The great cranberry sauce escapade

Christmas Day started out pretty low-key. We just hung out, trying to stay out of the way while dinner preparations were begun. It was the first time in years that I wasn’t doing Christmas dinner, so it almost didn’t feel like Christmas. So when Katie asked us to run out for some cranberry sauce, we just jumped into the car and headed for the grocery store. Which was closed, of course. Down the road was an open store, which turned out to be an Asian market. It was a neat place, but not only did they not have cranberry sauce, I’m not sure they knew what we were asking for. We then came across a Walgreens. They have a small food section, so we tried our luck there. They had one can of the jellied version left, which we bought. We regarded this as only a partial victory, since we weren’t sure (a) one would be enough and (b) whether we were supposed to get this kind or the whole berry kind. So on we went. We found a Subway restaurant where two police cars were parked, so Jim did his “I’m from Cleveland, my daughter sent me out for some cranberry sauce, do you know where there’s an open grocery store?” routine. They sent us to an Albertson’s, which was closed. In the meantime, we found a Mexican grocery store which only had the jellied sauce in stock, so we bought one can, just in case the can we bought at Walgreen's wasn't enough. But we were still in search of the whole berry sauce. A few consultations with the rental car company map, and we wound our way to a retail district that I recognized, having already been there with Katie, where there was another grocery store. Not only was it open, but it had lots of both kinds of sauce. We grabbed two cans of the whole berry stuff and headed to the checkout. Then it got kind of weird. The clerk asked us if we had a preferred card. We said no, we’re from out-of-town. Do we have a Safeway Card (it was owned by Safeway)? No, we said, but we have an old Dominick’s card from when we lived in Chicago. She practically squealed when she told us that’ll work! So using our old phone number we got the sale price on our two cans of sauce. Off we went, feeling we had saved Christmas and relishing (ooh – sorry!) our little Christmas adventure.

The fruits of our labor! (pun definitely intended!).

Weather shock

In a few short hours, we went from this . . .

To this. Welcome back to NE Ohio!

It is a very GRAND canyon

This was taken as we flew over the Grand Canyon. It was a little hazy that day, but still, it's very impressive from 30,000 feet. One of these days we'll see it from the ground.

Cooking with Jim

Yes, Jim CAN cook! Those of you who have known us for a long time know that for years he professed a lack of a cooking gene. But all those years of boy scout camp outs finally laid that image to rest, especially when we started camping as a family! And now I reap the benefit from all cooking experience, especially at breakfast. Most Saturday (and Sunday) mornings we sleep in, then Jim fires up the cast iron skillet. The actual result varies, but generally involves eggs, bacon or some other meat, onion, bell pepper and sometimes potatoes. Oh, and always cheese! Whatever form it takes, be it scrambled eggs, an omelet or fritata, it's always tasty. Lucky me!

Why poinsettias?

Whose idea was it to pick the poinsettia as the official (or maybe semi-official) flower of the Christmas season? It's actually native to much warmer climates than most of the country has. It doesn't do well in the dry, furnace-heated environment of your typical house. And while it can be drop-dead gorgeous when you first bring one home, it drops its leaves if you just look at it funny. So after a week or two, you end up with a plant that looks like a cross between a flower and a lollipop. But still, every year I succumb and get at least one, just because they do look so good.

Christmas lights in our fair city

Tonight we drove around town, checking out how other people decorated their houses and maybe getting some inspiration for next year. I love doing this. It reminds me of when I was growing up, and we would drive around this neighborhood in Chicago called "Candy Cane Lane," where every house had a huge (probably 6' or taller) lit-up candy cane set up in the front yard, and the houses were completely covered (or so it seemed at the time) with lights.

The Santa in the chair looks eerily real.

There's a cul-de-sac in a nearby development where all the houses on the block get together and decorate the whole block -- I think it's part of their Homeowners Association rules. The sidewalk is covered with lit up archways, and every one (except one notably dark house) is decorated to some degree -- some took it to the max. During the season, traffic is backed up for a couple of blocks and there are crowds on foot. One house even managed to get Santa to take a break from his busy schedule to talk to kids today and tomorrow!

Every year Strongsville sets up a Christmas display in the public square in the center of town. Donations from local businesses, organizations and citizens help fund this annual extravaganza of lights. Depending on the day and weather, it can be quite crowded. Tonight, we had the place to ourselves.

Where Katie and Sean's wedding pictures were taken

Other highlights of our tour:

Our next door neighbors' house:

You knew it would turn out this way . . . part 2

You knew it would turn out this way . . .

This year was supposed to be low-key, Christmas-decor-wise. Since we’re going be celebrating Christmas in warmer climes (it will be warmer, right, Katie?) Jim had me convinced that we didn’t need to put up any Christmas decorations this year: no tree; no angel, snowman, Santa and Christmas tree collections, no village, no outdoor lights. Almost. Then my women’s group needed a place to hold their annual holiday party. I hosted it last year when I chaired the event. Based on that, I knew that all I had to do was clean the house – and decorate! Up went the tree, out came all those holiday collections! Christmas was back in the Groble house! Now if I can just convince him to put up a couple of our spiral trees out front . . .

Christmas trees.

Santas

Snowmen

My angel collection.


The tree

Thanksgiving at the Grobles

Grilling the turkey on Thanksgiving and Christmas day has become something of a Groble tradition, carried out no matter what the weather. We've grilled in conditions ranging from above-normal temperatures to rain to 12 inches of snow and counting (our first Christmas in Ohio). It's tough keeping that grill hot in a blinding snow storm! We continued the tradition again this year; fortunately, the weather cooperated and the bird (14 lbs) was done in 2 hours. 15 minutes. As usual, I made way too much food, but leftovers always taste so good! And I froze some, so that Jimmy and Sarah, who came home for the weekend, can take some of it back with them.

Jimmy does the honors of carving the bird.

The dogs are hoping Jimmy will drop some of that turkey.

This is me, showing Sarah how to use a can opener (just kidding!)

Everybody dig in!

Playing with dead flowers

For the last couple of years, we have not dead-headed the plants in the yard, leaving the seed pods for the birds to enjoy and incidentally encouraging new plants. This year, I was fascinated by the shapes and textures of the dried seeds, flower heads, and foliage. So I thought I'd try my hand at a few arrangements. I started with the dried hydrangeas flowerheads and the ligularia seeds, and soon I had cuttings from the sedum, goatsbeard, hosta, and even the grasses from on top of the berm. I grabbed 3 vases and played around and viola! My favorite is the grouping in the beer stein and Jim's is the one in the red vase.

How I spent my birthday

Today my drivers license expired. I wasn't really paying much attention to that fact, although I knew it was happening this year. I had decided to take the day off to just hang around the house, so of course we didn't. First stop: the Westside Market for bread for tomorrow -- and the rest of the week, because neither of us has ever met a loaf of bread we didn't like! We also stopped at the Vietnamese booth and the crepes vendor, where I got a banana, peanut butter and chocolate stuffed crepe. That was supposed to be the only stop on our trip, but on the way home we decided to go to the Verizon store to unplug some of the apps on our phones. It was when the sales associate there asked Jim for his drivers license that I realized we had one more place to go!

The Drivers License facility was on our way home. As always, it was a pleasant experience. I was second in line. The very nice lady behind the counter and I chatted about vision restrictions, glasses, and the fact that both of us were named "Patricia Ann" while we completed the paperwork. There was a mirror by the picture-taking area so you could comb your hair and make sure there weren't any little green things in your teeth. LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR LATER, I was legal for another four years, with a picture that actually looks like me. Doing business with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles is so unlike my past experiences at the Lombard IL facility that I am always amazed.

Mother Nature’s last gift?

Sunday was a gorgeous autumn day: high 50’s, not a cloud in the sky. The nice weather drew us out to the front patio, where we sat for a couple of hours, soaking up the sun and enjoying what most surely will be the last day like that for a couple of months. All too soon, the snow will arrive.

Election Day thoughts

Today was one of those off- off-year Election Days -- no major races in our quiet suburban community, just a bunch of ballot proposals and a few local contests. We got up at the crack of dawn so we could be among the first voters at the polling place. The event sparked a few observations, as it usually does, since we are “students” of both politics and history.

Because there were no “glamour” contests (president, governor or even mayor) voter turnout today will probably be very low. This is unfortunate, because local contests such as tax levies, ballot proposals for changes to local government structure, and city council and school board elections have the most immediate impact on the everyday lives of the average voter.

I am continuously awed at how seriously we take the process of our elections. The folks that man the front lines (i.e., the polling places) are ordinary people who sit through training on the election-system de jur, get up at a god-awful time on election day to set up the voting booths and equipment, put in 12-15 hours more to make sure everyone who wants to vote can, submit the results to the proper authority, and then dismantle everything. Many of them do this time after time, perhaps giving up vacation time out of their real jobs. They do this no matter how many or how few people turn out to vote. And when you consider the potential for disaster, the fact that a (very) large percentage of the time things go off without a hitch is truly amazing.

So kudos to the polling place workers, those uncelebrated ordinary citizens who are the real cogs in our election machinery.

Lookin' good and chocolate too!

So last week I hosted a fundraiser committee meeting, and decided to make cupcakes. I threw together a mix, adding an entire bag of chocolate chunks to boost the chocolate level a little bit. When it came time to frost them, I remembered that my cookie press came with decorator tips and thought, why not? The hardest part was keeping the pressure steady as I went around the cupcake. Throw on some chocolate sprinkles and they looked pretty good for a first try. And it was surprisingly fun! No wonder cake decorators seem to really love their jobs! Hmmm, I wonder if Charm City Cakes has any openings?

Wrapping things up

For the first time in what seems like months, we had some good weather. Outside we went, to start the fall clean-up process. It's kind of bittersweet, since it means the end of another growing season. But there's always next year!

It was time to say good bye to the farmette.

The flowerboxes were emptied,

as were most of the pots.

A few plants were salvaged for a few more weeks.

And the garden bunnies have started lining up in preparation for their winter stay in the garage.