Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas Eve!
Everybody came over to my house last night for Christmas Eve, which is when us Latvians do our gift exchange and the celebration of the holiday. Today, Christmas Day, is notable for our family, because today is Peter's birthday!
We had tons of fun last night. The food seemed to satisfy everyone: I had roasted a fresh ham all day long, so the meat just melted in your mouth. My mashed potatoes went quickly, as did the mushroom gravy! Ingrid and Brigit brought salad and veggies, Peter and Samantha brought a whole rockfish with Thai spices, which we steamed in my oven. That was a huge fish!
We sang some holiday songs - both in English and in Latvian, and then I read Maya Angelou's poem, Amazing Peace, which I had heard earlier that week on Oprah & Friends. I love the poem, because of the pictures it paints and the powerful ending.
Then we had the Yankee Swap gift exchange (people can choose either from the unopened gifts or a gift someone has already opened). This year's theme was Movement and Stillness -- as Inara said, there were a lot of Zen gifts! Wind chimes, fountains. I bagged one of the fountains which Ingrid had taken from Pop. I love it when someone takes something someone else has already opened; it's like an avalanche of gift picking!
The kids opened their gifts in between, although Peter, Andrew and Aliya now are participating in the gift exchange as well! They're all so grown up!
Omama and Opapa had picked up Vecmamina for the trip from the nursing home, and I could tell that she was getting tired by the end of the evening. (She normally goes to bed quite early!) She walked herself in and out of the house! (With some help from her grandchildren, of course.) Especially early on in the evening, it seemed that she was very very sharp! Sometimes, though, when the talk is fast and furious, she doesn't stay on top of it, but that is understandable.
All in all, I thought the evening was perfect! I had worked for 3 days to de-clutter the first floor in anticipation and it looked great! Now, I have a whole week to work on the second floor, which is where I dumped all of the stuff from the first floor!!! Yay, vacation!
We had tons of fun last night. The food seemed to satisfy everyone: I had roasted a fresh ham all day long, so the meat just melted in your mouth. My mashed potatoes went quickly, as did the mushroom gravy! Ingrid and Brigit brought salad and veggies, Peter and Samantha brought a whole rockfish with Thai spices, which we steamed in my oven. That was a huge fish!
We sang some holiday songs - both in English and in Latvian, and then I read Maya Angelou's poem, Amazing Peace, which I had heard earlier that week on Oprah & Friends. I love the poem, because of the pictures it paints and the powerful ending.
Then we had the Yankee Swap gift exchange (people can choose either from the unopened gifts or a gift someone has already opened). This year's theme was Movement and Stillness -- as Inara said, there were a lot of Zen gifts! Wind chimes, fountains. I bagged one of the fountains which Ingrid had taken from Pop. I love it when someone takes something someone else has already opened; it's like an avalanche of gift picking!
The kids opened their gifts in between, although Peter, Andrew and Aliya now are participating in the gift exchange as well! They're all so grown up!
Omama and Opapa had picked up Vecmamina for the trip from the nursing home, and I could tell that she was getting tired by the end of the evening. (She normally goes to bed quite early!) She walked herself in and out of the house! (With some help from her grandchildren, of course.) Especially early on in the evening, it seemed that she was very very sharp! Sometimes, though, when the talk is fast and furious, she doesn't stay on top of it, but that is understandable.
All in all, I thought the evening was perfect! I had worked for 3 days to de-clutter the first floor in anticipation and it looked great! Now, I have a whole week to work on the second floor, which is where I dumped all of the stuff from the first floor!!! Yay, vacation!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
The Geiers Reunion!
Last night the Viksnins family reunited with the Geier family 15 years after the Geiers moved out of Burleith! It was amazing, just like family, to hang out with people I had known so many years ago and share stories from each other's vantage points. The Geiers had prepared a fantastic dinner which we all enjoyed greatly!
Lily, Alexis' daughter, at one and a half was an absolute treat and gave us a lot to laugh at and smile about. Max showed everyone how he could climb doors which led Mr. Geier to call him "Monkey Toes!" Max loved his new nickname. Bungi performed acrobatic feats across his mother's shoulder, tumbling into her lap.
What a wonderful holiday season!
Lily, Alexis' daughter, at one and a half was an absolute treat and gave us a lot to laugh at and smile about. Max showed everyone how he could climb doors which led Mr. Geier to call him "Monkey Toes!" Max loved his new nickname. Bungi performed acrobatic feats across his mother's shoulder, tumbling into her lap.
What a wonderful holiday season!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Winter Solstice 2007
I've just returned from a wonderful evening at Brigit's. There were many, many people there to celebrate the longest night of the year. We pulled logs around the house three times, singing and hooting and hollering to chase away any of the bad spirits who may still be hanging around at the end of the year. Then everyone got to chop the logs up and put all negative energy into the wood (which, coincidentally, can take it), and Scott built a marvelous gigantic fire on their lawn. Vera joked that he might need to organize another party in the spring to put down grass seed. We went inside and had the tastiest food imaginable! Everyone had put a lot of thought and care into the food they brought. Yumm-o!
Then the show started! We were visited by some budeli (Mummers) who wanted to know if we would buy their horse (who was made of a brother-sister team with blankets over them). At one point, an apple dropped from under Zinta's hair - a real horse-apple! After much hilarity, including Max getting a ride on the horse's back, they sold their horse for money, food, and an accordion. Luckily, after a while, the Rutini returned from wherever they had gone outside and Andris poured hot wax into cold water for us to tell our fortunes in the shapes the wax made.
Daiga and Zinta started playing their accordions and everyone did traditional Latvian dances in the middle of the living room floor. I started getting tired; it's been a very long and full week for me.
Then the show started! We were visited by some budeli (Mummers) who wanted to know if we would buy their horse (who was made of a brother-sister team with blankets over them). At one point, an apple dropped from under Zinta's hair - a real horse-apple! After much hilarity, including Max getting a ride on the horse's back, they sold their horse for money, food, and an accordion. Luckily, after a while, the Rutini returned from wherever they had gone outside and Andris poured hot wax into cold water for us to tell our fortunes in the shapes the wax made.
Daiga and Zinta started playing their accordions and everyone did traditional Latvian dances in the middle of the living room floor. I started getting tired; it's been a very long and full week for me.
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