolling pin that was three cookies wide instead of six.

About 2006 I read an article in the GR Press about a recently released book that told the story of springerle cookies. Many, many years ago a minister in Germany wanted his illiterate parishioners to have the story of the birth of Jesus in front of them. He and his family carefully carved various nativity scenes in blocks of wood and cut out cookies that told the Christmas story. My dear friend Jayne from Handbells saw my blog post about the book and the next year she had a very special gift for me.

The Nutcracker

Tonight I went to The Nutcracker for the first time. I went in not expecting to like it a lot because several people have said they saw it once and that was enough for them. However, I really enjoyed it. The dream sequence got a bit long but the gracefulness combined with strength was very enjoyable. It was also good to put a visual with the music I'd heard often. I was glad I'd read the storyline in the program before the performance began.

The downside: People find you seat on time. If it's in the middle of a long row, don't wait until 7:29 much less 7:32 for a 7:30 start. If your child is too young to stay up until 9:30 p.m. so that you have to walk out with them at a critical point, then wait until your child is older to bring them or take them to a matinee. If your infant is likely to have a blowout requiring you to leave and then return during critical parts, find a baby sitter or stay home until the infant is old enough to watch. (see previous sentence) And lastly, if you absolutely must leave and return, know which row you are sitting in so you don't have to look down every aisle and go back and forth doing so.

Can you tell that our view was interrupted numerous time throughout the performance?

I may not want to go next year, but I would definitely go again.

Ornaments

The ornaments are ready to go in the mail tomorrow!

This is all 10. Yes, I am constantly putting them in this order to make sure I have everyone. Yes, the rocking horse does look a lot like a sleigh. Yes, the snowman is made out of just one big snowflake. And yes, I wish the crafter had made a snowflake in red so all would be the same.

Here are some closeups of several to see a bit more of the detail in the "lace".

Springerles

This cartoon was in the paper the day I baked springerles. I used my grandmother's recipe.

You either love them or don't. Nobody seems to be really neutral about springerles.

Love

Here is what one boy answered when asked what love is:

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.
Bobby - age 7 (wow!)  
 
Recently I was told that if you have one Norman Rockwell moment during the holidays enjoy it.
 
So sit back and listen when you're opening presents.

Christmas Prep

I've officially hit the mark of , "OK, I wanted to do this, but I think I just won't get it done."

Thankful Tuesday 11/23/10 pt 2

Thankful I can listen to Christmas music even before Thanksgiving!!!

Ornament 2010

Saturday was ornament shopping day at Bronner's in Frankenmuth.  While I typically don't do the reveal (Think "Move That Box Cover!!!") until I send them to the kids, I'm excited about this year's. 

I like to get them all in the same style if possible.  And this year it was each niece and nephew's item on a round ball.  Renae, Glenn, and I spent an hour and 15 minutes walking back and forth in Bronner's to find them all, but we got them.

Here is the assortment:

One of the ornaments pretty much "broke the bank" but it was that or have to get one very different from the others.  Top to bottom, left to right is : Lauren's teddy bear, Lindsey's snowman (not the best picture to see how cute it is, Whitney's star (there are several stars all around the bulb), Lindsay's greenery, Mary Lee's angel, John Michael's gingerbreadman (and woman), Haley's candy cane, Jaimie's bell, Andrew's horse (will need some work to make it a rocking horse), and Jeffrey's stocking.  I need to put names and year on each them as well.

Now if I just don't forget them when I go to SC in a few weeks!!!

It's ormanent time!

Tomorrow is ormanent (sic) day and one my very favorite get ready for Christmas things to do.  In 1987 I bought Andrew a rocking horse ornament and every since then it's been a rocking horse ornament for him.  With every new niece or nephew I chose a new item to get them.   Typically I send it around Thanksgiving time so they can hang it that year.

MaryLee--angel
Lauren--teddy bear
Lindsey--snowman
JM--gingerbread man
Jeffrey--stocking
Lindsay--greenery (wreath, tree, etc.)
Whitney--star
Jaimie--bell
Haley--candy cane

Originally I wanted to do nutcrackers for Andrew and I'm not sure why I didn't, but every time I choose a new one I realize I still haven't done nutcrackers.  Surprisingly the rocking horse is the hardest to find.

I like to try to do them in the same style each year if possible, and I always write the year on them some way and usually their name as well.

Today I texted all of the nieces and nephew who out of high school to see about this tradition.  I love to do it, but maybe they are starting to feel too old for an ornament.  I'm glad they all quickly replied that they liked it and wanted to keep getting them.  Several graciously said they thought it may be a lot for me to do, but I really love this tradition.

So tomorrow I'm off to Bronner's.  Maybe next week there will be a picture of this year's ornaments.

Random Thoughts

1. Sitting at Mocha 'n Music "grading" papers for class.

2. It's very cold here; today is a high of 15. Thankfully the sun is shining today.

3. Cracker Barrel in Michigan isn't as good as CB in Alabama. Who wants biscuits with a dark brown top? And if I ask if grits come with the meal after it's been served why would a server say, "Yes, do you want them?"

4. Happy New Year everyone!

5. I hope a change in layout isn't throwing anyone--especially those who layout newsletters.

6. The profile pic is from a long, long time ago with me, my sister, and two cousins.

7. I had a great Christmas with family.

8. My father is doing well from surgery. The hip replacement went well, but there have been a coule of other issues that have delayed his progress. It was hard to leave them.

9. For the girls at Christmas I send an MK catalog and offer them a dollar amount they can order. They also have the option of a gift card to the store of their choosing. In addition to what they ask for I add a couple of other MK things. This year they got two gift with purchase items. Their gifts go in a gift bag, and I give them to each person individually. As I present it to them I say, "May all your Christmases be pink."

10. OK, I really do need to grade papers now!

Thankful Christmas Eve

Yes, I realize Thankful Christmas Eve isn't alliterated, but it doesn't seem right to post tonight and not say something about Christmas Eve.

1. So thankful my Dad's surgery went well. Even though there have been a few blips in his recovery so far the surgery itself seems to have done well.
2. (Make sure you read through this entire point or it will sound not nice) So thankful my Mom hurts as my father is hurting. It shows me how much she loves and cares for him.
3. Thankful my mother takes such good care of my father.
4. Thankful Ann will be in charge of the kitchen over Christmas in AL because I'm pretty sure that means both cooking and cleaning up!!!
5. Thankful my brother and his wife include me as part of their family on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. (Molly, you're the best sister-in-law in the world!!!)
6. So thankful Mary lives close to Mom and Dad to help them out through Dad's surgery and recuperation. She and Joey have done more than we will ever know.
7. Most thankful we can celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ--not as a baby but as our Saviour who died for us.

Merry Christmas to all!

You Can Tell It's the Week of Christmas. . .

. . .because the parking lot at work today is over half empty.

A Winter Weekend

Woke up to a couple of inches of snow today.

Yesterday I bought more presents and began sending out Christmas letters.

Finished the Christmas letters today and put them all in the mail.

Looked for a couple more gifts today, and I think I'm down to getting a jar of nuts as my last gift.

Bought a rotary cutter today for a project. (Think Tim Taylor grunting.)

Want to bake some Christmas cookies tonight, but not enough in me to do so.

Love to say "Merry Christmas" to store clerks, etc. I wish the season were longer so I could do so more.

Went in for a $14.95 oil change and came out with new oil, new air filter, new transmission fluid, new in cabin filter, and a bill that was much more than $14.95!

Bought a Wii game for Renae's boys. I'm thinking I need to try it out tonight to "make sure it works ok"--I'd hate for them to open it, and it wouldn't work ok for them!

The Ornaments

Today continued a tradition that began in 1988. I mailed the ornaments. Every niece and nephew gets an ornament of the same type each year with their name and year on it. At one point I made a list just in case I couldn't keep track.

Andrew--rocking horse (except this year)
Mary Lee--angel
Lauren--teddy bear (harder to find each year than you would think)
Lindsey--snowman
John Michael--gingerbread man
Jeffrey--stocking
Lindsay--greenery (tree, wreath, etc.)
Whitney--star
Jaimie--bell
Haley--candy cane

Each year I like to find the ornaments in the same style. One of my favorite years was when I found them all as cookie cutters and put ribbon on them for hanging. Another favorite year was finding them as plaster ornaments. Ann and Mary Lee bought some other ornaments, and we painted and painted for 2-3 days.

Today I texted all the kids that something was in the mail.

Molly told me that Jeffrey was decorating their tree today. He put all the ornaments for each person out. He got all excited and told Molly, "Look at this!!! This one is from 1993!!!" He picked up another one and exclaimed, "And this one is from 1992!!!"

Of course when all you know is 2000s for a year, I guess 1992 is old. Molly said he acted as if they may as well as have been from the Civil War!

Crafts and more

Bought these at the Hudsonville High School craft fair on Saturday. I don't know that you can see the detail very well, but these yard decorations are made from old spoons and forks. The middle of the flower has the tines of the forks curved around for extra design.

These are Christmas yard decorations that Renae and I saw at the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain in September. We looked at them and said, "We can do that." Personally I think they are too high on the stake, but I don't think in Michiganese. Renae says they need to be high to stay above the snow.

And this is me several weeks ago installing the hitch on my car for the bike rack. Anybody need their oil changed?

Isn't this the best looking college sophomore around? I know my parents enjoyed Andrew's playing the piano and singing while he was in AL.

A couple of Jeffrey stories from the holidays:

I was telling Jeffrey, Grandma, Andrew, and K-Daddy about growing popcorn this past summer. Jeffrey jerked around to me beside him in the car and said, “No you didn’t.” Me: “Yes, I did.”
Jeffrey: “No, you didn’t. That’s impoppable!”

Then he stopped and started laughing at himself. “I said impoppable instead of impossible. That’s a pretty good pun isn’t it? Impoppable.”

I bought this purse with some Christmas money so I asked Jeffrey to take a picture of me with it. He took this one, and when I told him, "Hey, I do have a face" he just smiled and said, "But I got the purse and that's what you wanted!"

On Tuesday Jeffrey, Andrew, and I washed and vacuumed one of Grandma and K-Daddy’s cars. Jeffrey really enjoyed the noise, water, and machinery of the car wash so I suggested after lunch we do the same for their other car and then go get Aunt Mary’s and do hers as well. With big eyes and smile he said, “Yes, and then we can go to the mall!”

We finished one car and then went to get Aunt Mary’s car. While we were inside she told a few of her co-workers that we were washing cars if they wanted their’s washed as well. Mrs. Cook wanted hers washed so Jeffrey and I took that car first. On the way there I said, “Now I don’t know if she will, but if Mrs. Cook offers us money for this, don’t you think it would be good to say, ‘Mrs. Cook, we’re just glad to do a nice thing for you and Mr. Cook.’ “. His reply, “Yes, but if she insists then we should take it, right?” “Well we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but since Mr. Cook is sick and they are good people don’t you think we should just say, ‘Mrs. Cook, we’re just glad to do a nice thing for you and Mr. Cook’?” “Yes, but if she insists then we should just take it.”

We went through this several times to make sure he knew to say we were glad to do it for them. When we got back to Mary’s office, we handed Mrs. Cook the change, and then she gave him a tip. He says, “Mrs. Cook” and then looks at me and says “What is it I’m supposed to say?” Talk about exasperated! She said, “I’d give anyone who washed my car a tip so you take it.” He looks at me, smiles, and says, “She’s insisting.”

Here’s a picture of him on the carousel enjoying his tip.

Day After Christmas

It's not quite Black Friday, but Molly and I left at 7:45 for the 9:00 opening of The Container Store. We were getting wrapping paper, bags, and ribbons for 50% off. I wish we had this store in west MI. From there it was off for a coffee at Starbucks and then to Swoozie's. They had a tent sale going so in addition to their Christmas stuff at 50% off there was quite a bit of other things for 40% off.

I bought three birthday gifts there and paid with my Discover card. Mary called while we were in the parking lot and said that she wanted some things I had told her about. I went back to get her items and gave my Discover card to pay for them. The clerk said, "We don't take Discover." I had to go out to Molly to get a card from her as I didn't have my purse with me with other cards so I got the receipt from the other bag I had purchased for them to re-run Molly's card for. The guy who had checked me out said, "Oh no, I just ran a Discover card." They were all really glad and somewhat surprised that I took the other receipt back.

I admit the thought crossed my mind that "Who would know?", "It's their fault," "The clerk should have know they don't take Discover,", etc., but it was the right thing to do.

However, wouldn't it have been good customer service to say, "Thanks for being honest, let us give you one of these free" after all I was buying six of the same thing?

Merry Christmas to all

Up at 8:04 to the sound of children waiting to open presents. They opened while the three adults watched. They offered for me to open one, but I opted to save them for tomorrow.

Went for breakfast at Waffle House. That's got to be one of the different traditions in Atlanta, but the place was crowded. My brother's typical order: 2 eggs over easy with spray, sausage patted down, toast dry, and all that smothered in butter. I think after the first time 8 years ago it just wasn't funny anymore. When my brother started talking about someone at my work, I actually dropped my glass of sweet tea and it went all over my sister-in-law. It was funny that it seemed to shake me up so much I dropped the glass!

This afternoon Mark, JM, and I went to see Valkery. None of us were that excited by it. Unfortunately, I needed a nap so I struggled to stay awake for the first 45 minutes or so. The funny part was on the drive there. Dad, your driving 15 mph over the speed limit. Dad, you're teaching me really bad driving habits.

All my gifts are wrapped and under the tree. Our Christmas is tomorrow with the family.

So Merry Christmas to all.

A Christmas Miracle

It's a miracle--a true Christmas miracle I'm telling you.

I made it to Atlanta (albeit about an hour late), and my luggage made it as well!!!

I took Marta to a station closest to my brother's. I called them when we were leaving the stop just before that. Lauren called me back and said they were there. I didn't know how long it was between stops. I got off the train, dragged my two bags up the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator, and saw their van pull off just as I got to the top of the stairs!!! Wow, tough crowd--apparently if you aren't waiting at the curb they leave. I called Mark and he said, "I'll come back and get you." Apparently one of my nieces had to go to the bathroom so badly he took her to a local hotel and pulled away just as I got there. So I guess it was best that I stood there all alone at a deserted train station on Christmas Eve so she could use the bathroom!

Jeffrey has lost one front tooth and the other is apparently quite loose. I refuse to look closely as loose teeth eckle me. Molly has commented several times today that if he loses the tooth today that maybe Santa and the Tooth Fairy would bump into each other tonight. She attempted to pull it tonight, but he wanted nothing of it and apparently was quite upset before he went to bed. She was talking to him, and he said, "I don't want Santa and the Tooth Fairy to bump into each other!" He must think one could get hurt and he'd end up with the goods from only one of them, and he's probably afraid it would be the $2 from the Tooth Fairy is all he would get!

Merry Christmas Eve!