Carpe Lux

My father was an interesting man. Born just before the beginning of the Great Depression, and in the US military for over 20 years, he developed quite a wonderfully strange sense of humor – although he didn’t go in for the coarser jokes (at least not in front of his children). It was my father who introduced me to the genius comedy of Ray Stevens and Victor Borge and others along those lines. Anyone who made you think with their comedy without getting too blue about it ended up being a regular feature at our house or on the radio when we were on the road. I’m pretty sure I get a lot of my sense of humor from my father in that respect – I can still happily listen to things like Prairie Home Companion and remember fondly the times Daddy would get a new video from one of his favorites and introduce it to my sisters and me.

Pardon me. I think I just saw a squirrel.

The days after Thanksgiving mark the start of Christmas music on the radio and marathons of Christmas movies. I admit, I have a lot of favorites among those. However, I do wish we’d all keep the Reason for the Season in mind. It’s easy to get stressed and preoccupied with everything else going on. We lose sight of what truly matters, and wrap ourselves up in personal concerns.

May God bless you and yours this holiday season – may your worries be few and your joys many.

Cookie Monster sings it well.

 
And just because Pepe is my favorite:

Holiday traditions – most of us have at least one. One of my favorites is a dish called sunshine salad. Almost every year since I can remember, we’ve had this at Thanksgiving or Christmas or both. In recent years, I’ve been keeping this one alive, as it’s just plain yummy. It’s a simple jello salad involving finely shredded carrots and crushed pineapple — bright orange and yellow, cheerful and delicious.

Another food-related tradition I’d like to revive is the annual making of pfefferneusse. My grandmother had an amazing recipe, and I remember my father making sure we got it started in plenty of time before Christmas. Sadly, my grandmother’s handwritten cookbook has been lost, and that recipe with it. I am still hopeful that one day I will find a recipe that is pretty close to the cookies I remember.

Anyone else have a favorite tradition they’d like to share?

This is seriously cool.