Ringing out the final days of 2012

The birthday boy + the celebration

December 26th :: Big Birthday + Boxing Day

Just because Xmas was over did not mean that we had to stop celebrating.  Oh, no.  Steve's dad turned 70 years old and we had a small dinner party for him complete with mounds of crab, cheesy bread and the requisite kahlua kake (a Hecht family tradition!).  We wore paper crowns, sang happy birthday and watched a homemade movie commemorating Steve's dad's life and legacy.  It was a perfect ending to his visit and I think he enjoyed being doted on.

Dark lighting prevented us from getting any group shots and most of the pics were blurry from that evening.  The above shots were the best I could do.

December 27th :: Playing Catch up

McGyver left before the sun came up and we slowly greeted the day.  There were thank you notes to write, helicopters to be flown and batches of waffles to be made in preparation for the Harry Potter Marathon scheduled for the next day.

December 28th :: Harry Potter Marathon at the Vigeant/Judd Compound

Yes, 19 hours of Harry Potter movie time.  Our boy would join in for 12-1/2 of those hours and watch movies one through five.  This has to be one of the coolest childhood fantasies realized.  Steve delivered Grady over to his best friend's house at 6 am.  Their family had just purchased a big screen t.v. and invited a dozen or so kids over for the movie marathon.  When we picked him up that evening, it was a sea of bodies and blankets in the t.v. room.  The kids looked dazed and were very, very quiet.  G came home and bumped into walls, took a shower, dropped his toothbrush while brushing, ate a quick dinner and climbed into bed.  It was a fun, but exhausting day for this nine year old and one he will never forget.

December 29th :: BFF arrival!

I woke early to gather up the ingredients for making paté with Jill.  I scurried down the road in my pajamas and assisted in making a double batch of rustic chicken liver paté.  I didn't photograph it because, let's be honest, paté looks like cat food.  It was , however, delicious and I can't wait to share with the Rangel girls, who are the best little food critics I know.

Kacy and family arrived and were staying in Jenner.  I still had a sick boy and now Steve had caught whatever Grady had, so they were housebound and I took an afternoon drive to Jenner to enjoy a sunset with my bestie and enjoy an incredible meal at River's End.  It was a perfect afternoon that spilled into a delightful evening of food and wine.  No surprises there.

December 30 :: Christiansen Clan at the Ponderosa

G anxiously awaited the arrival of the Christiansen clan.  They spilled out of the car for a round of quick hugs and swiftly put on their mud boots and went exploring in the back hills looking for dinosaur bones and communing with the cows.  There were tree houses to be visited, b.b. guns to shoot and chickens to be chased.  Boys are so easy to please.

December 31st :: New Year's Eve

We started this day with a big breakfast for the kids and a walk on Middle Road for just Kacy and myself.  We then drove over the hills to Bodega Bay for lunch at the Dog House and then came home to ready ourselves for an evening of food and fun.

The Mahleys stopped by for the first toast of the evening to celebrate their trip to Stockholm for the Nobel Prize ceremony and their upcoming 50th wedding anniversary.  Steve was still bedridden and the festivities went on without him.  Poor guy.

Jack (10), Grady (9-1/2), Harry (7-1/2)

We sauntered down the lane for drinks and an amuse-bouche at Scott & Jill's house.  The boys were treated to ants on a log and salty potato chips.  We then came back up the lane to finish making their cheesy pizza for the evening and get them started on a gaming and movie marathon!  They couldn't have been happier or more satisfied.

Things started to get a little festive here, as we had lots of J sparkling wine to help us end the year 2012.  There was dancing, lots of laughing and a little Saturday Night Live on Hulu to get the silliness ratcheted up a notch.  Again, Steve was in the bedroom listening to all of our shenanigans and was such a trouper.

Happy New Year's Eve 2012

He rallied and joined us for a forced group photo, complete with paper crowns and silly faces!  I think this is one of my favorite photos of the year.

Boys + Mamas 2012

It felt like it all went too fast, but it always feels that way!  I enjoyed every single second and loved cooking for my people and having them in our home.

It was the perfect way to end this year surrounded by the people I love, in the place that I love so much.

Handmade Xmas

My 2012 Garden Bird handmade by Grady

Last year I took so many pictures of Xmas that I felt overwhelmed and never finished the blog post.  It felt like I had too much to say and then ended up saying nothing at all.  I didn't want that to happen this year, so I decided to focus on what we made for each other.  Those were the sweetest gifts of the day, by far.

The inside of a hard baseball - LEFT
The handmade gift from dad - RIGHT

Each year Grady asks us to paint something for him.  Last year I was assigned to draw a Sumo wrestler and the year before that a dog (which I drew without a nose).  He asked Steve to draw him a Manga character this year (with a green parrot and a drawing of Molly happening in previous years), but Steve decided to switch it up and make him another handmade mush ball.

Grady has been totally into playing mush ball at school and with Steve on the weekends.  It takes some time to remove the stitching, pull out the hard core, stuff it with a sock and sew it up again - but his son loved it and I can see him really using this gift.  Steve has always been known to be the seamstress in our house and I just love that he did this for Grady for Xmas.

Deluxe Cheeseboard from SL

The wood shop was busy last weekend and Steve designed and made me the most beautiful cheeseboard.  I mentioned I saw a few on Pinterest that I loved and he glanced at the photos, said few words, went to his shop and made this little work of art.  The best.

The morning was moving right along and the pile of presents for the boy was staggering.  Most of it was thoughtful and you could tell the friends and family members gifting to him really knew him and focused on his interests in books, Legos, peanut butter & jelly (yes, really - two big jars!), cool t-shirts, art supplies and handmade treasures.

Grady's Xmas gift from me this year - A Tree 2012

And so here is my attempt at painting a piece of art for my son.  He gave me a fairly easy assignment, as he knows I like to draw trees and circles.  The red dots are supposed to be cherry blossoms, but they look more like apples.  It doesn't matter, he said he loved it and it was one of his favorite gifts.  Oh, melt my mama heart.

Dad Portrait 2012

With all the busyness of the season, G almost forgot to make something for his dad.  This is our thing.  We each make something for each other (or try to!), so he took to painting in the final days leading up to Xmas.  This is a portrait of his father.  He took two days to finish it and thought it was pretty good.

2nd revised letter to Santa drafted on December 23rd

As Xmas drew closer, I think he realized he was not going to get what he had asked Santa for and tried his luck by drafting a revised letter to Santa.  He pleaded his case, tried to pull at Santa's heartstrings and focused on the one present he wanted desperately - an iPod Touch.  Oh, how smart he is.

Notes in blue added by me as to what Santa brought this year - I save these letters

 Santa drafted a letter of his own and included a few fun things in his Santa Sack - like Trix cereal (mom would never buy that!) and three video games (again, mom would never buy those!).  And while he was teetering on non-belief this year, I think he still wants to believe.  The fact that he didn't get what he asked for probably left him a little bit disappointed but, as always, he quickly got over it and enjoyed all the wonderful and useful items he received.

G painted me a "rock bug" at school and wrapped it himself

The day was rainy and windy and never let up.  We watched three movies, took two naps, snacked throughout the day, read books, played video games and BBQ'd a beautiful steak dinner in the rain.

We had three generations of Hecht men under one roof and it was one of the sweetest Xmas's we've ever had.  I think Steve's dad enjoyed it, too.  How could you not?  We showed him a good time and I hope he remembers it fondly, too.

Grady thanked him over dinner for taking the time to come up and see us and spend Xmas at our house.  Completely unprompted by us.

That felt like the greatest gift of the season.

McGyver's arrival + Xmas Eve

The rains have been unrelenting and we received a huge storm Saturday morning and it rained all day long and into the evening.  The next morning was more of the same and the roads were closed to/from Petaluma.  McGyver  (aka - Captain, Steve's dad, the Original Steve and/or Hecht, Sr.) was arriving today and we spent our morning readying the house for him and wrapping the last of the xmas presents.

"Buffums Special" back in 1967

He had to take a small detour, but arrived in good spirits and with lots to share about his two-day journey north to our little house in Valley Ford.  It's so great to have him here to celebrate xmas, but also his 70th birthday.  We indulged in lots of food, cocktails & even had a fashion show with this 45 year old velour shirt.   The Hecht men do not part easily with their shirts.

Anna Erickson from Hands Full Farm asked me to take in a mildly electrocuted hen named Carmen Electra.  Long story, but I agreed and she agreed to take back our very loud rooster, Dolly, Jr.  It's not that our rooster isn't doing its job, but I really only want laying hens and Steve's predisposition to unnecessary noise is creating a bit of a problem on Upper Johns Street.  Steve can only tolerate the Green Acres' lifestyle for so long!

Every year we throw a little xmas eve open house at our home and invite a couple of dozen friends.  Steve makes his dad's recipe for chili (this year with his dad supervising), we order tamales from a great little taco truck in Roseland, I make my kick-ass spanish rice and we have bubbly & beer for our guests.  Brandon from the Valley Ford Hotel delivered a boatload of homemade tortilla chips & salsas and stayed for a bit to help us perfect our margarita making.

The day was full with cooking, organizing and finishing up last minute xmas presents.  As our friends arrived around 3 in the afternoon, we slowly visited, ate, laughed and enjoyed the food.  G was feeling under the weather and retreated to his bedroom, which is very unlike him.  His mild fever and cough was getting him down.  It's no fun to be sick on xmas eve.

As the party was winding down, things got a little crazy.  My farmer friend, Anna, who was going to take my rooster off of my hands, decided that tonight would be a good night to grab it on her way out the door.  She had been imbibing quickly here and I'm sure in her champagne-buzzed state that grabbing the roosters (she informed me I had two, not just one) seemed like a good idea.  Let me assure you, it was not.

Once she grabbed my main rooster, Dolly, Jr., the squawking that came out of that bird was like a wild woman screaming for her life.  The entire party came out on the deck and watched as she jaunted out from the chicken coop and took center stage just below the deck platform.  To quiet the rooster, she grabbed its neck and then methodically started twisting the body by the feet in small circles - all the while talking to us in her cutesy farmer voice.  Slowly, we realized she was wringing its neck and a quiet horror spread over my face and the crowd as we watched the rooster quiet itself with each turn of its body.

Now, it's not that I don't eat chicken or understand that animals do have to die before I eat them.  But seeing it done right in front of you?  Yeah, that was a little weird and eery.  She then gingerly threw it in the back of the truck and left with her friend.

The remainder of my guests were a little gobsmacked, but then chuckled and chided that this was a very West County Xmas Eve and would never be forgotten.  I absolutely agree.

Three generations of Hecht Men under one roof!

We finished off the night playing games and letting G open a few presents from my mom, which included the requisite xmas eve pajamas.  A must open on xmas eve present, in my opinion.

Hecht-Salas Clan Xmas Eve 2012

I finally got a picture of the three of us this year (thanks to Steve's dad)!  G's eyes are slightly closed, but it's really the best we could do (there were several takes in trying to capture all three of us in the late afternoon sun).

G left a tray of candies and a heartfelt letter to Santa on the table and called it a night.

I will never forget this night.

Making :: Holiday Version

I went into this week feeling a little anxious for all that we had to do, make, finish & pop in the mail to our loved ones.  I knew I needed to ask for help from the guys and really try to enjoy it, rather than be a grinch about the whole thing.  I had a good talking to with myself and we moved through the week as a team.

Our Advent for Monday was to read our holiday book collection after dinner.  Grady dug in and read most of them to himself.  A few, he read to us.  He delighted in making us laugh and The Twelve Days of Christmas [Correspondence] by John Julius Norwich and illustrated by Quintin Blake is still our very favorite.  I gifted this sweet, little book to Steve during our first Xmas back in 1998 and absolutely love the British sarcasm and wit this book provides, along with vivid illustrations.  

Molly Wizenberg's Peppermint Bark has an alias - Peppermint Crack

Making took center stage at this week.  There are always so many homemade projects that I want to include, but I'm never quite done with them in time to fit in the mailers.  We had to streamline the process and mail some of the packages later than scheduled.  In the end, it all worked out.

Molly Wizenberg's amazing peppermint bark was not fit for mailing, as it was best served slightly refrigerated.  Best. Idea. Ever.  Yes, it was labor intensive, but so very, very satisfying.  I vowed to do another batch this weekend.  It's like legal crack and I felt justified in spending my time making it and gifting it.  Win-win.

Tuesday after work I was running errands and as I was driving home around 4 pm and watching the sun dipping down on the horizon, I was moved to hit the pedal to the metal and get home for the promised Advent of the day :: Hike to the top of the hill behind our house as a family.

Grady sketched a family of deer that we spotted on our way up and we celebrated our arrival at the tippy-top!  As the sun was setting, Grady posed for a victory "double peace" pose and we ambled down the hillside.  Steve joined us on our descent and the brisk early evening air reinvigorated me for the evening ahead of us.

We were cutting card stock and hand-stamping postcard-sized pieces to bundle into little gift sets tonight after dinner.  We had each carved stamps with our own design and now set to pressing them into color ink pads and transferring our little works of art onto paper.  They turned out just beautiful and we used the bulk of them as teacher presents.  I can't believe I didn't snap any photos of this activity.  So unlike me.

G's library is lit up
Mobile Library visit garnered 8 books read in one day & the star ratings left on orange sticky notes on my desk

Day 19 of Advent left me perplexed. We have done so many lovely things and I wanted to make Day 19 an easy one.  Jill had left a few boxes of white LED lights for us to use and I decided to decorate Grady's bedroom as an after school surprise.  Bingo!  He loved it.

Steve's Grandma Lavinia used to decorate her children's room with lights and their very own small Xmas tree.  I think this is the sweetest idea ever.  Space is always an issue in our tiny home, so I opted for a Lavinia-inspired decoration and the lights did the trick.  Grady has been waking up early to read by their soft glow.  It looks magical in his room and it felt magical doing it for him.

We finished packaging and labeling our canine cookies.  Steve brewed a batch of homemade kahlua and we made labels for same.  G's only request from me for Xmas was to paint him a tree.  Bam!  I did that, too.  Oh, my list as long this week, but with the help of my family I was able to methodically cross things off my list and that felt really good.

Day 20 of Advent left us wide open for leisurely fun. We had a date with Cheryl & Tony in Jenner to sip champagne (and root beer) and admire their Xmas tree.  Afterwards, we stole away for an early dinner at River's End in Jenner and watched the grey skies get bombarded with thousands of seagulls taking flight.

Cookies from Campbell's Bakery in New York from Jan & Van Vancleemput

Friday night found us exhausted and ready to sink into our home routine.  A quiet dinner, movie & an Advent treat.  Root beer floats, again.  No complaints here.

Advent :: Day 22 - Workshop shenanigans with dad

Today was magical.  A quiet morning spent writing thank you notes, sipping coffee and nibbling on gifted cookies.  The Advent for today was to spend time with dad in the workshop.  The guys barely emerged, but I heard lots of sawing and hammering going on.  They were both working on presents for me and I cannot wait to see what they have created.

Glorious peppermint bark
This rooster's days are numbered
The Hecht Family Signage from Kacy many years ago

I had the time to make a second batch of bark, ready the house for McGyver (Steve's dad) and wrap all of Grady's presents.  The fact that our family worked so well together earlier in the week, helped to make the first day of winter break relaxing and enjoyable.

The rains arrived and a huge thunder and lightning storm greeted us late Friday night/early Saturday morning.  The roads are flooded and I think this means it's time to slow down, soak up the season and enjoy my family and friends.

Happy holidays.

Book Club, Baking & the Bazaar

Advent :: Day 11 :: Create

The daily advent is getting a bit stale with me, but the boy enjoys his daily early morning reveal.  We started the week by sitting around the table and doing a little painting and print making.  A really inspirational book called Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals by Carla Sonheim set the tone for our painting. I stuck to blobs of watercolor and added black Micron pen lines to add eyes, noses and definition to my make-believe animals.  Grady drew an intricate dragon battle scene and painstakingly painted it in.  I absolutely love sitting around the table and listening to him tell me about his process, his creation and his intention with the piece he's working on.  I like when he tries to encourage me, too.

12:12 pm on 12.12.12

Day 12.12.12 left me scrambling for an Advent idea.  This is the lame one I came up with.  Yes, I had already planned on making a smoothie with the last of our hand-picked summer strawberries.  So it would seem a bit of an easy out?  Yes, but I needed the creative break because I would be wrapping, tagging, writing notes, tying ribbons and adorning boxes of Xmas cheer to pop in the mail today.

Dig It! Chorus + Best Friends

The 4th - 8th grade musical production of Dig It! was a roaring success.  Grady was in the chorus and the children did such a beautiful job singing their little hearts out and nailing their lines.  As expected, I teared up at the final song and just thoroughly enjoyed the music, the message and the feeling of being part of this small school community.

Advent :: Day 13

We had our first morning frost on the 13th.  It was a cold and brisk walk to let the chickens out this morning and I did my best to stay inside, drink tea and enjoy the solitude of our home.  

Exploding Heart Stamp carved by moi

Our much anticipated book club selection was Fifty Shades of Grey this month and was hosted by Katy K.  And while the book was horrible and dubbed as housewife porn (yes, indeed) - the food, hospitality and laughter was a nice antidote to the sub-par writing and unrealistic characters from this book.

The highlight of the week was the annual Tomales Elementary School Holiday Bazaar.  This little event consists of mostly donated items from parents & local community members and is sponsored by the PTA.  The children "shop" for up to 10 items at 50 cents a piece.  The dedicated wrappers wrap over 1,000 presents in approximately five hours.  The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary was occurring at the same time, unbeknownst to me.  In the festive bubble that we were in at the school gym, lots of good-hearted people helped over 120 kindergartners through fifth graders select previously loved items to bestow upon their loved ones.  Their spirit was pure and giving (and often funny!).  My heart ached as I slid into bed that night and read the news of the day.  

Heartbreaking.

Devastating.

Senseless.

The night belonged to the guys.  As the sun set and I hibernated in the back part of the house, my two guys spent a few hours mindlessly playing video games and enjoying each other's company.

Simple.
Sweet.
Bonding.

Advent :: Day 15

Saturday morning was a flurry of making.  The canine cookies have been a staple for the last four years and I just love gifting these to our doggie friends.  See our original packaging & recipe for 2010 here and 2011 here.  G creates the artwork and helps mix up the batter and I help keep the production line going and push us towards the finish line.

This year's packaging.  Molly is still his muse.

Isaiah, Grady (9.5 yrs), Isabella (11 yrs), Sophia (9 yrs) + Jocelyn
All dressed up in their party clothes & ready to see Santa

The Jenner Community Xmas party is a thing of beauty.  The Community Center is transformed into a winter wonderland with festive lights, two trees, xmas music, a huge buffet, mismatched china & place settings set out for approximately 90 people.  And while we don't live in Jenner, we are part of their extended community and treasure this invite every single year.

The children's table was the sweetest touch this year

This weekend found all of us a bit over-scheduled and hitting burnout mode.  Emotions were high with the boy and the floodgate of tears were opened Saturday and continued on throughout the weekend.

I had asked Grady to write his letter to Santa.  Writing is something we have to prod him to do.  I think he's a very imaginative storyteller, but he hates the actual putting pen to paper and writing it out.  As he attempted a few first drafts, he became sad and broke down sobbing.  He shared that he felt overwhelmed and climbed into my bed for a good, hard cry.

As I quietly wiped away his tears him and rubbed his back, I was reminded that he is teetering on a precipice between being a boy and a young man.  But he articulated his feelings so very well and for that I was grateful!  I feel overwhelmed, mom, and I don't know why.  Oh, I feel that way, too, and  don't often pause long enough to own it.  I push on and then it all wells up and comes out in other ways that I'm not so proud of.  I was elated & relieved that he could share these emotions and we chatted about what was important about this season and how we can give of ourselves and hope to make others happy in doing so.

After a short rest, he got out of bed and busted out the above persuasive letter to Santa.  I think he knows that the end is near with the Big Guy and this was part of his emotional outcry.  He knows that we are not getting him an iPod Touch or any more Lego sets.  I also know that this was one of the contributing factors to his emotional meltdown, but he sure did put all he had in this letter (with perfect penmanship and all!).

Mom, it feels awkward to sit on Santa's Lap.  Do I have to?

When he finally did get to see Santa, he politely declined the offer to sit on his lap.  He stood up and quietly asked for a camouflage t-shirt.  He then received a bag of goodies from the man in red and said thank you.

When I asked him why he didn't ask for the Lego set, he quietly said I don't think he gives that kind of stuff, mom.

It's hard watching him navigate this emotional roller coaster this season, but I know the growth and experience will help him as he grows a little taller and more independent and into the young man that I can't wait to get to know.

Advent Fun + Skating + Crafting

I have been having so much fun with the Advent Calendar this year.  Each morning I stuff the little red envelope with something fun to do and it's worked out quite nicely.

Principal's List for the 1st time!  Calvin & Grady only two from 4th grade with 4.0 GPAs

The rains have stopped, but the roads were flooded due to the run off from the hillsides.  Between Steve and myself, we trekked to G's school five times in one day.  Between drop off, honor roll award presentation, mobile library, basketball practice & the high school mentoring program meetings...well, let's just say we logged the miles on this day and didn't get very far away from home.

Reflection tree on Highway One near Erickson Ranch & flooding on Hwy One @ Moreda Ranch

Bake & Drink

This stormy weather makes me want to hunker down and turn on my oven.  I made short ribs for the first time this week and they were absolutely delicious.  This entire meal will make a repeat performance the next time we have the occasion for a dinner party.  Also, it's been forever since I made cookies and the advent calendar gave me just the excuse I needed to whip up a few batches for the guys.

The week is drying out and the guys took the opportunity to play a little mush ball and have a little father-son bonding time.

Advent Day #7 did not disappoint

We got around to putting up our little funky vintage silver xmas tree.  We pulled out ornaments, played a little xmas music and had a quiet dinner together.  We were all a little spent from our day, so it was simple and sweet.

I don't ever remember making a gingerbread house as a kid.  Maybe we did?  If so, I just can't remember.  Last year I bought a little kit from Trader Joe's and G loved building it with his dad.  We did the same thing this year.  

Our sweet goddaughter, Isabella, turned 11 years old last weekend and wanted to celebrate at Cal Skate roller rink in Rohnert Park.  Be still my heart.  I had instant flashbacks to when I used to reign as Queen of the Limbo Contest at Roller City in 1978.  I used to order suicides (a concoction of every soda pop they had mixed into one big, gross cup) and skate backwards.  I used to wear white, so I would glow when they turned off the lights and the black lights would go on near the stage.  My mom used to drop me off there all alone and I'd skate for six hours straight.  My heaven.

Roller Derby Wannabes
Mother-Son skates
G playing it cool during the hokey-pokey

I donned a pair of skates with the other moms, but let me tell you - it was not like riding a bike.  Oh, it was harder than I remember, but really, really fun.  Grady tried to play it cool, but he had a bit of a time getting around the rink.  By the end of the day, he held my hand and told me I was pretty good.  A high compliment coming from him.

Homemade hot cocoa + marshmallows

We made our way over to Bodega on Sunday morning for a five hour craft workshop with Stacy *Wonder Woman* Finke at G's old preschool.  This woman oozes style & creativity at every turn.  Upon walking up to the little red schoolhouse, you are instantly greeted with hand-felted garland, stenciled welcome signs & pom-pom ornaments.

G did a little making and then volunteered to work with the little ones outside.  They climbed trees and ran around.  A little two year old named, Ezra, was Grady's shadow for most of the day.  He also joined forces in the afternoon with two alumni from his preschool class, Spencer & Bella, and they got permission to go climb the hillsides across from the school yard.  Oh, how the little boys wanted to go with the big kids.  The perched themselves on the picket fence and patiently waited until they came barreling down the hill, laughing and talking - as big kids do.

Bubbly + Glitter Paper = Super Fantastic Day

I set out in earnest to learn block printing & carving and had great success - thanks, again, to Ms. Finke's guidance & tutorials.  

I then proceeded to make felted acorns, stationary and a glitter bunting to use for the holidays and beyond.  Stacy rounded out the day by serving the kids cookies & milk and the ladies all received chilled bubbly.  And before you knew it...five hours had passed.

New bunting adorning the dining room
Day Ten :: Play Xmas Music All. Night Long.
Tea + wrapping tools
New hand carved stamps

Day 10 found me a little bit exhausted from all the fun we had over the weekend, but I rallied and turned my dining room table into Santa's workshop.  I pulled together gifts for my sister and her girls, as well as Kacy's family.  I wrapped & adorned all of the packages and even got them in the mail today, on time and as planned.  I think that crafting workshop got me motivated and I wanted to make every gift as pretty as I could.

This week was beautiful.

And fun.

This week filled me up creatively.

And exhausted me just a little bit.

Drinking tea today.

Getting ready to do it all over again this week.

Oh, yes.