Santa has a little helper. And he doesn't walk around in a short red velour dress with fur fringe (at least I hope not). Little elf Mike crafted this table and chairs for a special little boy, using nothing but an old wooden crate, a carving knife, and flint and steel.
Sometimes it's a hockey puck, sometimes it's a bowling ball, but if you're a member of the Gilchrist family you're never disappointed on Christmas.
It's Christmas week eve, and in keeping with tradition we had to go visit the Santa located just outside the Mrs. Baird's Bread Factory/ Miller Brewery. Santa's beard didn't smell like Miller light this year (as far as I could tell), but he did appear to have a raging case of pinkeye (no doubt from all the little germ harboring children requesting their Christmas loot). I don't think Dave asked for anything specific. In fact, I don't think he said a word. Just sat and looked cute awaiting the coveted package of powdered donuts that Santa would inevitably give up. Seriously though, I like that Santa because:
a) they give you a free picture
b) they let you take your own pictures
c) they are super nice
and most important of all...
d) they give the parents free powdered donuts and chocolate milk as well.
Later, after apparently thinking over Santa's questions, Dave piped up from the back seat of the car:
I want a volcano for Christmas.
Hope Santa can make that one happen. It's the first thing he's asked for and I wouldn't want the poor kid to be disappointed.I'm not sure where this spidey obsession started, but I do know that Dave only has three pairs of Spiderman jammies, so if I don't do laundry every 3 days I am in big trouble.
According to Dave, my building is the one in front to the right with the tree blocking the entrance. Just look for the circus tent and hot dog stand. You can't miss it.
A jolly little elf named Mike hung these festive red lights after his last day of classes last week. One semester down, three to go! Woo Hoo!
He was a little afraid to hang our snowflake lights out on the gable by Dave's room, though. Then he refused to hold the rope attatched to my waist while I risked my life on the steep part of the roof to hang them. Any ideas?
I decided yesterday I had nothing left to blog about. I resigned myself to give it up and remove my blog from the interweb, but last night a phantom phone call gave me a reason to keep going. I was sitting at the nurse's station, stewing over all the work I had to do- all the people needing things from me and all at once- when a little voice came through line 1281:
There is nothing more fun on a cool November Saturday than hanging out with one of your best friends in the world at a crowded amusement park- with your respective boyfriends- and giving your uvulas a workout. If anyone tells you different, they are lying.
The spinning airplanes. Probably just as scary as the "Batman" or "Titan".
We spent a relatively quiet weekend at home this weekend. But not really at our home. We were busy raffling off our junk at my parent's house (better location for ye olde garage sale). But after all the junk was gone we found some time to add extra fat to the winter proofing layer on our bodies by attending the St. Demetrios Greek Food Festival and sampling some of their spectacular baklava and other kafenio (Greek for dessert!). I have eaten baklava before, but never made by real Greek grannies- and believe you me- there is a difference.
Here is their Baklava recipe. I'm going to try it one of these days.
Baklava
St. Demetrios' Anna Panagopoulos, with suggestions from Carnation Laverty, put together this home adaptation of the St. Demetrios baklava recipe:
Yields 24 triangles
Syrup:
6 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
Half a lemon
1/4 cup honey
Pastry:
1 1/2 pounds (6 sticks) butter (at St. Demetrios, they use a mixture of butter and margarine)
1 1/2 pounds walnuts or pecans, chopped medium-fine
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 pounds purchased phyllo dough
Syrup:
1. Stir all ingredients together in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 30 to 45 minutes, until a thin thread forms when you let some of the syrup drop from a spoon. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Pastry:
1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a warm burner and keep it warm over very low heat (at St. Demetrios, they use glass coffee carafes for this). Pour some of the butter into a bowl to use for brushing the phyllo; as the butter in the bowl cools, you will need to replenish it with the warm butter.
2. In a large bowl, thoroughly toss the nuts with the cinnamon.
3. With a wide paintbrush or pastry brush, brush the bottom and sides of a 9-by-12-inch pan with melted butter.
4. Take phyllo dough from refrigerator; remove a stack of 10 sheets, cover snugly with plastic wrap or a damp dishtowel to keep the phyllo from drying out and set aside (stack 1). Remove another 10 sheets, which you will use immediately (stack 2). Cover the remainder of the phyllo with plastic wrap or a damp towel (stack 3).
5. From stack 2, remove 2 phyllo sheets and fit them into the pan, folding if necessary. Brush the top thoroughly with melted butter. Repeat with 2 more sheets, buttering the top to coat, and continue buttering every 2 sheets until all 10 sheets have been layered into the pan.
6. Scatter the top of the buttered phyllo evenly with some of the chopped nuts, making sure to cover the corners. Remove plastic wrap or towel from stack 3 of the phyllo and place 2 sheets over the nuts. Butter and scatter again with nuts. Continue in this fashion until all phyllo in stack 3 and all the nuts have been used.
7. Remove the plastic wrap or towel from stack 1 and layer 1 phyllo sheet into the pan; butter thoroughly. Continue layering and buttering, 1 sheet at a time, until all sheets have been used.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
9. With a sharp knife, cut the baklava in the pan into 3-inch squares; then cut each square in half on the diagonal, creating triangles.
10. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until golden on top.
11. Remove the pan from the oven to a work surface and immediately pour the cooled syrup generously over the phyllo in the pan to soak the pastry thoroughly. There should be some syrup standing in the bottom of the pan; the pastry will absorb more syrup as it cools. Swirl the pan to make sure the syrup is evenly distributed and let cool. Baklava is best if allowed to stand for 1 day.
Mmm. Charred campfire dog for dinner. Hain't nothin better.
Me leading the kids on a Beatles-esque morning jog.
For some reason the kids kept chanting "food and dreams!" while jumping on this air mattress. I'm not sure I get it. Then again, I'm not sure that there's anything to get.
Morgan's first fish! Better luck next time Dave.
Oh. And we brought along a potty chair "for Morgan", although I won't say I didn't enjoy the use of the potty chair when I inevitably had to pee out all my hot chocolate at 3 a.m.. I'll never camp without one again.
I have had my eye on these little pumpkin oil burners from Bath and Body, so I'm glad two women won the contest instead of men... (not that men couldn't enjoy an oil burner)...
(Mike's costume)
