OT--Is Everyone Ready for the Holiday
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: atlanta, ga
Posts: 3,581
We are ready I guess. Our plans changed today - my parents were coming up to spend several days here and to see my youngest brothers kids. My Brother called today and has strep. So my parents are going to stay at my Sister's in Birmingham instead (neither is in good health and can't be around sick). We will head there on Christmas day. I'm sad we had to cancel all the plans and that I won't see my parents as much (we have to be back Saturday) - but I am going to head down to see them in january for a couple of days to make up for it.
Went Christmas shopping today as per usual last minute, and thankfully got everything I needed to. All is wrapped. Looking forward to a week off.
Went Christmas shopping today as per usual last minute, and thankfully got everything I needed to. All is wrapped. Looking forward to a week off.
A work in progress
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 16,633
I am--I did all my "heavy lifting" last Friday-Saturday (wrapping/mailing stuff to be mailed, mailing my few holiday cards, ordering gifts for delivery). I'm not going anywhere and not doing anything special. I DID go out yesterday to get something special for dinner. There is this place that has to-die-for crabcakes, so I picked up enough for a couple of dinners--crabcakes, coconut shrimp, lobster mashed potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, and this wonderful kale salad (sort of like an extra-crunchy coleslaw made with kale and other veggies). They partially cook the food so you finish it in the oven.
I decided not to do the tree--I'd have had to buy a new one and I'm usually in Colorado for Christmas and don't want to leave the cats at home with it unsupervised. I have the cards I've received up on the mantle above my fireplace, along with the wrapped gifts that were sent to me.
So I'm going for low-stress rather than intense holiday cheer (I got my cheer at the TSO concert last weekend). I'll watch some movies, listen to music while I do a bit of research for the project I'm working on for work, and talk to family on the phone.
I decided not to do the tree--I'd have had to buy a new one and I'm usually in Colorado for Christmas and don't want to leave the cats at home with it unsupervised. I have the cards I've received up on the mantle above my fireplace, along with the wrapped gifts that were sent to me.
So I'm going for low-stress rather than intense holiday cheer (I got my cheer at the TSO concert last weekend). I'll watch some movies, listen to music while I do a bit of research for the project I'm working on for work, and talk to family on the phone.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: CA
Posts: 215
Yeah, I have 3 tables set and ready to go. Made centerpieces last Sunday which was fun. Have been cooking and baking tons as I'm having our traditional family dinner, which is based on Swedish food. Very rich and full of memories from grandparents ( I'm 62 so a long time). Lutefisk, potato sausage, swedish meatballs, rye bread and swedish tea ring. Then some foods that mom used to make all the time like rice pudding and a jello mold that is more dessert than anything else. Veggies will be tomorrow, but have done much of the cooking/prepping this week. I'm tired, but I love doing it and will for as long as I'm still able.
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 715
I work in the Emergency Room.... There are many a things around the house that I don't look at the same way as I once did!! Lol.
Am I ready for Christmas??? I don't think so... I'm going to try to hit TJMaxx later tonight. They close at 11pm and have a great jewelry section. I won't know if I'm done until I finish wrapping... I have things hidden all over the house so my son wouldn't find.
I need to color my hair, add tinsel to my ugly Christmas sweater ( it's gonna be in the 80's tomorrow ) so that sweater will be short lived. I guess whatever else I forgot I will just wing it... They all think I'm crazy this year anyway so I'm sure I will get away with whatever I missed!
Am I ready for Christmas??? I don't think so... I'm going to try to hit TJMaxx later tonight. They close at 11pm and have a great jewelry section. I won't know if I'm done until I finish wrapping... I have things hidden all over the house so my son wouldn't find.
I need to color my hair, add tinsel to my ugly Christmas sweater ( it's gonna be in the 80's tomorrow ) so that sweater will be short lived. I guess whatever else I forgot I will just wing it... They all think I'm crazy this year anyway so I'm sure I will get away with whatever I missed!
A work in progress
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 16,633
Originally Posted by Sotiredofitall 
Lutefisk
LOL, we had my Norwegian grandpa for Christmas one year when I was a kid, and it's my ONLY (God willing) experience with lutefisk. If I never have to look at it, taste it, or smell it again, I will be just FINE.
Definitely an acquired taste!OTOH, if I get ambitious over the next few days, I just might make a batch of lefse.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 982
I googled it... sounds pretty good
In case someone else is also wondering...
is a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread. It is made with leftover potatoes, flour, butter, and milk or cream. It is cooked on a griddle. Special tools are used to prepare lefse, including long wooden turning sticks and special rolling pins with deep grooves.
Wikipedia
In case someone else is also wondering...
is a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread. It is made with leftover potatoes, flour, butter, and milk or cream. It is cooked on a griddle. Special tools are used to prepare lefse, including long wooden turning sticks and special rolling pins with deep grooves.
Wikipedia
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 1,572
Sotired, my girls' grandmother is from Norway. Their family meals always had many traditional Scandinavian dishes, including lefse.
KBoys, lefse is a flat pastry made from potatoes (yes, really), usually layered with butter and sugar. Some people serve it flat, others roll the lefse (it's shaped like a tortilla).
Flatbread Recipe: Norwegian Potato Lefse ? Recipes from The Kitchn | The Kitchn
KBoys, lefse is a flat pastry made from potatoes (yes, really), usually layered with butter and sugar. Some people serve it flat, others roll the lefse (it's shaped like a tortilla).
Flatbread Recipe: Norwegian Potato Lefse ? Recipes from The Kitchn | The Kitchn
A work in progress
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 16,633
Well, I DID pick up some creamed herring (my mom's favorite) when I was at the grocery store just now. Though I DID have a bit of trouble convincing what must have been the holiday help that "herring" was an actual THING. The one thing I HATE about this grocery store is their tendency to CONSTANTLY rearrange things so you can't find them.
Lefse is VERY tricky to make--my older son bought me a lease griddle years ago, and it wasn't until I retired (the brief 4-month hiatus between my retirement and my new job) that I took the time to try making it. I have been pretty happy with the results the last couple of times. It's supposed to be almost thin enough to read through. It looks quite a bit like a flour tortilla, but it's much softer, more tender.
The recipe I have been following uses almost no flour, other than what is applied when you're rolling it out, and the potatoes have to be cooked perfectly for it to come out right. After you've rolled out the dough VERY thin, you roll it onto a lease stick (which looks like a flat wooden sword--I once had one my grandfather carved but no clue what happened to it), VERY carefully unroll it onto a VERY hot (450 degrees or so) griddle, and cook it for about a minute on one side, then CAREFULLY roll it up to turn it and cook it for less than a minute on the other.
We always ate them with butter and sugar rolled up inside, but they are good with cooked blueberries (or other berries) and I understand some people put meat or fish or cheese inside.
My grandmother used to make them right on the surface of her wood-burning kitchen stove. I think she made hers a little bit differently--there is a lot of debate about the proper way to make them--but mine are every bit as delicious as hers were. It's at least a 2-day project, though, as the potatoes have to cool for 8 hours, and the rolling and baking takes a while. Also very messy--flour gets EVERYWHERE.
Lefse is VERY tricky to make--my older son bought me a lease griddle years ago, and it wasn't until I retired (the brief 4-month hiatus between my retirement and my new job) that I took the time to try making it. I have been pretty happy with the results the last couple of times. It's supposed to be almost thin enough to read through. It looks quite a bit like a flour tortilla, but it's much softer, more tender.
The recipe I have been following uses almost no flour, other than what is applied when you're rolling it out, and the potatoes have to be cooked perfectly for it to come out right. After you've rolled out the dough VERY thin, you roll it onto a lease stick (which looks like a flat wooden sword--I once had one my grandfather carved but no clue what happened to it), VERY carefully unroll it onto a VERY hot (450 degrees or so) griddle, and cook it for about a minute on one side, then CAREFULLY roll it up to turn it and cook it for less than a minute on the other.
We always ate them with butter and sugar rolled up inside, but they are good with cooked blueberries (or other berries) and I understand some people put meat or fish or cheese inside.
My grandmother used to make them right on the surface of her wood-burning kitchen stove. I think she made hers a little bit differently--there is a lot of debate about the proper way to make them--but mine are every bit as delicious as hers were. It's at least a 2-day project, though, as the potatoes have to cool for 8 hours, and the rolling and baking takes a while. Also very messy--flour gets EVERYWHERE.
A work in progress
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 16,633
Oh, and for those who don't know, lutefisk is codfish soaked in LYE. You rinse it thoroughly (so it doesn't burn your guts out) but the fish becomes very gelatinous and mushy. It has an, um, INTERESTING smell while cooking, and is served with a cream sauce.
Not my cup of tea, personally, but as you can see, some folks absolutely LOVE it.
Not my cup of tea, personally, but as you can see, some folks absolutely LOVE it.
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: W Washington
Posts: 11,589
i made the Wally World run in 30 minutes, ROUND trip! got the stuff i needed and then went to the pharmacy to get hank's inhaler refill, and checked out there, and breezed past the lines at the registers!
i got a couple presents wrapped, one with the shiny metallic shiny LINED wrapping....oh my xmas OCD loves getting it all perfectly lined up, then finishing with a shiny silver ribbon.......ahhh yes, feeling the holidays!
hank wants to give my gift NOW...no idea what it is.....he isn't the GIFT kind of guy, so if he DOES get me something, it is meaningful and well thought out. he says it is NOT a kitchen appliance and it does NOT have wheels....
i got HIM a really nice Packer Jacket....with a fully removable and wearable fleece jacket inside....i so want to give that to HIM as well!!!
i got a couple presents wrapped, one with the shiny metallic shiny LINED wrapping....oh my xmas OCD loves getting it all perfectly lined up, then finishing with a shiny silver ribbon.......ahhh yes, feeling the holidays!
hank wants to give my gift NOW...no idea what it is.....he isn't the GIFT kind of guy, so if he DOES get me something, it is meaningful and well thought out. he says it is NOT a kitchen appliance and it does NOT have wheels....
i got HIM a really nice Packer Jacket....with a fully removable and wearable fleece jacket inside....i so want to give that to HIM as well!!!
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 1,572
Ah, a Packers fan! My little guy spent the evening lounging around our apartment in the fleece Packers pajama pants I made him a few months ago, and he is now nestled into bed under his Packers comforter.
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,349
Originally Posted by Wisconsin
We moved up here a few months after the SuperBowl win. It's not hard to become a Packers fan. I will, however, ALWAYS be a Cubs fan. 
As for the holiday: I am ready. Spending a few precious hours tomorrow with the bf to exchange gifts and then hanging with friends and my son on Christmas Day. Gifts are bought or shipped. I kept it simple this year and I'm so grateful I did so. I still have to work tomorrow but it should be slow....I hope!
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 1,572
I'm at work for half the day today, too, Liz. I'm the back-up approver of purchase orders when my boss is gone, and he's out all week. We're always busy at the end of the year--departments trying to get the last of their budget money spent before 12/31.
The kids and I had another nice night last night. I had a good night of sleep, and feel like I'm finally starting to turn the corner on this awful bug I've had.
The kids and I will open our gifts tonight, before I take DS over to STBXAH's house. They suckered me last night--our tradition has always been that the kids each open one gift on Christmas Eve, and the rest on Christmas morning. But since tonight is our "Christmas morning," they convinced me to let them each open one gift LAST night, since that was our "Christmas Eve." DD16 opened a sweater that she immediately put on, DD12 opened a t-shirt featuring a quote from the movie "Mean Girls," and DS5 opened the stuffed alpaca that DD16 got for him. Then he spent 45 minutes taking pictures of it with his tablet.
I did get a small something for my "Tuesday night hangout" friend. I think we may try to meet up on Saturday to exchange gifts--otherwise, it will just wait until Tuesday.
I have much to be grateful for this year. So much that it's almost overwhelming. And...no more sleeping on the floor for me when I have all three kids at once. My sister-in-law gave me a super fancy air mattress for Christmas!
The kids and I had another nice night last night. I had a good night of sleep, and feel like I'm finally starting to turn the corner on this awful bug I've had.
The kids and I will open our gifts tonight, before I take DS over to STBXAH's house. They suckered me last night--our tradition has always been that the kids each open one gift on Christmas Eve, and the rest on Christmas morning. But since tonight is our "Christmas morning," they convinced me to let them each open one gift LAST night, since that was our "Christmas Eve." DD16 opened a sweater that she immediately put on, DD12 opened a t-shirt featuring a quote from the movie "Mean Girls," and DS5 opened the stuffed alpaca that DD16 got for him. Then he spent 45 minutes taking pictures of it with his tablet.
I did get a small something for my "Tuesday night hangout" friend. I think we may try to meet up on Saturday to exchange gifts--otherwise, it will just wait until Tuesday.
I have much to be grateful for this year. So much that it's almost overwhelming. And...no more sleeping on the floor for me when I have all three kids at once. My sister-in-law gave me a super fancy air mattress for Christmas!
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