Yesterday was filled with some of our favorite people, places,and tastes. It started with a visit to Aunt Janet's: picking and eating satsumas; checking out the garden; and a walk in the swamp. And ended by eating boiled crawfish with Pris, Eddie, and Bea. 
Crawfish Etouffee on Christmas Day 
Gateau Na-Na is my favorite holiday dessert. My dad would always pick one up on Christmas Eve during his annual shopping trip to The Kitchen Shop. This year Camille and I made the trip to Grand Coteau and had a nice visit with Jesse and Nancy.
Amaryllis in full bloom in my mom's kitchen
The big family holiday party and annual step photographs. The party starts with a big holiday lunch at Aunt Carol's house. After everyone has filled up, we head down the street to Aunt Christine's house for dessert, gift opening, and the step photos. After a couple of hours of visiting, everyone heads back to Aunt Carol's for a dinner of left overs and card playing late into the night. It's a crazy, cozy, chaotic family gathering and I wouldn't want it any other way. So glad my kids have been able to experience the holidays Louisiana style for the past three years.
Christmas Morning
A Hanukkah party with Temple Shalom friends: latkes, dreidels, laughing, and singing. We will miss the small congregation here....such a warm and welcoming community.
Putting Camille to sleep tonight she said "Thank you for Hanukkah"...it melted my heart and I said the same words to both of my children because I am truly grateful to them. Their excitement and awe is contagious. The last two nights have been good for all of us. We spent the first night listening to The Golden Dreydl, lighting the candles, eating matzah ball soup by candlelight, and opening little gifts. And tonight we added another candle, another dinner by candlelight, and some more Hanukkah stories. Thanks to all for the kind comments and continued support. I hope that you and your families are also surrounded by warmth, love, and hope this holiday season.
Cards made using this technique and Noah's designs. Trying to keep things simple and homemade this year which is especially busy since Chanukah and Christmas are in the same week. Just like our crazy Louisiana weather (snowing last week, in the 80s this week), I find myself vacillating wildly with my emotions. Feeling like a grinch one minute and weepy with holiday emotions in the next minute. Trying to keep things simple, but fun and festive for the kids. Trying to savor the moments, but also wanting to just be done with the holidays. Missing my dad and Adam. This year feels like a crazy, mixed-up, bittersweet holiday season. Wishing you all the best and hoping we can all find some peace and joy amidst the holiday frenzy.
I woke up at 5:30 am with a nagging cough and peeked outside to discover big flakes glimmering in the street lights. I went out on the screened porch to verify my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Noah heard the door opening and he joined me on the porch. It was one of those magical moments as his eyes registered what was happening outside. We quickly dressed and headed out. Camille was a little more hesitant. She cried and wanted to be held until she saw how much fun Noah was having. Lots of snowball throwing. Lots of snow tracks. Rosy cheeks and cold hands (we couldn't find gloves anywhere so we all had socks on our hands!). And lots of fun.
Sprouting Amaryllis bulbs make me happy which is why I grow them every year as gifts (and keep a few for brightening up our house, too). This year we decoupaged old tissue paper on the pots to make them a little more festive. Once they are ready for gifting we'll attach a bow and handmade holiday cards. The kids are having fun watching them grow before our eyes. 
The kids and I made this menorah with toilet paper (and one paper towel) rolls, a large box, and magazines. We started by cutting out images we liked and then attached them with blue masking tape. This was much easier than my original plan for glue/modge podge. I cut out a couple of words that were meaningful for our family and attached those. Then we painted the paper rolls, glued on construction paper flames, and we had ourselves a colorful new menorah.
A book is like a garden in one's pocket.
Chinese Proverb
I am happy to say our most recent cross country trip to San Francisco went very smoothly and with it came a few realizations: traveling without diapers is very nice, charging us to check bags is not nice, and my two kids are traveling pros/troopers. I also realized that as my kids get older our list of travel necessities is changing so I thought I should update from previous posts on the same topic. So here are some things that worked well on our recent trip:
Highlights from a busy trip included: visits to the California Academy of Sciences, a spa escape to the Claremont (my mom and I sans kiddos...thanks to Adam and my in-laws), a neighborhood walk in Berkeley, the most amazing fabric store, the SFMOMA (great exhibit by Martin Puryear ), Habitot, the Berkeley public library, exploring local parks, and best of all lots of good food and family time. It was a memorable Thanksgiving for all of us.
We have been experimenting. Inspired by the recipe in the October issue of Family Fun magazine, we made our own no-cook version. Actually we tested out two different no-cook recipes. The first one was very simple and fast, but the outcome was gritty and the kids didn't like it as much as our good old stand-by recipe. It is basically the same recipe as in the magazine minus the cooking part. 
Camille made lots of birthday cakes (candles made from a stash of barrettes I have been looking for!). Noah was into making patterns using cookie cutters and things he collected around the house. Smells good and easy to do.
Camille has had those two bunnies since she was an infant. They are irreplaceable and they are very well loved. Her crown goes along with her larger love of accessories and dressing up. And Dan Zanes....she loves Dan Zanes, she loves singing and dancing, and she loves reading so the Zanes board book /cd represents several of her favorite activities all rolled into one. 
It started with the t-shirt. Noah made the drawing and I did the embroidery. Notice the letter "C" in the center for Camille and crawfish? and the alien in the crawfish neck? And then a story emerged and he decided to turn it into a book. Here's the story: 
"One day a crawfish swallowed an alien. The alien escaped. He invited the crawfish to ride on his spaceship. The spaceship sailed away into the night sky.They played and played like on a cruise ship. They lived happily ever after. The End". "A wordless book offers a different kind of experience...each viewer reads the book in his or her own way...As a result, there are as many versions of what happened that Tuesday night as there are readers" ---David Wiesner, Caldecott acceptance speech for "Tuesday"
The truth is that the imagination needs no outside stimulus. To watch children at play is to see the mind in all its uninhibited glory.I think that is part of the magic of wordless books. Without text there is more space for imagining all of the possibilities....more mystery, more playfulness, and more to the story.
The kids and I spent the past two afternoons visiting cemeteries with my Aunt Carol. In recognition of All Saints Day, we brought flowers to family gravesites in St. Martinville, New Iberia, and Loreauville. Aunt Carol shared family stories; I started to finally get a better idea of the family connections; and the kids enjoyed the adventure of exploring the cemeteries. As a child I have very vivid memories of exploring cemeteries. Looking at the names, the dates, the different markers. Meandering between the raised tombs. It never felt like a scary place to me and perhaps that is because of my Cajun Catholic heritage. Death and life, family and tradition, culture and history mixed together into the way things are done. Families gathering at grave sites each year to paint, clean, and leave fresh flowers. It's not only a sign of respect but also a way for families to stay connected to the past and the present. And this year death has been a very real part of our lives. I spent some time at my dad's grave site last week. I was the only one there. A small country cemetery surrounded by woods and empty rice fields. Despite heavy tears, I felt strangely comforted being there. I am so glad we have a special place for my dad. Rituals and sacred spots are important. The kids and I discovered a book this summer that illustrates this point. "A Pig for Amarillo" follows the story of a Guatemalan boy and the loss of his beloved pig. A moving and beautifully illustrated tale that ends with a special kite flying ritual on All Saint's Day. A good book about loss, ritual, and remembering. I also enjoyed Karen's account of All Saint's Day in Italy.
Yes, we know it isn't officially Halloween until tomorrow, but in this small Southern town tonight is the night for trick or treating...wouldn't want to interfere with the high school football schedule! So we will dress up and we will beg for even more candy. It is a strange holiday, isn't it? We have all consumed way too much candy already this week, but this year I am just letting it happen. In years past I dreaded this week of over indulgence, excessive sugar, and whining for more. I tried to limit or hide the wicked stuff, but this year is different in many ways so I am just allowing it to be what it is...and I am making sure I get some of the good stuff, too. We have already been to four Halloween parties and still have two more before the end of the week. Again a sign that things are different this year. I don't usually overschedule us for things, but the kids are loving all of this activity and fun so we are rolling with it. And by Halloween night I am sure we will all be crashed out in sugar comas and craving vegetables. Hope you all have a great Halloween!
A shot of one of our dinners during our trip to the Sapporo Snow Festival in 2005. That night was fun because we were staying at a Japanese onsen and this was the evening meal. After Adam and Noah went to bed I climbed up to the roof to soak in the outdoor bath....steam rising from the hot water, snow flakes falling from a starry sky, naked in a tub surrounded by naked Japanese women of all ages. It brought back so many memories of my year of teaching in Amagi. My weekly trips to our neighborhood bath house (remember that, Karen C.?). Longer weekend onsen trips. I love the Japanese onsen experience. If you ever have the chance to make a trip to an onsen, do it! Put all modesty aside and soak. 
That whole trip was a lot of fun. The ice scluptures were breathtaking. The food was great. The company was entertaining. And it was Noah's first and only experience with snow (he was just about to turn two). I laughed when I looked at this photo of us. We look like one of those super color coordinated families but the reality is that we didn't own any of those clothes except for Noah's jacket. Keep in mind we were living on a tropical island so in the days leading up to our trip we begged and borrowed all the warm things we could get our hands on!
It was fun to take this little trip down memory lane...might need to do this again soon. Thanks for the tag, Melissa. If you want to do this, please share your image. Fourth folder, fourth image, and post a link in the comment section.
Bits and pieces of daily life, nomadic rambles, pickled cravings, piles of books, and a furry dog. Cajun, Jewish, Taiwanese, American family on the move.
In addition to loving the blue doors we found on a little, dusty street in Urubamba, we also enjoyed: lunch at Kaia , ...
