It’s that oddball week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when nobody is sure what day or time it is, how many mince pies constitute an adequate breakfast, when the bins might next be collected, and whether or not the cat has been fed. We don’t even have a cat (sadly), so this problem really shouldn’t tax us as much as it does.
I was back at work yesterday. Driving to the hospital on near-empty roads, I battled anxious thoughts about whether it really was definitely, definitely Friday, and whether our non-existent cat would starve whilst I was out.
Meanwhile, I hope that your Christmas was peaceful, joyful, yarnful, and that it involved at least nine of your favourite types of chocolate. Here at Twisted Towers we were under the weather with lurgies, but we muddled through as best we could, and four of our closest relatives came to stay.
The Twinnage (at the ripe old age of nine) have probably reached peak Christmas-enthusiasm… at least I hope they have, because their brains might just explode if they ramp it up any more. Even though their sceptical little minds spotted the plot-holes in the concept of Father Christmas several years ago, they still love this time of year for its abundance of chocolate, family, and relaxed bedtimes.
One of the Twinnage staged his own version of a mummers play. He’d been planning it for weeks, and had roped in the Stoic Spouse to help him make a dragon’s head. Meanwhile I was tasked with crocheting some claws on the tips of his dragon paws.
Other than my crocheted claw-creation, I didn’t get a great deal of yarnery done this Christmas. In rare idle moments, I turned the heel of a sock. (Stitch-markers in the picture below were handmade in glass by my friend Selma @eclectichomelife. How beautiful and thoughtful a gift?)
I spent a chunk of Christmas morning rootling around in the back garden (dressed in my smartest clothes), hunting parsnips for Christmas lunch.
Fortunately, parsnip-hunting isn’t too dangerous, as long as you don’t let the parsnips sense that you’re scared. You have to watch the bigger ‘snips, though. I bent my spade digging this monster out of the ground a while ago:-
I didn’t even know you could bend a spade but there you are: another utterly useless fact occupying valuable space in my brain. And now it’s taking space in your brain, too, space that was probably previously occupied by something useful such as the capital of Lesotho or the name of your spouse. That’s why I refer to my husband as the Stoic Spouse – I can’t remember his real name. You know that thing where you’re introduced to someone and you immediately forget their name, and time passes on and on, beyond the point where you can reasonably ask again without looking like a total idiot? Yeah? Well twelve years of marriage is definitely past that point.
So that was our Christmas. How was yours? Fortunately the lurgy has receded enough for me to get back to running. It’s going to take a good few miles to run off those mince pies, though. Ouch.
i had a gentle & peaceful christmas … high tea with my wonderful neighbors … we had espresso coffee and peach pie (mine … i converted a tomato pie recipe) and exchanged home made gifts.
Sounds just about perfect.
We have had a very peaceful Christmas although with an 18 and 21 yr old it’s been a bit more moody than I’d hoped for. Can’t help looking back with fondness at the days of stocking opening all in the big bed, and other joys. We’ve at least managed a few family games. I love me a parsnip in any form and it’s amusing to watch the kids bartering over who gets the biggest pile of roast parsnips…I do mine with parmesan and they’re epic even if that’s blowing my own trumpet.. wishing you a very Happy New Year when it comes x
That is bravery in a nutshell. D
I’ve bent the prongs on my digging fork and can sympathise with your bent spade ???????????? Himself indoors was very impressed/amazed/speechless when I did it because he’s never managed to bend them back again ????????????
Impressive! Hopefully he now knows never to mess with you!
To be fair, we do have some large lumps of flint in our clay soil and trying to remove them can involve quite a bit of effort. Each time I work in the garden I assume that there can’t be any more pieces of flint (after nineteen years of being here) but there often are.
Yikes. And clay soil can be hard enough to dig on its own, even without the flint.
???? You have me laughing out loud (as is often the case while reading your blog posts)! Thanks for that.
Just had to add that I love the Christmas ornament with the Santas climbing out, and “Peace” is beautiful!
Oh, and that is one heck of a parsnip!!
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Thank you for all of that! If I can brighten anyone’s day, then my work here is done. Merry Christmas!
We have had a very peaceful Christmas although with an 18 and 21 yr old it’s been a bit more moody than I’d hoped for. Can’t help looking back with fondness at the days of stocking opening all in the big bed, and other joys. We’ve at least managed a few family games. I love me a parsnip in any form and it’s amusing to watch the kids bartering over who gets the biggest pile of roast parsnips…I do mine with parmesan and they’re epic even if that’s blowing my own trumpet.. wishing you a very Happy New Year when it comes x
Glad it was peaceful, despite the moods. (I do realize that our days of simple childlike joy are probably numbered.) And VERY glad that you’re a fellow parsnip fan. Merry Christmas!
Now THAT is a parsnip ! I hope you’re proud ?
Lovely re-telling of what is obviously a genuine family time. Wonderful. And delightfully told.
I am, however, slightly confused by the almost Schrodinger cat ..?
Thank you. The parsnips are a bit unpredictable. Regardless of leaf size, some are tiny and some are vast. (All are tasty.)
The cat was pure silliness. Apologies.
Not necessary, the apologies. I must really be old. Sighh ..
Ha, as always a fab read. I’m impressed that you even got as far as a post!
Himself has parsnip envy, however when I ‘gently’ pointed out he hadn’t planted any bloody parsnips he was a tad mollified ( they are obviously in the same parallel universe as your cat!).
We had the family staying and as I have currently less than one fully functioning hand he was very very busy, a total star in fact. I was tasked with keeping Lily ( the new Westie) and the family occupied whilst he was shut away muttering spells over the gravy.
Wishing you, the stoic spouse and te twinnage a wonderful 2020. X
Wishing you a much easier 2020 too, given all that you’ve endured in recent months. Parsnips are SO easy to grow, and are happy to sit in the ground until you need them. I have a garden rammed full of the things, having foolishly believed everyone who told me that they’re hard to germinate so you should plant lots. It’s a good thing they’re so yummy. I hope that Christmas with your family and Lily brought you some smiles and some moments of joy.
It did. I love Parsnips so they can go in. Himself is now doing an RHS course for fun and we have the oddest things propagating!
This blogpost reminds me of your goal from last year (at least I think it was last year): going for writing a book :-)! How did that go? I thought about it a few times and wondered if your sense of humour made for some publication succes ;-).
I can’t say anything quite yet, but unless anything unexpected comes between me and the email I’m awaiting, there’ll be some news to announce very, very soon. (Of course I’ve now jinxed it by saying that!) Thank you for your kind words.
Ooooh, so exciting! I really, really hope all goes well :-). And if not, I hope it was a wonderful adventure :-).
Thank you!
I truly enjoy hearing about your family and all the happenings. Our Christmas was low-key this year for the kitchen was without water for a week and just got re-connected Christmas Eve. Replacing the countertops with granite and moving the sink, so lots had to come out of the cabinets and as yet hasn’t all made it back (sitting on the dining table). Thank heavens for the kitchen table. Granite backsplash coming Jan. 3rd and maybe then we can get back to normal. I have daughter and her 17 year old twins (boy/girl) living with me. They have been a big help this year.
Eek, I bet you’re looking forward to having a fully functioning kitchen again. That can’t have been easy over Christmas!
I laughed out loud again and yes, I do have two small spades with wobbly blades and one big one broken it’s handle. I try to remember names honestly I do. But I inherited the “what’s the name again” gene in the family. When my name was called my 12 bro and sis were called first. Usually I said halfway :”the last one, that’s me”. And now I do it myself. Luckely I don’t have so many kids but still mix up the names. I swear I didn’t mean to forget my late mans name but I did. Your kids are creative. Love to see that dragon. And a knitted native set with knitted letters as background ❤❤❤❤
12 brothers and sisters?! Wow! I think anyone in your family could be forgiven for forgetting a name or two. Wishing you a very merry Christmas.
So enjoyed reading ur post, it sounds like Christmas was wonderful! Being fairly new to Houston(only my 3rd one here) I certainly Don’t miss the Illinois snow. Looking forward to 2020 & new yarn projects! Happy New Year!
Thank you, and happy new year to you too!
Here in our part of the frozen north (it’s colder than Siberia here quite often in the NORMAL wintertime) it’s actually quite beautiful this Xmas. Temps are above normal by about 5C, it’s -10C today at the moment & the sun’s headed down at 3:45pm. We’ve actually had single digit lows this Xmas. We won’t be seeing bulbs pushing their way up for at least 3 months here unless we have an unseasonably warm spell in Feb or Mar. That’s always kind of scary because we know old man winter will be back for at least a couple of visits & all those lovely budding tulips will get zapped.
We don’t have as much snow as I like to have this time of year so as a gardener I fret about whether there’s enough snow cover to protect my perennials. We can actually grow things they can’t grow in warmer zones because we “normally” have adequate snow cover for long enough. Unfortunately with climate change everything is a bit of a crap shoot!
The weather is about as perfect as it could be for cross country skiing BUT there isn’t enough snow for that yet most places. Snow shoeing maybe in some places but then I’d have to go out & buy some. I used to run, ~ 10 years ago. I miss it but I got tired of my athletic younger son telling me how hard it was on my joints. I’m pushing 65 now so…I may give it a go even if he doesn’t approve. -20C & +20C were my cut off temps. Didn’t run when it was under -20C or over +20C.
Fortunately knitting is a great way to spend time in front of the fireplace throughout the winter. It’s not great for cardio health though & I need to shed some extra pounds. My feet don’t like it! I’m a retired nurse, after 42 years of pounding on concrete floors my plantar fasciitis flares up especially if I’m carrying too many extra pounds. Forgot to put my orthotics in my boots for some unscheduled pre Xmas shopping & my feet are FINALLY settling down.
I would love to be digging parsnips in December but the ground is frozen solid here at the moment! It probably could be done with hoop green houses & straw, etc, etc but I’m not that dedicated to gardening. I have to much knitting to do.
Even though we live on the prairies in Canada were everything is flat,(very, very flat) our youngest son (mentioned above) is an alpine climber, snow boarder/skier & MARINE diesel mechanic. He now lives & works in BC the province with all the lovely mountains you see on tourist brochures about Canada. That is something to love about Canada we have everything from marine environments to siberia’s snowy plains. We also have warmer parts where you can golf 365/6 days a year. I prefer areas with well defined seasons although we’re (my husband & I) both getting tired of days of -35C with a wind chill below -45C. You really have to be careful to enjoy going out on those days. It can be done but takes a lot of thought & effort. We’ll probably end up closer to our son in BC once my hubby retires. The elder one is making noises about moving west as well. He’s currently living in a city in Saskatchewan that is much farther north but often has warmer weather in the winter than we do. Something to do with the Canadian Shield and weather patterns.
Anyway, I’m starting to write a book….have to go back to your post to figure out where I was going with this!
Hi Glenda, Gosh it must be beautiful where you are. I have severe snow-envy, although you might get sick of the sight of the stuff! I’m in awe of you having run in such low temperatures, too, even if you’re not doing so at the moment. (Isn’t slipping over on icy patches a worry?) And yes, climate change is turning everything upside down. I hope there’s enough snow cover to protect your perennials. Happy (almost) new year! Phil x
Ooh, I’d be happy to adopt an occasional home-grown parsnip, if you’re struggling with surplus!
On a santa-related note, the youngest child (age 10) sat me down very seriously this year and asked me to tell her straight whether or not it was me who put stuff in the stockings. It was a bit of a wrench but I’ve always done my best to be honest and open with my kids* when they ask a straight question so… 🙁
* Except about what happened to that “lovely” piece of junk modelling they brought home from school in 2016…
Happy to share our crop. I’ve been meaning to give some to you anyway. I also have a small gift for you…
And YES to never directly lying to the children. Don’t want them to lose trust. You’ve done well to keep the magic going this long for L!
That’s a superb dragon, and a very impressive parsnip! Did the play receive a favourable review?
The play received rave reviews, and is likely to be staged again soon. And yes, the dragon head is fabulous.
I’m pleased to hear it, and a revival is always a strong endorsement for a good show.
So glad to read another post!! Love them!! Best wishes for 2020!!
Thank you! And a very happy (almost) new year to you!
I bet that home grown parsnip tasted wonderful – very impressed! Glad you had a lovely family Christmas and thanks for sharing some of it with your avid fan club ????
It did taste rather good, although was regarded with deep suspicion by my children! Happy new year!
I snap wooden handles on my garden forks quite often, but mainly on dandelions, they’re almost parsnips ???? Happy New Year!
Dandelion roots are indeed a lot bigger and meaner than I would have assumed! Wonder whether they’re edible??
You certainly have a way with words. Every time I happen upon your blog, you make me laugh. I love the way you turn the ordinary into amusing and extraordinary. And you are so talented with needles, hooks, hands.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for such an incredibly generous comment. If I can make a few people smile, then my work here is done. Happy new year!
So true. I ate the last mince pie for breakfast yesterday!
Laughing out loud, again!
How do you manage to inject such humour into the most simple of things?
Please, please don’t ever stop blogging!
I’m glad it’s not just me that eats Christmas mince pies for breakfast!