Here is an icon of the vast generosity and goodness of God: stockings filled, as if by a mystery, by people other than me who were moved (okay, yes, I might have sent some reminder texts) to think of each other.
I'm the only one up at the moment, which is why I'm writing. When I fell asleep, sometime around 2 this morning, after Midnight Mass and a little party afterwards in the refectory with the monks, laughter was still resounding from the living room. I told my mother and brother not to rush over here before 9, unless they just want to sit around the kitchen drinking coffee for hours. "Breakfast" is a word which here definitely means "brunch" --- which is good, because then I don't have to worry about what's for lunch.
I got up early chiefly to see to these stockings, which as it turns out have been seen to by others. Here's the table all set and waiting for people to sit around it again:
Waiting for the tapioca to finish softening so that I can make sot suppe. Meanwhile, here's a shot of my very successful Norwegian fiskesuppe from last night:
It was a kettle of creamy marine deliciousness, and people went back for seconds, which gratified me no end.
I also just like having an opportunity to use this festive red stockpot, which is too big for my everyday cooking.
I'm not dressed yet this morning, but here's how I tweaked yesterday's basic outfit for dinner and Mass last night:
The soft brown of my dress made a nice backdrop for this Talbots cotton cardigan, thrifted long ago but redyed with Rit "Wine" dye last year. I'll probably wear it again today. This dress continues to grow on me, and I'm glad I wasn't successful at selling it right off the bat (the price was low already, and I wasn't going to drop it --- if somebody had jumped at it, that would have been that, but they didn't, and I thought better of selling). I really love the design, which feels so feminine and fun, with its full-circle skirt. The fabric is utterly beautiful, as is the workmanship. I could really kinda become a full-on NPL convert. Anyway, I like the contrast of my dark-gray boots with it as well. My tights here are dark green, but they don't really announce themselves too much in this outfit, which I also like.
Not sure what I'll end up wearing today. I slept in my Sierra dress and am still wearing her now with a cardigan over, very cozy and just-got-up. The day is looking pretty gray outside, and promises to be about ten degrees cooler than the last couple of days have been: not cold, really, just gloomy. So I want something warm and soft and easy to carry me through the day. Five hours of sleep is better than no hours of sleep, but it doesn't sustain me the way it used to. Fortunately today's cooking is pretty straightforward, with the morning things largely done already. I think the most difficult thing I have left to do is peel parsnips --- and that's not hard, just tedious. I might be able to delegate, which would be nice. My mother always asks for something to do, and parsnip-peeling might be just the ticket.
The day's menu:
Breakfast/brunch:
Sausage-egg casserole
Brioche roll with cream-cheese and cherry filling
Sot suppe
Lunch/snacks:
Catch as catch can. I do have some leftover soup, and my sister-in-law sent us a big food basket which we haven't opened yet. AND we have cheese and crackers, eternally.
Dinner:
Ham
Roast carrots and parsnips
Roast brussels sprouts with prosciutto
Scalloped potatoes
Oyster pie (which I must remember to make)
Spiced vanilla bread pudding, egg nog, & cookies for dessert
I think we will not starve.
A Merry Christmas to you all!
LATER:
Sitting down again. Everyone fed and mostly asleep. Mother and brother off to see a movie.
My lovely gifts included some bowls from the Artgirl:
I also got some beautiful beeswax candles which will grace our dinner table tonight, plus, in my stocking, this hat:
