I remember when I was a child my mom would say, oh I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas again! And I would think, what are you talking about lady, it’s been FOREVER since last Christmas and this is the slowest month ever! (I wouldn’t actually call her lady, I’m taking a little poetic license here.)

In any case, I definitely  understand her sentiment now. Didn’t we just have a Christmas and now there’s another one? I’m so glad I had a huge family gathering last year and that we got to spend a few days together, since things look…a little different this year.

But things are good. I’ve done a fair amount of baking, and I added some decorations. We’ve also been celebrating Hanukkah in the household here since that’s also part of Louie’s background, and I figured we should celebrate his background as well as mine. I’m sure our holiday celebrations offend equally, but I’m also sure there are plenty of households out there who have reason to celebrate both holidays, and this year is definitely a year to find celebration where one can. It’s good to sit and reflect, and (in my viewpoint) consider where you’ve come from and what you can do in your life to make the world a better place. I hope my violin lessons and classes do that, help each student to have a better day and to be a better person through music.

I had bought a cheap tree topper star a few years ago at Target and it broke this year. I was looking online to see what to have and found an awesome and gaudy light up star that you just plug into your existing light plugs (which I happened to have on top of the tree.) It did require a mechanical engineer to get it to stay on top of the tree, but it brings me great joy.

I’ve been doing a “series” on Instagram with an ornament a day. This violin was a gift from my first violin teacher and I love it.

The cats enjoying each other’s company. Or something!

This little fellow is happy even without one of his arms!

The first night of Hanukkah. Latkes, beet salad, a bit of caviar (we are fancy like that). We even played a bit of dreidel as we watched the candles burn.

I made a delicious orange chocolate chip ricotta cookie that will go on my “make again” list.

I remember reading a book in which the Gingerbread Man was a dangerous serial killer but no one could catch him. What book was that? Jasper Fforde?

Louie mentioned that eating blintzes was something he had done as a boy during Hanukkah so I made some one morning. They were great!

I got a new nutcracker from World Market. They do a limited edition each year and I’ve gotten in the habit of buying it (at least I have the past few years.) Each year it’s a different Santa, usually something from around the world, and this year was Mexican. He is a cute little guy.

A few more nights of lights. We don’t have a good place to light the menorah safely in front of a window (cats, cats, cats) but I have a delightful electric menorah in the front window that I turn on each night of Hanukkah.

Louie isn’t a real “plan for the holidays” sort of person, but I realized after a few years of decorating for Christmas that he was feeling like it wasn’t exactly right for his traditions without including Hanukkah. Since doing so last year, I could tell it meant a lot to him and that he enjoyed feeling more a part of the celebrations. He’s not a religious person, but he has his own traditions and sense of self, and holidays are such a part of that, aren’t they?

Blue crinkle cookies in honor of our shared traditions. I started making these…last year..and I took a recipe, made it vegan to share with Louie’s brother, and they tasted sort of weird and like playdough. I made them again this year but a different way and they taste like weird cookies with a fake banana flavor, which is crazy because I used real bananas!

How is your month going? What unusual or strange traditions do you have in your house?