Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say

For the past week or so, it has seemed more appropriate to wish you a Mele Kalikimaka than a Merry Christmas. While palm trees are not swaying at Farm Dover, the temperatures do feel more like Hawaii than Kentucky. Rather than hunkering down for bowls of warm soup and mugs of hot chocolate, Ed and I have been out in the fields in our shirt sleeves planting seven new paw paw trees, two buckeyes, a wild plum, two persimmon trees, a blue spruce, and dozens and dozens of daffodil bulbs.

We took advantage of the warm weather yesterday to buy not one, but two, balled Christmas trees. We planted one in the side field and the other, we'll haul up to our front porch and decorate with some simple white lights. It will stay there until Christmas Eve when we will move it inside for a day or two. Mary and I will decorate it (or not) on Christmas Eve. Last year, we decided that it looked just fine with the white lights and no ornaments.

Those who know me know that I don't like to decorate the house for Christmas. Don't ask me why, but it seems to me that red and green bows and garlands just look junky. I like them in other people's homes. Just not mine.

But in an effort to be more festive and try harder with my decorations, I moved the big wooden bear down from the mantle and replaced him with a wooden swan and a stoneware crock sprouting some bare branches. I cut some cedar branches with berries and tucked them under the goose. I stood back and looked at my creation and it made me slightly claustrophobic. I tossed the branches into the compost. To my way of thinking, the mantle looked better without them. Maybe I'm turning into a minimalist.

This morning, I unpacked our 1940's-era manger, with its chipped chalkware figurines. Despite its imperfections, I find it perfect.

I'm still looking for the perfect spot for my other favorite nativity. This one I inherited from my mother. She loved Christmas and always went all out with her decor. I don't know where she got this little piece of pottery. Growing up I don't remember seeing it. It appears to have been fashioned by a child. There is Joseph, leading the way. Mary on a donkey, holding Baby Jesus in her arms. After their child was born in a lowly stable in Bethelehem, the family returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. "And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him."

"...That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

..........................

Mele Kalikimaka
Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say
On a bright Hawaiian Christmas day
That's the island greeting that we send to you
From the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way
To say Merry Christmas to you
Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say
On a bright Hawaiian Christmas day
That's the island greeting that we send to you
From the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way
To say Merry Christmas to you...

                                                  – Bing Crosby

Up. Down. In the Ground.

The thing about a live Christmas tree is that it can't be brought indoors until right before Christmas and it must be taken back outdoors soon after Christmas. Otherwise, it will come out of its dormancy and get confused when it is forced back into cold weather. At least, that's what I've been told....

So on Christmas Eve, we brought our little tree (with its huge burlapped ball) inside. Mary and I decorated it with lights and decided we liked it that way. We only added a favorite bird ornament and some recent ones that friend Jane sent, and called it a victory.

Today, we took off the lights, loaded the tree into the back of the Polaris, and planted it to the right of our drive entrance, alongside our trees from 2011, 2012, and 2013. My plan is to plant all our Christmas trees in one spot and then I can just count the trees to remember how long we've lived out here. Pretty clever, huh?

While Ed dug the hole, I snapped pictures of the previous years' trees.

Here's our 2011 tree. It looks ridiculous because it was attacked by a deer. 

This is 2012's. It is our biggest one.
Too big, in fact. It took three people to move it outside for planting. 

Here is 2013's. A perfectly nice little tree.

And lastly, here's our tree from this year.

While we were out planting, we also put a tiny tree in the ground, just outside our study window. It was a gift from my sister, Kathy. I love to think that someday it may become a towering evergreen.

We came back in and I took down the stockings (with care), cleared our mantle, tossed the magnolia leaves from the table centerpiece, and took a final load of empty boxes out to the recycling.

I did leave up our manger scene, our angel Gabriel, and Madonna & Child painting. Being that it is only December 28th, I figured the Magi have not yet arrived in Bethlehem, so it seemed premature to pack them away.

But other than this little vignette, Christmas 2014 is now history at Farm Dover. I'm ready for the new year. Bring it on!

It's Christmas time in the city

City sidewalks | Busy sidewalks | Dressed in holiday style

In the air there's a feeling of Christmas

– from Silver Bells by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.

We are just back from Christmas time in the city – New York City, that is. You may remember that Mary moved to Brooklyn in September and we had yet to visit her. So very (very) early on Friday morning, Ed and I flew to NYC, along with Maggie and Nate. 

This trip was so different from others we have taken to NYC. For one thing, we stayed in an airbnb apartment in Williamsburg, a neighborhood in Brooklyn which has a much different vibe than midtown Manhattan. For another, it was fun to have Mary show us around – to explore Brooklyn, Chinatown, Chelsea, Little Italy, and Lower Manhattan. And it was especially lovely to have Maggie and Nate with us. The only thing that could have made the weekend better was if Jack could have magically appeared from half way across the globe. We did connect up with Matthew, one of Jack's old roommates from McGill, meeting him and his parents for dinner on Sunday night. We also shared a meal with Katie Beth, Mary's good friend from high school days who has helped Mary in so many ways get settled. 

Other than a quick walk up to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and skaters, we avoided midtown, spending time instead browsing the aisles at The Strand Bookstore, checking out the vendors at the Holiday Market at Union Square, the Brooklyn Winter Flea + Holiday Market, the Chelsea Market, the Bedford Cheese Shop and the Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory, pausing at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza, walking in the rain across the Brooklyn Bridge, taking the East River Ferry from Brooklyn over to lower Manhattan and, of most importance to Galloways: eating. 

Holiday Market @ Union Square

Bedford Cheese Shop

Spoonbill & Sugartown Bookstore in Williamsburg

9/11 Memorial Fountains

Brooklyn Bridge

So that I don't forget the many great places we dined, here's a look at our favorites.

La Nonna Pizzeria, 237 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn. Our first night in town and we hadn't done our homework to figure out where we wanted to eat dinner. We remembered seeing a tiny pizzeria just down the street. Maggie called to see if we could get a table. We could, and were told we could also BYOB, so we stopped at the wine shop for a bottle of Chianti before walking the block from our apartment to the tiny restaurant. We ordered a large thin-crusted pizza and a small gluten-free crusted one for me. Both were delicious. Mary took home the leftovers for lunch this week. 

BeeHive Oven, 182 South 2nd St, Brooklyn. The next morning, we headed out of our apartment the opposite direction on Bedford and turned on 2nd St. We were headed for brunch at the BeeHive Oven touted as having the best biscuits in NYC. Run by a couple of Texans, they went out of their way to make us feel welcomed and feed us with care and craft. 

Vinegar Hill House, 72 Hudson Avenue, Brooklyn. The epitome of cozy, with seats for only about 40, I had made a reservation for Saturday night after Mary sent me a link as a possible good spot to eat. It was wonderful. Katie Beth joined us and we all were so happy to be together in this warm, tiny, beautiful restaurant.  We each had a different entree along with sides of corn bread with hot honey, parsnips, and brussels sprouts. I'm going back, for sure.

Sevilla, 62 Charles Street, West Village.  Matthew (Jack's college roommate and staff writer for the New York Observer) and his parents, Lewis and Doreen, picked this restaurant for us. We met them there. Doreen, who grew up in New York City, had been coming to Sevilla since she was a young girl. Paella was ordered all around. It was one of those quintessential New York experiences. Plus, it was fun to catch up with Matthew and, after all these years, to meet his parents. 

Ferrara Bakery & Cafe, 195 Grand Street, Little Italy. Sunday afternoon found us exploring around Chinatown and Little Italy in the rain. We stopped in Ferrara's for a coffee and dessert. (Okay, Mary had a glass of sparkling Prosecco with her cannoli.) Founded in 1892, it offers cannoli, gelati and other pastries. What a gem of a place. 

Some more notes for future visits...

Mary downloaded the HopStop app to my i-phone. Simply by keying in my current location and where I wanted to go, I could get step-by-step directions to anywhere in NYC. If I chose the subway/rail option, it provided details on which line to take, directions to the closest stop, time of the next train, and walking directions to my destination once I got off the train. What a lifesaver for someone as directionally-challenged as me!

More than once this weekend, we turned to Mary to order us an UBER ride. I can see why she likes it. She can request an urber taxi just by keying in her location and where she wants to go. She can then track where her requested ride is on its route and she pays directly from her phone. No worrying about cab fare or calculating a tip. 

Airbnb. It may not be for everyone, but I really like staying in a real person's apartment rather than a hotel. We've had great luck in Paris, Santa Fe and now Brooklyn. Our 2 BR apartment this week was located on a main street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The front door and entraceway were a bit sketchy, but once inside the apartment it was just right for us. I'm not sure I'd stay in this exact apartment again as the street noise was loud, but I'd definately find one in another neighborhood that I'd like to explore in NYC. Maybe Greenwich Village or Chelsea next time. 

The dining area of our airbnb apartment

The living area.
They even had a turntable and stack of old (but good) albums.

So thank you Mary for a great Christmas time in the city. Can't wait to get you home in 12 days for Christmas time in the country. We miss you.