Another Christmas and Another New Year

Because my son Andrew and his family spent Christmas in San Jon, New Mexico visiting his wife Renee’s parents on their ranch, we postponed our Christmas celebration. The ranch is not a huge sprawling spread like those in Colorado, Montana, or the Dakotas. Their ranch snuggles up against the border between New Mexico and the panhandle of Texas. My daughters Amanda Yoder and Anna Prinkey visited when Andrew and his family still lived in Amarillo, Texas. For me who lives in the green hills of Pennsylvania, the ranch looks dry and dusty, but its saving grace is that it sits across an aquifer.

Because Andrew and his family were in New Mexico, we delayed our Christmas and New Year’s celebration until this past Saturday. Food was of course a large part of the event, as was passing out and the opening of gifts. Our food was served buffet style with people passing through the kitchen to make selections from the counter top, then retreating to the dining room to eat.

Our tradition continues a custom in Southwestern Pennsylvania that requires sauerkraut and pork to be served. There was plenty of pork because there were two roasts; one in homemade and one in store bought sauerkraut. Two Crockpots simmered all morning to allow the krauts’ flavors to impregnate the meat. Mashed potatoes, broccoli salad, and Cowboy salsa gave us a wide selection from which to choose.

After we ate, we took turns opening gifts. This year, the usual wrapping paper “snowball” battle happened before all the gifts were opened. Clean up required the sofa to be moved and any lobbed, “added decorations” in the Christmas tree to be removed.

Spumoni ice cream, cookies, and homemade nut brittles topped off the feast. I made four types of nut brittle this year: peanut, pecan, English walnut, and cashew. Last year I was admitted to the hospital on Christmas Eve after nearly two weeks of being sick. I hadn’t wanted to do anything. My house was undecorated and any Christmas preparations had to wait until this year. Now that 2021 is past, hopefully the ills and health problems are in the past as well.

Everything went well this year’s celebration, except for my granddaughter Moriah. As she was going to leave for home, her black beret was missing. The last vestiges of the wrapping paper was sorted and burned. It wasn’t there. The search goes on.