Holiday Wrap Up

Holy smokes.  Baby Bro has posted to the blog four times since I was last on here.  It is a holiday miracle!  Hopefully he will keep it up in 2015, as I find his posts entertaining and I am missing any solid gold material he is generating on Facebook.

When last I posted, the most wonderful time of the year was still ahead of me.  Now it is over and DANG.  January through March are such garbage months.  My dad just called to tell me that it is going to be very windy and cold tomorrow and to make sure to pack my warm weather accessories.  (He should know that as his daughter, I am usually well prepared for the cold weather.  He used to always make us pack a hat and mittens when we visited people in the winter in case the car broke down.)  So I am back to reality tomorrow with a five-day work work week and most likely a long and frigid wait for the bus.  But first I will post a few highlight shots from Christmas, which was truly fantastic in 2014.

USteve hosted a lovely holiday dinner on December 22.  He provided a delicious vegetarian feast that catered specifically to me and thus was a dream come true.  USteve's edit of a family-famous book title provided some of the biggest laughs of 2014.  Since USteve, Jeff, and Christine did not spend Christmas in Maine, I am very grateful to USteve for hosting such a fun gathering and giving us all the opportunity to be together around the holidays.

Ryan sporting some new ornaments for his and Christine's tree

Mum, Jeff, and the host extraordinaire, USteve

Ryan and I spent Christmas at my parents' house this year and they also did a killer hosting job.  Nineteen family members gathered at their home on Christmas day.  My parents deserve a ginormous thank you for opening up their home and bringing the family together on Christmas.  I had a blast seeing everyone on my favorite day of the year.

My cousins Sarah, Nicole & Lynn

Dad, Nana & Uncle Bri

Pman/Uncle Pat & Aunt Norleen

Mum, Gretchen & Norleen

Two more cousins, who I will not name as I am not sure that it is kosher to post photos of kids

My dad is one of six brothers and the next generation includes six male cousins

You can see Ryan sporting his Christmas 2014 jammies in the photo above.  Here are a couple shots from the PJ photo shoot that night:

Dad, Mum, me & Ryan, featuring Sophie

Dad, Mum, me, Zach & Ryan, featuring Boots & Neville

The traditional Mike & Frank shot - Take 1

Take 2

Coming back from Christmas in Maine would have been a big disappointment if I hadn't had the pleasure of Mum's company for a night and a quick 3-day work week to return to.  I am in the final hours of my second consecutive long weekend and although the New Year weekend could not compete with Christmas (because really, what can?), it was still a nice break.  My friends the Michaleks invited me over for a tasty and fun New Year's Day lunch and yesterday I finally caught the third Hunger Games movie with Ryan and Christine after being stomped by both of them in Boggle.  Ryan actually announced, "Come on! You're embarrassing me!" during one round.  It is my plight in life to be routinely crushed in Boggle competitions.  Jeff has mopped the floor with me many times.

It is just about time to hit the sack if I am going to face an alarm clock tomorrow morning.  I can never fall asleep at a decent hour on Sunday nights, so I will probably crank through a few episodes of "Parks and Rec" for the seventeenth time before nodding off.  I know this is the time of year to make resolutions, but I am going to take a step back to November and say that I am so very very thankful for my wonderful family and friends.  God bless us, everyone.

69 Gingerbread Lane

This past Saturday, the four Bergie/Flem cousins (plus significant others) got together for our annual holiday dinner.  I have always treasured the opportunity to spend time with Ryan, Kyle, and Molly, and the addition of Eric and now Christine has only made the group more fun.  Kyle had the great idea to bring a gingerbread house kit, so here are a few photos of the assembly and decoration of that house:

You will note that Eric and Christine are patiently and carefully assembling the house while the four Donovan descendants are nowhere to be seen.  (Okay, there is a twenty-year-old photo of the four of us looking down at them from the wall.)  We were mostly scarfing down the candies that were meant for decorating the house and giggling.

Molly murdered a gingerbread person.  In cold blood.

The cousins.  We weren't very helpful when it came to constructing the house, but we know a photo opportunity when we see one.

The back of the house.  The activities on the front lawn got too weird to post.

These reindeer cupcakes have nothing to do with the gingerbread house, but they are a personal baking triumph.

Photo Fail

I had a very nice Thanksgiving and holiday weekend up in Maine with my family.  My parents did a great job hosting and I had the chance to visit with a lot of family members while I was in the Pine Tree State.  (Thanks for taking the time to hang out, Nana Flem, Uncle Pat, Aunt Norleen, Daniel, Isiah, Zach, Nicole, Dan, and of course Mum, Dad, Ryan, and Christine!)  Unfortunately I totally blew it on the photo front.  I left my camera at home and only remembered to take out my mum's camera on Saturday when we had lunch at Central Maine's finest dining establishment, Big G's. 

I do have photos of a couple of the weekend's biggest accomplishments-- my parents' Christmas tree and my Christmas tree.  We put my parents' tree up on Saturday while watching Home Alone and I put my tree up yesterday while watching Elf and Christmas Vacation (the process takes longer when it is a one-woman job.)  Here are the finished products:

My parents' 2014 Christmas tree

My 2014 Christmas tree

Ryan and Christine picked out their tree last night, so I am looking forward to seeing it up and decorated with the ornaments and decorations Nana and Mum shared with them this past weekend.  I have a few to contribute as well.  (When you only have a 5.5' tall tree, ornament real estate is scarce.)

Happy December!

Two Weeks

Thanksgiving is two weeks from today and my family has locked down our plan for 2014: We will be celebrating at my parents' house again this year.  As the Queen of Nostalgia, I am quick to remark that the holiday may never again be as amazing as it was for the majority of my first 26 fourth Thursdays in November when my dad's entire family gathered to celebrate at my great-grandparents'/grandmother's home.  Having EVERYONE together in Turner was wonderful and I am grateful for the amazing memories.  Our current tradition is to celebrate at my parents' house or my Uncle Pat and Aunt Norleen's house.  Even though the group is smaller, we still have fun playing games-- and turning nonsense into games.

Here are some highlights from last Thanksgiving:

Dinner for Ten

I bought my parents this roasting pan because I am the BEST vegetarian daughter ever.

The ladies post-dinner.  Chef Trish has already changed into sweats.  Let the party begin.

Let the flexibility challenges begin.

Let the flexibility challenges continue.  (I can't overstate how much mileage we got out of this chair activity.  The house was completely filled with laughter.)

This photo of Uncle Pat, Nana, and Dad cracks me up.  (It cracked Nana up too.)

The annual dude cousin shot.  They get weirder every year.*

Cousins!

Any family that doesn't end Thanksgiving with a human pyramid is celebrating wrong.

*Another classic Thanksgiving bro/cuz shot.  Ryan's creepy 'stache stole the show in 2012.

Trick or Treat!

My roommates adore dressing up for Halloween. 

Halloween Flicks

Since I am too much of a scaredy cat to have ever enjoyed horror movies, my go-to Halloween entertainment is of a tamer variety.  I have watched three of the following four movies in the last few weeks.  One more to go by Friday.

Real Talk: "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is not that great.  Blasphemy, I know.  I watch it every October and am reminded annually that this is far inferior to "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  A good chunk of this special is devoted to Snoopy's imagined World War I flying ace adventures and I have been rendered bored during those parts since I was a toddler.  But I am nothing if not a slave to tradition, so I will continue to watch Linus get boned by The Great Pumpkin each autumn.

E.T. was the first movie I saw in the cinema and it holds a special place in my heart.  It was also the first VHS movie we owned.  I have long questioned the sanity of Elliott's mother as she is easily tricked into believing a squat alien with giant feet is Drew Barrymore dressed as a ghost for Halloween.  Lay off the sauce, Elliott's mom! 

Michael, "Gertie"/E.T., and Elliott heading out for tricks and treats.

E.T. is the movie on the list that I haven't watched yet this month.  Looks like I have plans on Halloween after all.

Ryan and I went through a phase in the late '80s during which we watched Beetlejuice A LOT.  Our mum recorded it for us and we probably wore out the tape watching the two Harry Belafonte dance sequences over and over.  I had not watched this movie in its entirety in easily over a decade until I caught it on TV this past weekend.  I had forgotten that Ryan used to do impressions of Michael Keaton's titular character.  This was around the time that he was also honing his Pee Wee Herman impersonation.  Weird times at 8 Victor.

I saw The Addams Family at the movie theater with a group of friends in sixth grade.  I think it was the first movie I ever saw at the cinema without an adult chaperone.  When this flick came out on video, we bought the VHS as McDonald's.  Buying a movie and dining at McDonald's were life events back then, so I remember that night well.  My current Addams-Family-related life goal is to adopt a female black cat and name her Wednesday.  Too bad I'm at maximum feline capacity or that dream would become a reality by All Hallows' Eve.

Happy Halloween!

To Do List

This weekend:  The Apple Farm in Fairfield, Maine

Next weekend:  Allandale Farm in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Growing up, Mum used to take Ryan and me to The Apple Farm every fall to choose pumpkins.  Back then, we could buy apples and carrots to feed to horses on the property.  Those horses no longer reside on The Apple Farm (or probably on this plane of existence), but I still love going there with my mother each autumn.  Mum and I will be carving jack-o-lanterns in a matter of days.  "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" will be viewed.  Pumpkin cookies and apple cider will be consumed in large quantities.  Fall truly is the best time of year. 

Danke Schön

I got walloped with a cold and/or brutal allergies yesterday.  Right now I am sitting at my desk trying to breathe out of my mouth in as inconspicuous a manner as possible.  Despite my efforts, I know I resemble a chunky Napoleon Dynamite.

Instead of focusing on my sniffles, I am going to list a half-dozen things for which I am grateful on this snowy New England morning.  I am thankful for:

1. My brother blogging on the regular.  We pretty much post to entertain each other, so his increased blogging is a win for me. 
2. The return of "Call the Midwife."  This may be my favorite show on television right now.  The characters are so genuinely kind and caring.  I love spending an hour with them each week.
   
3. I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert.  The Dude lent me this book and I am happy to laugh out loud on the T while I read it.
4. My annual Easter celebration with my aunt, uncle, and cousins.  I have spent Easter at my aunt and uncle's home since I started college.  This year their entire family will be out of town so we moved the celebration up a week.  Our 2014 bunny cake was pretty great, if I do say so myself. 
   
5. Weekend plans to visit my parents.  I haven't been to their house since Thanksgiving so I am extra jazzed to spend time with them.  Hopefully since Sunday is Easter I'll get to see my nana and a few other local relatives as well.  (Most of all though, I am excited to utilize their amazing soaker tub.  Yesssssss.)
6. My roof *finally* getting replaced sometime in the next few weeks.  On Saturday morning I awoke to my neighbors getting a new roof and I almost wept with jealously.  The roof nightmare should be coming to an end soon.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

I started listening to Christmas music last week.  While I generally love holiday tunes, there are a few songs that have been popping up far too frequently for my taste.  I would like to invite the following four Christmas songs to KILL THEMSELVES so I don't have to listen to them ever again.

1) "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth"
This song is brutal.  Even Nat King Cole, an undisputed holiday song master, can't save it for me.  And when you factor in versions where the singer attempts a lisp. . . .  Good God.

2) "Santa Baby"
There is absolutely no need, in my opinion, for a horny Christmas song.

3) "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
The Jackson Five have a cover of this song that I almost don't mind-- mostly because they are actual children instead of creepy adults talking in baby voices.  (Another hit against many covers of "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".)  But I am a real Puritan (minus the religion) about my holiday songs.  I don't want any hanky panky in my Christmas tunes.

4) "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
Well, if "they" are neither Christian, nor living in a Christian-influenced nation, "they" probably don't know it is Christmas.  I only knew this week was Diwali because Stephen Colbert told me so on his show.  And yet I doubt there are bands in India lamenting my ignorance in song.

One generally disliked Christmas song that won't make my list is "The Twelve Days of Christmas."  Ever since my dad led my family in a version of this song at my grandfather's Christmas party many years ago, I always think about my Uncle B belting out "FIVE GOLDEN RINGS" in a perfect falsetto (eight times) and smile when I hear this song.

Noel

I am on record as a Christmas fanatic, so the fact that I wait until after Halloween to go full-on-Christmas bonkers is a feat.  Purchasing some retro Halloween decorations this year helped me to make it through October without putting up my tree.  Today I am listening to Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack and recommending Crabtree and Evelyn's Noel products, which just became available again this week.  My friend and college roommate Jamie introduced me to this scent over a decade ago and I absolutely love it.  I usually go for the home fragrance oil, but they also carry a candle and spray.  Give these products a whirl; they won't disappoint. 

Happy Halloween

I'm going as lead character from, 'My Name is Earl.'

Yell Orange! Orange! Yell Black! Black!

A few years ago while shopping at Target, I found the exact tissue paper ghosts that my family had while I was growing up.  The ghosts have been jazzing up the month of October in both my home and my office since then.

This past weekend I decided that I would continue my search for retro Halloween decorations.  I ordered a few fabulous items that I can't wait to put up.

1) Jointed Skeleton
This large skeleton was always hung on the door of the small kitchen closet that contained our ironing board.  The skeleton usually guarded the ironing board in strangely compromising positions thanks to The Dude's and my juvenile humor.  When our mother insisted we clean things up, the skeleton would strike a Michael Jackson pose.

2) Tissue Paper Pumpkins
I'm not certain that we actually had these growing up, but you can't go wrong with pumpkins-- they carry you all the way through to Thanksgiving.

3) Tissue Paper Spider
I might have gotten into the tissue paper zone while ordering.  Back in the day, we set up a giant fake spider web with artificial spiders in the divider between our kitchen and living room.  It was pretty awesome.  I don't have the perfect place at my house for a web, plus I am certain my cats would demolish it.  So I'll hang Charlotte up high enough that they can't reach her.  Now that I referred to the spider as Charlotte, I really want to create a web that says "Some Pig" next to the spider.  Maybe next year.

4) Assorted Paper Decorations
I bought this pack specifically because we had the same jointed black cat and the same scarecrow leaning on a tissue paper haystack.  Plus it provides a smaller skeleton for my office.  I am pretty sure the lame "Happy Halloween" sign will get tossed, but the rest will be utilized.

Additional Halloween Decor (Non-Paper):

Adorable Bronze Mouse from my uncle

Spider Tealight Holder from my mum

I Heart Fall

I know that there are people with a bit more melanin and a bit less chub who love summer the best of all the seasons, but most people would agree that fall is the hands-down loveliest time of year, right?  The weather has been fantastic lately.  I'm trying to appreciate the short window of perfection that generally lasts from mid-September to mid-October in New England.  After sweating my way through an extra humid summer, I am so happy to experience the start of some good old-fashioned autumn days.

I was thinking about fall traditions this afternoon and tried Googling the apple farm that my mother and I visit every fall.  Mum started taking The Dude and me there when we were little to select pumpkins.  We usually went with our neighborhood friends the Whites back in the '80s and early '90s.  On top of spending an agonizingly long time selecting the perfect pumpkins each year, we would take hay rides through the orchard and feed apples to the horses.  The old horses haven't been there for a long time, but my mother and I still go every year to choose pumpkins, buy cider, and just appreciate the familiar sights and smells.  Last fall was the first year that we missed our annual pilgrimage and when I discovered that the farm has a website and saw photos, I was so very happy.  I can't wait to go back this fall.

I got an email from my uncle last week arranging a date for my cousins and I to visit and carve pumpkins.  How lucky am I do be an (allegedly) grown-up woman with two sets of parents supporting my childish need to create jack-o-lanterns each year.  If all goes well, my work will grace both my aunt and uncle's home and my parents' home.  My cousin's new husband reminded me at dinner on Monday that his carving was the best last year.  I wish I could muster some competitive spirit but for nearly my whole life I've been creating the same basic smiling pumpkin face.  I felt like I really stepped it up last year with the winged cat creature I obviously copied from a stencil.

2009 Pumpkins.  Mine on the left is pretty much the same design I've done since I was old enough to wield a carving knife.

2012 Pumpkins

And finally a shout-out to my mother's amazing pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies, which I demand every fall.  They are to die for.  I'm the only person in my family who likes them, so I eat a whole batch solo every year.  And I wash them down with a gallon of apple cider, which my dad always buys for my visit home in the fall and then tells me I need to finish before I leave.  So sucking down enough cider to make myself physically ill is another of my autumn traditions.  Cider and pumpkin cookies.  Mmmmmm.  I already feel sick.

One last joyful part of the season-- dressing my parents' dog up in her bumblebee Halloween costume.