Tradition!!

Not sure why I associate Fiddler on the Roof with Christmas... but, cue Tevye.

Israeli actor Topol as Tevye in the 1971 film
release of Fiddler on the Roof.

 "A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But in our little village of Anatevka, every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask, why do we stay here if it's so dangerous? We stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: Tradition!

Because of our traditions, we have kept our balance for many, many years. Here in Anatevka, we have traditions for everything: how to how to eat, how to sleep, how to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered, and always wear a little prayer-shawl. This shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, how did this tradition start? I'll tell you. I don't know. But it's a tradition. And because of our traditions, every one of us knows who he is, and what God expects him to do.

Traditions, traditions. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as... as... as a fiddler on the roof!"

Maybe more than Christmas itself it's a manifestation of my yearning to establish some meaningful traditions to help things feel okay even in the midst of life's chaos.  And Christmas is a time when family traditions are so very evident.  Last year was pretty much devoid of all things holiday and this year I'll be observing how my family-to-be does things so it's another time when I feel like I'm kind of aimlessly drifting, un-grounded and more than a little bit shaky.  That also makes it a good time to explore the traditions of other families to see if they feel like something we might want to add when Derek and I get our own home established.  I still have to wait and see what he says, but here are three that appeal to me:

http://lillightomine.com/light-em-up-2011.php

Designed with 50 small acts to teach children the value of serving others rather than just collecting presents for themselves, Light 'Em Up is an idea I'd modify to 24 quirky and fun acts of service (including family, friends, neighbors and random strangers) that could be done as a couple and use it as an Advent, or countdown to Christmas.  Click the link under the picture for more details.  My thought is that it would be great fun for just the two of us and it satisfies my need to de-commercialize Christmas a bit.

And while others will likely host family festivities on Christmas day for the foreseeable future, I like the idea of a more low-key get together on Christmas Eve.  Maybe a potluck, a chili feed or a spaghetti dinner?

Vintage blown glass ornaments

I'd also like to collect an ornament from each place that we travel that speaks to what was special about that locale so that putting them on the tree is a reminder of wonderful vacation memories and tells our own personal family story.  I think that sounds so much nicer than just using the non-descript glass balls and tinsel from any mall in America.  And at the beginning of December, gather family and/or friends to decorate house and tree.  It's a great time to tell stories, drink hot chocolate or apple cider and make s'mores in the fireplace.

Those are a few of the ideas I have now.  What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

Happy Holidays

Sometimes I get a bee in my bonnet... I admit it.  There are times when things just bug me so much that no matter how hard I try to hold it in, my opinions come spilling out of my mouth.  Now and then I'm even surprised by what I have to say.  Today what has me all wound up is the greed and commercialism that is the modern American Christmas celebration.  I hate that Christmas decorations start showing up on store shelves well before Halloween.  It makes me want to stomp my feet and, like the cartoon pilgrims wanting time for their own holiday, threaten the big fat man in the red suit to back off!  Or else!!

Found on Facebook 12/8/12 at: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=529262913760320&set=a.429122320441047.103062.429101477109798&type=1&theater

I find it tremendously sad that a simple family observance of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has turned into an ever growing demand list of things we don't need or want, can't afford to buy for each other and are meant more to impress someone we may not even like than to add happiness and quality to our own life.  Actually sad isn't nearly strong enough a word... more like complete and utter disgust.

At the beginning of the week, this background context and question were posed in a Facebook group I participate in:

"I posted Merry Christmas on a local discussion and opinion page here in Oklahoma and they deleted the post. I posted it again and again it was deleted. I received an email telling me to stop spamming Merry Christmas on the groups page. So I rewrote the post stating: "Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays: Which do you support? I was promptly banned from the group. So Ill ask the same here; "Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? Merry Christmas everyone!"

The response was overwhelmingly Merry Christmas!

My own thoughts are that Happy Holidays is equivalent to a big loud 'bah humbug' though after seeing the cartoon above, I think it is an even better description of how I perceive the term.  Even the words, Happy Holidays, destroy my happy feelings.  It's so generic... so impersonal... so devoid of any real meaning.  But I guess that's the quest of political correctness - to make things generic, impersonal and meaningless.

If you celebrate Christmas, admit it.  Say Merry Christmas!  Embrace your holiday and speak its special greeting with pride!

I'm thrilled when my Jewish friends wish me a Happy Hanukkah.  It makes me smile when those with African ancestry include me in their Kwanzaa festivities.  And the Pagan observance of Yule fascinates and inspires me partly because so many of our Christmas traditions have roots there and partly because it embraces the simplicity I so desire.  The happy wishes of another culture don't offend me.  They don't take away from my personal beliefs or minimize my value system.  Rather, when you include me in your seasonal celebrations, I feel honored.  It shows me that you care enough about me to make me a part of what is important to you.  It shows respect and trust and value.  And when I say Merry Christmas to you, those are the unspoken things I hope you hear and choose to celebrate with me.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Fancy Caramel Corn

Sadly, it didn't help the Georgia Bulldogs pull off a win Saturday in the SEC Championship game... but it is a yummy treat.  And it's super simple to make!

Fancy Caramel Corn

Start by making about 12 cups of popcorn.  Place in a large bowl and remove unpopped kernels.  It's totally up to you if it's air-popped, done in an old-time popper that uses oil or from the microwave.  Choose according to the taste you want in your finished product.  This time, I used Pop Secret (TM) Movie Theater Style Extra Butter microwave popcorn.

Next, in a medium saucepan, combine 1 cube of butter, 1/2 cup light Karo (TM) syrup (a corn syrup usually found near the maple syrups in the grocery store), enough brown sugar to absorb all the liquid - about 2 well-packed cups.  Bring to rolling boil, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn, and after a few minutes when all of the sugar crystals are completely dissolved turn to med-low so it just bubbles as you stir in 1 tsp vanilla and 1 can sweetened condensed milk.  Stir until smooth and evenly mixed.

Pour appx 3/4 of the caramel over the popcorn and stir to be sure it's evenly coated.

That's the basic caramel corn...

To make it 'fancy' add 2 cups of small pretzels, 1 cup dry roasted salted peanuts and 1 cup miniature marshmallows and gently mix into the popcorn.  Turn this out onto a lightly greased jelly roll pan and spread evenly.  If you want it crispy like Cracker Jacks (TM) place in a warm oven for a bit.  If you like it a little bit soft, move forward with the next step now.

Drizzle remaining caramel over the popcorn.  Melt appx 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips and drizzle the melted chocolate over the popcorn. You want some blobs where it's thick and some where it's thin with both the caramel and chocolate.  Allow to sit in a cool place until the chocolate sets up.

Store airtight.

It makes a nice gift in a clear bag tied with pretty ribbons or to take as a sweet finger food to a party or function.

Some ideas to switch it up a bit:  Try pecans, almonds or mixed nuts.  Add a handful of M&M (TM) candies or chop up your favorite candy bar (freeze it first and it will chop better).  Add dried fruits like raisins, apples, bananas, pineapple or apricots.  Use white chocolate or dark chocolate or multiple chocolates drizzled separately.  Put colorful cake sprinkles over the top for holiday color.

A Very Very Very Fine House

For the next few months I'm living with my in-laws-to-be... and, while I appreciate the time to get squared away and on my feet again, it's quite the challenge to eat my pride and give up my independence and own way of doing things.  I'm not saying that how they do things is bad just that it's different than how I have done it in the past.  And that can be physically and emotionally uncomfortable at times.  Living in someone else's home means you adopt their standards and schedule even when they are vastly different than how you've become accustomed to caring for yourself.  It's a big adjustment no matter how positive a spin you try to put on it.

One example on my mind the past few days is toilet paper.  That's one thing I've never been terribly brand conscious about and only looked to get something 2-ply and substantial enough to do it's job.  Imagine my surprise at a long discussion on 'lint' or those little fibers that low quality TP leaves behind on your oh so delicate lady parts.  I'm not offering up any arguments whether or not Charmin Ultra Soft is the most lint free, I'm just going along with the idea that it is (for now, anyway) the toilet paper that must be purchased.  And doing my best to make sure that there's always a spare roll - my priority, not my future family's - in the bathroom because having to drip dry is just simply not OK.  And within the last couple of days I've been caught in just that horrifying scenario in 3 different bathrooms...

If you're imagining a little grimace of disdain here, you're not too far off my actual reaction.  Except that the grimace was not little.  And it was accompanied by several off-color words spoken, mostly, under my breath.  Mostly.

At the same time I recognize that in the grand scheme of life these adjustments are pretty minor.  I'm safe.  I'm happy.  I have beautiful accommodations and lots of support while I get myself oriented to a new place and back to a self-sufficient point in life.  Those are wonderful blessings and I am thankful beyond words for them.

And nature has been awe inspiring.  The natural beauty of the area is much different than either Idaho or Utah, but it is so very beautiful!  As one friend said when thumbing through some photographs of the area around Kennesaw, "If you can't live in Idaho, that looks like a good substitute!"

And it is!

A winding road through the area as photographed through our car window one afternoon last week. There are individual houses or the entrances to subdivisions/neighborhoods all along the road. The trees serve to provide a little buffer between people and traffic.

Kennesaw Mountain.  Friends had cautioned me not to make fun of the mountains here... because comparatively they are tiny, unlike the soaring 6,000+ foot granite peaks surrounding the Salt Lake Valley... but so far I'm enjoying the rolling terrain and finding the hills challenge enough for my screwed up knees to walk.

On the grounds at Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield, a National Park and the site where a Civil War battle was fought.

An Open Letter to Ben Baldanza

When I recently moved from Salt Lake City, UT to Kennesaw, GA it was followed up by an almost immediate vacation cruise with my fiance through the southeastern Caribbean.  The vacation was beyond wonderful!  In fact, the sole black spot to mar the memory was the flight home.  And it was so awful that I still say the high point of November 12th was visiting with the Custom's agent about the duty tax owed on some jewelry we bought.  Our cruise originated from (and returned to) Fort Lauderdale, FL and we chose to fly Spirit Airlines as our connector there from Atlanta.  The flight to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful and left both Derek and I wondering what all the fuss was about... why was everyone complaining about the service on Spirit?


Sadly, on the trip home we found out.

Following is my letter about the experience to the President, Chief Executive Office and Class II Director, Ben Baldanza.  I found his name and contact information under Investor Relations on the company's website.


Dear Mr. Baldanza:

November 12 was already a day we weren't completely thrilled with knowing that we'd be spending the better part of it waiting in the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood airport for an afternoon flight home to Atlanta because of your company's sparse scheduling on that route.  The only choices we had were appx 9:00 a.m., a time when we would not have completed the deboarding process from our cruise, or 4:08 p.m.  Obviously, the only choice was the later flight even though we would be arriving at the airport around 11:00 a.m.

On arrival at the terminal, we followed the signs directing us to the counter for luggage check only to be reamed by the agent there for not checking in at the kiosk first.  I'd say she had reason to redirect us if there had been any posted directions pointing us that way but there wasn't and I found her attitude and disposition completely disagreeable.  After so very curtly directing us toward the kiosks she told us to come back once we had the boarding passes.  We tried.  But we were physically stopped by another agent roaming the area in front of the roped off lines and pushed to the opposite end of the counter to the "Fast Line" where we stepped up to the back of a full line just as all but one agent left for break.  With just a single person back there checking bags, the line could have been generously renamed the "Slower Than A Snail Crawls Line."

Finally, with bags checked and boarding passes in hand we navigated through the TSA checkpoint and headed for the gate only to learn that the flight had already been delayed two hours.  Initially we were told it was due to weather delays in New York... that our plane was stuck at La Guardia and couldn't leave there on its trip to Florida until the weather cleared.  Later that story changed to there was no plane to take us to Atlanta because of a mechanical problem until another could be scrambled out of the fleet and brought to Fort Lauderdale.  The delay was pushed back to 6:35, then 7:05.

Boarding was begun for the 7:05 time point and when approximately 1/3 of the passengers were onboard, a problem was discovered with that plane and they were asked to get off, walk across the terminal to another gate and get on a different plane where boarding was uninterrupted multiple times to clear the walkway for international flights to deboard.  Our 4:08 p.m. flight eventually pulled away from the gate around 8:00 p.m. with the captain apologizing for the "unacceptable delays."  Yes, those were his actual words.

What troubles me most is not that there were problems with the flight but your employees' response to them.  And that is a terrible thing to say because your people had so many chances to shine, so many opportunities to wow us with great customer service, so many times they could have won our loyalty instead of leaving us angry, alienated and vowing to use another carrier for future flights.  You see, we are pretty laid back and reasonable people.  We fully understand that things happen.  But we do expect to be treated with honesty, kindness and professionalism as the problems are worked out.  Our anger comes from that fact that none of those qualities were evident in our contact with your employees.  We were treated very badly and are very interested to know what, if anything, you are going to do about it.


That's the body of my letter.  Now we wait and see what happens.  I'd like to hope there'll be some response but after experiencing the way Spirit's front line employees treat customers I'm not exactly counting on it since customer service is usually a trickle down trait in corporate culture.