Home Grown Christmas

Link to video cutting our first Christmas tree

Sabbatical seemed the perfect time to host our first Christmas in South Range. Paula's mom (Pat) arrived December 13 to take in the Duluth CD release (Winter Wanderings) and Sara's parent's (Carol and Elvin) came up after meeting us in the cities for the 10th annual Judson Solstice concert.  We put up our first Christmas tree, cut from our property.  I prefer the idea of letting the trees continue to grow in the forest, but Sara assured me that this one needed to be thinned in order to make room for others! Now, her and Carol have found years worth of tree stands needing such "tending."

December marked the emptying of LOTS of jars from the larder. I am realizing that I am part squirrel AND part hoarder. While I love filling the jars and stacking them on the shelves, there is some anxiety when I start taking them off and emptying them (can you say psychologist?) We are keeping (trying anyway) a log of our feasting from Nammah with the intention of gratitude and mindfulness. The book sits in the center of our kitchen table - the same table great grandma cleaned chickens on and mom played ping pong with her 9 siblings after they cleared it from dinner. So far, only certain meals have been documented. But the intention has proven our theory that Nammah continues to be with us each day. And I am assured that there is plenty as I assess the re-stocking shelves from the studio. 

As we move from the darkness back into the light, I can hear Erin's violin solo on Sara's Darkness Cover Me song.  Every time I hear it I think about the "party" going on underground as the soil and seeds do their winter dance of restoration prior to new birth.  I used to only see death and inactivity.  The more I learn about the need for us all to go into the deepening darkness of quiet reflection, the more life I see in the process. We might not be able to see or hear it, but there is a LOT going on! Perhaps it is my own sabbatical that offers this perspective (and wishful thinking!)

Along with our Christmas tree, Christmas dinner was a home grown affair.  From Nammah: Candied parsnips and carrots, green beans, beets, baked delicata squash, mashed parsnips and potatoes (spuds from the neighbor), two kinds of pickles and a dessert of yellow squash custard pie.

Appetizers included raspberry hot pepper jam and tomato jam (both on cream cheese with crackers from the store). Corn was bought and frozen from a roadside stand.  Though we have attempted growing corn for two years - between the slow growing season and the meager production ratios (2 ears per stalk?) - it is a crop that takes more than it gives in our garden (space and soil nutrients).

The rest of our meal came from within a mile: prime rib roast from Dave a half mile to the south on Range Line Rd.; milk from Ed a mile to the northwest on Pine Grove Rd.; eggs from Bob and Kay a mile to the south on Range Line Rd.

Beverages from Nammah included bloody mary's from Sara's homemade V8 (tomato, green pepper, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, jalapeno) juice and Paula's garlic/hot pepper infused vodka along with the Danish customary skol of berry infused vodka prior to the meal. Christmas brunch included a swiss chard and slow roasted tomato egg bake.  My dream is to add our own eggs to the list of home grown.  In the meantime, gratitude for the generosity of neighbors.


To end the homegrown Christmas - a link to the sound of Sara and friend Elias singing all of the carols in one!

New to the homestead is a log splitter!  This pre Christmas splurge allowed us to put another 4 fireplace cords of wood into the woodshed (neighbor Bob gave us two pick up loads of 1-2 year old cut but not split wood) - AND will (Paula's dream) make us never have to buy wood again! There is plenty around here if Sara will do the chainsawing (scares me)!

Also, we had a floating porch put on the sauna for a bit of shelter to our undressing and...(we don't bother to dress - just snowshow back in our own steamy haze)! ;)