here we go

Bah Humbug!

So much to do and so little time.  No cheer to be found. 

That whirlwind of unwanted but unavoidable activity, is coming.

It's coming on Christmas,

they're cutting down trees.

They're putting up reindeer 

and singing songs of joy and peace.

Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on....

Sigh. 

Better get to it.  

We have an odd, narrow hall closet where we tuck away boxes and boxes of Christmas ornaments.  I  unwrap old ones...

and newer ones...

   

Spoke pours me champagne. 

Sigh. 

I take a break.  Relax.  The wind is really howling this evening and I find myself humming again.

The snow is snowing,

the wind is blowing...

Before I know it, the wreath is on the door, every room in the house glitters, and I'm thinking maybe tomorrow I'll make that cranberry sauce. 

Sigh. 

Bring it on.  I'm ready.

Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce

12 ounces fresh cranberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed, chopped fine

zest of one orange

juice of one orange

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

several gratings of fresh nutmeg

Place all ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a boil. 

Reduce the heat to medium low, cover but with the lid cracked open a little, and simmer until the cranberries have popped and the mixture has cooked down to a sauce consistency. 

It will thicken as it cools.

{This is the sauce that Dear Old Dad exclaimed at Thanksgiving,

"is so good it should be bottled and sold". 

The very dad who refuses to knowingly (wink-wink) eat anything with a jalapeno in it.}

RIVER by Joni Mitchell

I'VE GOT MY LOVE TO KEEP ME WARM by Irving Berlin