No Surfing Santa this year, at least not yet. Paul and the boys had to redo the lights because the ones left on “the wave” were sun bleached white and since they were no longer blue, Paul wanted to replace them. He purchased $150 of new blue strands of lights and halfway through attaching them with swift ties, they realized they were putting them on the wrong side. The boys hands got frostbitten since the temps were in the low ’30s, which is extremely cold for us, and they were not used to it. Meanwhile, the girls and I were in the house making roll out sugar cookies which did not turn out because I threw the recipe together from memory because I mistakenly gave away my cookie cookbook. We kept adding flour because they were so sticky and then they tasted like starch. Mark ate them anyway because he will eat anything.  The boys put the Surfing Santa project off for a warmer day which never came. Then it rained. And we threw a party for 100 people at our house this past weekend. I always have all these high hopes that we are going to make gifts and spend so much time doing things together and it is always so unrealistic. The kids get sick or they have too much homework. I’m tired because I threw a party for 100 people and then there’s work. Can’t forget about that. I’m trying to take some time off but Paul can’t. The house is a mess. I took the kids Christmas shopping on Sunday only to discover that my ATM card was canceled due to “suspicious activity”. Sophia got her learner’s permit last week and wants me to take her driving. I keep making cookies to give away as gifts but Paul and the kids keep eating them all. That reminds me, I’m searching for a long lost cookie recipe from Paul’s family. His sisters remember it but don’t have it. If anyone knows of a recipe for caramel walnut cookies in which you place an unwrapped caramel in the center of the cookie, please let me know.

The inflatable man arrived in the mail today. Now we can put the finishing touches on our Surfing Santa. Last year Paul and the kids made a “wave” out of chicken wire, strung it with blue lights, and placed a blown up doll dressed in a wetsuit wearing a Santa hat inside it and put in on our roof.  It was the talk of the neighborhood. Everyone got it because we live in probably one of the most famous surfing towns in the world. We actually have a Surfing Museum where you can  see the remains of shark-gnawed wetsuits on display next to video displays of the wetsuit owners showing off their bloody stumps and talking about their encounters with Jaws. Having grown up on the East coast where it snowed from October until March, it was very difficult for me  at first to adjust to tropical Christmases. I’ll never forget the first time I went to the Lighted Boat Parade at the harbor to see Santa arrive on a sailboat dressed in a Hawaiian Luau shirt. Yes Virginia, there really is a Santa … and he’s drunk on Tequila. Read the rest of this entry »

We got our tree on Saturday.  The kids looked forward to it all week. This is our third Christmas all together and it is a comfort and a joy to see that we are already forming our combined family traditions. Paul’s kids have thoroughly embraced the advent calendar daily gift opening ritual. (They loved the ribbon calendars I made for them.) Getting the tree is definitely one of the highlights. We’ve gone to the  same Christmas tree farm the past three years and cut down our own tree. The place we go to is Christmas storybook wonderful complete with fresh made popcorn popped over an open fire, hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies.  They even have a craft table set up to make homemade ornaments. Read the rest of this entry »

TINY TREES Read the rest of this entry »