The bottom line for all I wanted for Christmas, was just to live long enough to have another Christmas … and then another … and then another.
Given that my wish was going to happen and that people did want to know what I wanted for Christmas, I had to say that it would have to be something that had no weight, given that I came with 50 pounds of luggage and that is all I am going to be able to go back with. My idea was that a blog post would work.
Catie delivered right away. I was out blogging one night, and there was a draft up there that I didn’t recognize, so I went and read it. I was curious what I had written and not published. There it was -- Catie had already delivered a few days before Christmas. While we were having Christmas Eve Fondue, there was a lull in the conversation and Catie offered to read it aloud. That put a big bow on the gift that I had already seen.
What I wanted for Christmas is just to watch others open their gifts.
But Rebecca wanted me to have Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book, We Should All be Feminists.
The flyleaf calls it an eloquently argued essay – adapted from her much admired TEDx talk of the same name.
I read the book, pen in hand, and put a check mark in the margin, every time I came to a point with which I agreed.
I only wanted to get into an alter-conversation with her at two points, and I inscribed my ideas there into the margin for the next reader.
Tom gave me this fabulous bag from the store he works in -- L’UOMO. I was pleased to see it was full of catalogues from different men’s lines of clothing that are carried in the store: Pal Zileri, Luigi Borrelli, Ermenegildo Zegna, Luigi Bianchi Mantova. There was also a folder full of glossy 8 ½ by 11’s – Versace, Armani, Zegna, Mugler, Ferragamo, Longhi, Scarab …. I have finished two of the catalogues, annotating the margins. Someone is going to see that years from now and wonder ‘what the heck’.
Now for the next gift. Eric gave me a two page essay about his career choice. Since it is mine now, I have read it twice, shared it with his sister Kate, let his brother-in-law have a couple of pictures of it and I will probably write Eric a similar essay back. He kept his words to two pages single spaced. I may not be able to keep my words quite as concise.
Arta
Given that my wish was going to happen and that people did want to know what I wanted for Christmas, I had to say that it would have to be something that had no weight, given that I came with 50 pounds of luggage and that is all I am going to be able to go back with. My idea was that a blog post would work.
Catie delivered right away. I was out blogging one night, and there was a draft up there that I didn’t recognize, so I went and read it. I was curious what I had written and not published. There it was -- Catie had already delivered a few days before Christmas. While we were having Christmas Eve Fondue, there was a lull in the conversation and Catie offered to read it aloud. That put a big bow on the gift that I had already seen.
What I wanted for Christmas is just to watch others open their gifts.
But Rebecca wanted me to have Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book, We Should All be Feminists.
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I read the book, pen in hand, and put a check mark in the margin, every time I came to a point with which I agreed.
I only wanted to get into an alter-conversation with her at two points, and I inscribed my ideas there into the margin for the next reader.
Tom gave me this fabulous bag from the store he works in -- L’UOMO. I was pleased to see it was full of catalogues from different men’s lines of clothing that are carried in the store: Pal Zileri, Luigi Borrelli, Ermenegildo Zegna, Luigi Bianchi Mantova. There was also a folder full of glossy 8 ½ by 11’s – Versace, Armani, Zegna, Mugler, Ferragamo, Longhi, Scarab …. I have finished two of the catalogues, annotating the margins. Someone is going to see that years from now and wonder ‘what the heck’.
Now for the next gift. Eric gave me a two page essay about his career choice. Since it is mine now, I have read it twice, shared it with his sister Kate, let his brother-in-law have a couple of pictures of it and I will probably write Eric a similar essay back. He kept his words to two pages single spaced. I may not be able to keep my words quite as concise.
Arta
Hi Arta,
ReplyDeleteIt was great to meet you during Christmas!
I made my first cinnamon rolls today and everyone is very happy with the results. We had fun making them too. After we were done, Hazel spent time dipping her fingers in butter and then into the brown sugar and cinnamon. She spent the next 30 minutes licking the candy coating of her fingers repeatedly. She said she was very happy to help make the rolls.
Alright, your lessons definitely helped. I used a recipe for the dough that left the dough a little dry--Joy Of Cooking. I ended up adding more water and mixing the dough for two more minutes. The texture was then like what I remembered from our first batch. What convinced me to add the water and mix for longer was when I tried to stretch the dough to see light through it, I couldn't stretch the dough thin enough without breaking it. A very helpful tip indeed.
Anyhoo, I made a few photos of the whole experience and will post the final product to my facebook page shortly.
Thanks again!
Best,
Mike Todd