Ah, we have an allspice tree and it is one of my favorites! The seeds sprout up all over the place...and when it blooms the air is filled with the most gorgeous perfume!
I am sure you will sprout them. If not...at least I can send you a baby Allspice tree!
Carol
It's the season to be jolly... so there's no... without...
I'll keep you posted, Carol. Thanks for the offer!
:o)
Dutchlady, your comment makes me so happy!
There are a couple of days left 'till Christmas Eve. Until then, I thought of sharing with you two of our most important Romanian dishes, pillars of Romanian celebratory cuisine. No holiday is complete without sarmale and cozonac. This means that you will find them on our tables for Christmas too. Both dishes can be found, with variations, throughout the Balkans. But let me tell you, since I came to US, I tasted the sarmale equivalents (the Greek version, the Polish, even the American-style) and cozonac (Polish style, and the Italian panettone), but, no offense to any nation above, as rich and tasty as ours there were none! (of course I have to take sides to our national version! But the Italian girl in our lab admitted that ours is better!)
Today I'll tell you about cozonac. It's a desert that requires a lot of work and patience. It is said that a woman is ready for marriage when she can bake them properly.
I confess this is not true, at least not anymore... I got married without knowing the art of making cozonac. And so did my mother, and my mother's mother - Grandma Buita. In fact, at some point, all the women in our house thought there's a curse placed on us... Buita and Mom would work hard to prepare them, each year, about 3 times a year, and they never rose well. They were ugly, really ugly, flat and kind of compacted and hardened (I'm not finding better words to translate the Romanian word we use for this)! But they were tasty nonetheless!
I got married without baking them even once. My first cozonac was "made in US". It appears that the curse lifted, at least of off me. My sister still has trouble with them. I found that the best-kept secrets with cozonac are three: (1) a good mixing robot, (2) a well heated room (this wasn't a problem in Miami, just stopping the AC was doing the trick, but now I'll have to make sure that in the kitchen there will be over 80F for the raising) and (3) lots of patience for them to rise in the baking forms, before sticking them in the oven for the baking.
My "mixing robot" for 6 years was called Silviu. We purchased a real robot (KitchenAid) just after moving to El Paso. We both knew that Silviu's busy schedule would brig him to un-imagined levels of tiredness, so chances were that he will run out of batteries. I will try the robot for this Christmas' cozonac. I tested it with the bread recipe, and I've got nice bread, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for cozonac, too. If this works fine, the Silviu robot will retire with honors from this job, still remaining my sweet loving husband.
The recipe I'm going to present to you is my father-in-laws. There can be variations in the number of eggs (with increasing amounts of flour), the oil is replaced in some regions with lard (either pork or goose), some add other fillings, but the best, richest is with walnuts - after all, they were an almost sacred fruit for the Romanians. It is very wordy and detailed - I translated it for my Chinese friend, Ling, she never baked anything in her whole life until this recipe, and I'm very proud of her, she would make a great Romanian wife!
These intro stories being said, wait a second for the recipe... it can be round or rectangular, according with your aesthetic beliefs...
And now the recipe. Don't worry, the real making takes longer than reading it, LOL!...
Cozonac (plural: cozonaci)
Quantities for 1 kg of flour (this usually gives me 3 cozonaci, of about 1-1 1/2 lbs each):
• 1 KG flour
• 200 oil (sun-flower or vegetable oil)
• 300gr sugar for the dough and an extra 2 tablespoons per eggwhite for the nut filling.
• 60gr fresh yeast (1 pack dry yeast = 17 grams fresh yeast) (so about 3.5 packs dry yeast per 1 kg flour – I use “Fleishmann’s rapid rise dry yeast).
• vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon.
• 7 eggs (large) plus 1 egg for the crust
• gritted lemon zest from 1 lemmon
• 100 wallnuts (about 1 lb), grinded.
• butter (for oiling the baking forms)
• 1/2 liter milk.
• a pinch of salt.
• rum essence – 1 tablespoon in the dough and 1 tablespoon in the filling
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
How to make it:
Very important: all ingredients should be at room temperature before starting (special attention to the eggs, you have to take them out of the refrigerator at least 2-3 hours in advance!!!) – except for the milk, that you will warm up on the stove…
The dough:
1. Break the 7 eggs apart and separate the whites from the yolks (the yellow stuff) carefully, so no yolk breaks into the whites. The whites will be used for the nut stuffing, the yolks for the dough.
2. add the pinch of salt to the yolks, break them and stir in them until homogenous.
3. the milk is placed on the stove under low heat to warm up
4. put the yeast in a bowl or cup with 2-3 spoons warm milk and 1 spoon of sugar so it rehydrates and starts a bit of rising (air bubbles start to form).
5. while the yeast is rehydrating, add the sugar (300 grams) and the spices (lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 spoon rum essence) in the rest of the warmed milk. Stir until sugar is dissolved. The temperature of the milk should be around 36-40°C (you can hold your little finger in it and it doesn’t burn you)
6. put the flour in a large form (where you’ll be doing the kneading). Remember thet the dough will rise, so the bowl/recipient has to be big enough to hold it for the initial rising!!!).
7. as by now the yeast should start to bubble a bit, add the yeast and the yolks (wash the remaining yeast and yolks from the bowls with a bit of the warm milk and pour it in the flour as well) and the warmed spiced and sugared milk to the flour, and start mixing with your hands until everything is homogenous. Stop kneading when the dough starts forming bubbles. The dough consistency should be medium and elastic.
8. start adding the oil gradually, in about 2-3 batches, kneading each time to incorporate the oil into the dough. You will notice that the dough becomes softer, but still elastic. It also should be easily removed from hands (not sticky anymore) and you should still notice tearing bubbles in it.
9. cover the recipient with the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise,while you prepare the filling. Keep the dough warm (turn AC off or, if it is cold inside the house, place the recipient in front of the open hot oven, about 1 meter away)
The filling:
1. Beat the egg whites with a mixer until foam seems solid. Then add the sugar (2 spoons for each egg white = 14 spoons) (I add the sugar in 3-4 batches) and continue beating until sugar is all incorporated.
2. Add 1 spoon rum essence and 2 spoons cocoa powder. Mix well (on slow, so cocoa doesn’t fly away from the mixing bowl).
3. finish the filling cream by adding the grinded nuts. The filling should be creamy in consistency, but you should be able to yake out from it with a spoon and should not leak from the spoon. Kind of like an intermediate between soft cheese and sour cream consistency)
Shaping and baking the “cozonaci”:
By the time you finish preparing the filling, the dough should have risen a bit. So start preparing the shapes.
1. rub the insides of the baking forms with butter, so it is spread in a thin and uniform layer. You do this so they wouldn’t stick to the pan during and after baking).
2. estimate by eye how much dough you would need to fill about 1/3 of the backing form (with the filling added, they shoud occupy ½ of the form). Remove that amount of dough from the main recipient and place it on the perfectly clean table (it’s best to grease the table with oil or butter before, so the dough doesn’t stick on the table while you mold it). If it tends to stick to your hands, grease them with a bit of oil or butter. Split that amount of dough in two.
3. take the first lump of dough and flatten it gently so you get a square (more or less) of dough on the table, that is about 0.5-1 cm thick. Spread nut filling over it (about 0.5 cm thick). (Do not get scared if the dough tends to come back or shrink, it is elastic, remember…) Start rolling the square so it becomes a baguette.
4. do the same thing from the other lump of dough.
5. as the two rolls are done, place them next to each other and start braiding them (wrap one on the other). This will provide the nice wavy surface of the cozonac. If you don’t feel confortable about this, just go back to steps 2 and 3 without splitting the dough in two. This will give you a flat-surfaced cozonac.
6. once the braiding (or, if you want to skip it, the rolling) is done, carefully lift the whole thing and place it in your backing tray (greased with butter, remember!?).
7. repeat these steps with the rest of the dough (1 kilo usually yields me 3-5 cozonaci, depending on the size of the baking trays.)
8. let it rise in the baking tray until the cozonac rises to the rim of the baking pan (be patient, this may take time, ½ hour (at least) to 1 hour (the usual time))
9. at this point, take 1 egg (also room temp, you don’t want to ruin your cake now, at the last moment!!!) and break it in a small bowl. Break the yolk and beat the egg like for omelet. Either with your finger or with a small kitchen brush, spread a thin layer of egg on the surface of the risen cozonac (If egg is cold, the dough will regress!). you can then sprinkle on top a bit of granulated sugar, or decorate it with walnut halves, if you want).
10. put the cozonaci in the oven at 310-315 degrees (I usually fit in 3 at a time). This temperature will give them enough time to finish rising and bake in about 1 hour.
11. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN IN THE FIRST 30 MINUTES!!!
12. after 45-50 minutes, check on them: if they gained a dark golden-bronzed color, you should test if the inside is baked as well. You do this with a toothpick as follows: poke one of them with a toothpick until almost all the toothpick is inside. Then quickly remove it from the cozonac.
a. If the toothpick comes out clean, than it is baked inside, and if you are satisfied with the crust color, you can take them out.
b. If the toothpick comes with pieces of dough or crumbs, it still needs more baking. From now on, you can check on them every 10 minutes, until they are ready)
13. after you remove them from the oven, let them cool down in the baking forms for about ½ hour, then carefully remove them from the tray by gentle shaking. Let them cool down completely, and then
14. ENJOY!
How old were you when you finished making this? :>)
hahahahahah!!!
('',)
I love baking but that would just take too long. LOL!!
I spent the day making Cashew Brittle and Cookies to give out to the neighbors. I haven't had time to do that for many Christmas seasons. I'm usually at work during this week. It was fun. If we didn't need both our incomes I could really enjoy staying home and living the housewife life.
I love hearing about your customs Alexandra! When I was growing up we didn't hear much about your country or it's customs. I understand there's some lovely countryside to see, and I enjoyed the pictures you posted a couple months ago. I might never get to see it in person, but you've made me wish I could.
Beautiful wreaths, delicious foods, great stories, and wonderful people - knowing the folk on this forum is the most wonderful gift of all. I am really enjoying all the family traditions.
Alexandra, so glad that you have your thesis off for revision - I bet that's a load off your back! I bet it's pretty well near perfect!
Aloha
Traditionally my husband, Bob, is a totally left brained linear engineer who is buried on the computer when he isn't in his shop making something. Much to my surprise and delight, he brought in a Christmas Tree which sits on the dining room table.... Some 'traditions' should be broken, no?
There is hope....
Well, I'm happy to see laughter! Carol, are you talking about writing it down, or actually making it, LOL?
I've prepared cozonac from anywhere between 1.5 and 3 kilos of flour at a time. The last time, me and my "robot" prepared only 1.5kg, and it didn't pass the night. Started in the morning, and it was gone by midnight. My friends ate it almost all, and they were a bit disappointed on the small take-home packs... but everyone had a little serving for home.
The biggest, I swore I will not attempt again. I spent my whole day standing in the kitchen, almost 12 hours, and I was too tired the next day...
Now, for this Christmas, I'm thinking 1.5 should be enough, so when Daddy comes here, he'll still find some. My hubby eats half of one cozonac by himself, as soon as they are cooled enough so his tongue doesn't blister... I'm looking at him right now, and I bet you he's praying that the ones prepared with the robot will turn as good as the ones kneaded by him, so he can retire from the job!
To answer Carol's question: every time I made it, I felt like I'm getting younger! I'm in the ninth cloud each time my food gets eaten.
Wonderful new tradition! Love the tree and the decorations!
Obviously Bob had been giving this some thought to design and then a lot of work to produce. I love it. No worries about fires from lights.
Our son and family is coming in from Oklahoma tomorrow, we will go to DML who will be 91 on January 4th for the afternoon (75 miles away), to my brother's home where all of the extended family meets every Christmas Eve, then to everyone to our daughter's for Christmas Brunch. It is a blessed time of year for all of us.
Each of you holds a dear place in my heart. Merry Christmas and may God Bless the celebrations of the Christ Child.
Christi
Thanks. My son calls it the Athiest Tree! Actually it is a piece he made for his lathe and then got inspired....
Christi...you are truely blessed with so much family....and so much love. We all are, I feel...
Alexandra...more stories, more food stories!!! What was Christmas morning like for you as a child?
Aloha
Carol, we're getting there... but for us Romanian kids, it's the Christmas Eve when... I'll tell you tomorrow. Today will be sarmale day (in my posts and in my kitchen!).
Christi, it's wonderful your Christmas plan, feels like caroling to DML's house!
Have a Jolly Christmas, everyone! I'll be back a bit later today (have to translate my sarmale recipe)...
This thread has been such an enjoyable read! Thank you Alexandra for starting this. We have many Christmas traditions in our family, but I don't have time to list them all right now. It is Christmas Eve here, and I have some shopping and cleaning to do in preparation for a houseful of guests tomorrow.
May all your holidays be filled with magic and love!
Yokwe yuk,
Shari
Ah, sarmale... (one sarma, two or more sarmale. If you talk about the dish in general, you use the plural)
I'm going to quote my favorite cook-book writer:
"Sarmale - the ancient (people) made them, and the Turks, and the Greeks, the Serbs and the Polish. But only we (the Romanians) make them in about twenty (20) versions, like this: with different meats and vegetables, with greens, with smoked pork, wrapped in cabbage leaves, linden leaves, in beet, in... flowers or whatever surprises you, with dill and sour cream, smoldered on low fire for days. And the raw material is not the same either: Next to the sheep/lamb, the pig is the other Romanian animal, good for legends, even if these days is more and more persecuted and sent to the corner by the new degreased culinary fashions."
They are beloved by us and the foreigners, and it's another of those meals a woman must know how to prepare so she can marry... again, there are loving Romanian men, that will ignore this... my Mom knew how, but didn't have confidence: "what if they unwrap in the pot?". We always had sarmale while Buita was with us. After she passed away, one of my aunts came over and made them. Then I made them (I didn't care if they would unwrap...). My mom would use the same ingredients, but would chop the cabbage, put alternate layers of cabbage and meat and (without worries) it would taste great none-the-less. Maybe she did them for a very few times the "proper way". Now, back home my father makes them (my sister inherited the "sarmale-fright"?), and here I do.
I will never be afraid of any dish.That was my decision a long time ago. I only used two wraps: cabbage leaves (either sweet or pickled - sauerkraut) and grape leaves. I learned to make them while watching Buita, and my Aunt Florina, it's easier to see somebody wrap one for the first time.
The recipe is almost the same, no matter the wrap. However, the wrap makes them so different... so let me get rid of this topic first:
The wrap:
You can find grape leaves in stores, in the pickles area. They work just lovely. Back home, we would pick grape leaves (as big as possible but also as tender as possible) and we would boil the min salty water (plus a dash of vinegar) to soften them for the wrapping process.
The cabbage: I noticed that here are at least two different kinds in stores: make sure that you buy (or pick from your garden) the one with soft leaves. The other one, no matter how long you boil it, will behave like cardboard, and you will never be able to wrap anything... So once you have the cabbage, remove the 2-3 outer leaves, give it a wash, and then you have two options: either immerse the whole cabbage-head into a pot of boiling water, and then you will remove the softened leaves from the head, one by one. Or, take a knife and cut about 1-1.5" from the stem. This will free many leaves, that you would then immerse in the salty boiling water. It takes about 5-10 minutes for the leaves to be ready for the job. (I use the later version).
The last version is used for the pickled cabbage (Romanians pickle it whole), the leaves are already ready to wrap.
Ingredients (apart for the wrap):
1 kg pork meat, ground (it has to have some fat in it, for my taste. This is why I buy the meat, then grind it. This way I KNOW I have some fat...)
2 big onions, finely chopped
1 cup rice
2 eggs
salt and spices accoprding to taste: black pepper (ground), savory, basil, dill (I love dill best for the grape leaves), paprika
Tomato paste/sauce
chicken broth
Adding bits of smoked bacon or somked meat gives them a more winter-y flavor.
Preparation:
(I grew up in a mixed family: Transylvania and Moldavia intertwined. It was take a little, give a little, even with sarmale... The Moldavians use frequently half pork half beef mix, ours were pork. The Transylvanians pre-cook the meat on the stove before wrapping... not in our house...
You have the option: the longer way, to cook the chopped onion in a bit of oil, on the stove, until translucent, than add the meat in, stir, until meat changes color. let cool, then add the eggs and spices.
Or do it the faster, easier way like me (no frying at all): just go ahead, mix the meat, spices, onion, eggs and rice. That's it, simple! (at the end, no one will know...) I like to add 1 can of tomato sauce in the meat composition, and mix it in.
Now that the filling is prepared, the wrapping, or shaping the sarmale: the big outer leaves yield 2 sarmale a piece for me, by removing the main vein. The smaller leaves go for one. Again, differences in the Regions, the Moldavians like to wrap small ones (as small as a walnut), the Transylvanians make them big-style, as big as a man's fist. I meet them midway.
Different cooks will wrap different ways. My way: take a heaping spoonful of mix and place it on your leaf piece. Then, wrap it like an envelope, making sure that the leaf covers all the meat. My friend Lumi's way: the same mix, place it in the upper side of the leaf, then roll it, then poke the margins with your fingers, until you see no meat anymore (so, no matter what you do and how you do it, make sure that the meat is all in).
Place them in a pot that can go in the oven. When you filled the first layer, you can sprinlke bits (1/2' cubes) of smoked bacon or smoked ham. Then, a fine layer of chopped cabbage, then another of sarmale, until you have about 1-1.5" to the top, or your materials are over.
Add another tomato sauce can mixed with chicken broth and some more spices to the pot, so the sarmale are covered completely by the liquid mix. Cover the pot (If the lid is not oven-proof, cover with aluminum foil, but poke a hole with a knife or fork, so it can vent a bit). Stick them in the oven set at 350-375, and forget about them for 1-2hours. Check them to see if they still have liquid, and gently press them back (they start to expand a bit, and tend to "lift"). If needed (I usually do) replenish the liquid (either chicken broth, tomato-chicken broth, or even water will do fine). Forget again about them for another hour or so.
After 3 hours, they should be ready. But they are best next day! they are so good, that no one will ever complain of an "improperly" packed sarma!
Bon apetit!
I just read the posts above, and I jusr realized that, for some of you, my dear friends, it's already Christmas Eve!
Have a Jolly Christmas!
Love and hugs,
Alexandra
MY CHRISTMAS E-MAIL
I have a list of people I know, all logged in my computer,
and now at Christmas time I have gone to take a look
and that is when I realize that these names are a part,
not of the computer they're stored in, but of my heart.
For each name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime,
and in that meeting they've become the rhythm in each rhyme
and while it sounds fantastic for me to make this claim,
I feel that I'm composed of each remembered name.
And while you may not be aware of any special link,
just meeting you has changed my life, a lot more than you think!
For when I do a Christmas E-mail that is addressed to you,
it's because you're on the list of people I'm indebted to.
And whether I have known you for many years or few,
in some way you have been a part of shaping things I do
and now that Christmas has come, I realize anew,
the best gift life can offer is meeting people like you.
A MERRY CHRISTMAS SEASON to you
AND HAVE A HAPPY, HEALTHY
AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR !
Christmas in the Forest household this year:
I'll bake this afternoon: Alton Brown's cheese cake and a walnut & amaretto cake. I have to pick Gail's meds at the pharmacy and we have to go to Lauderhill for my aunt's Night Before Christmas dinner. Frankly, I could have done without that. If you repeat this, I will have to deny it strenuously.
We are entertaining tomorrow for dinner: 14 guests for Christmas dinner: garlic-studded roast pork, barbecued ribs, all thea trimmings friends and family around the table. It is going to be great.
So, ifr I don't have the time to swing by here again before the 26th, Gail joins me inwishing you all a wonderful Christmas.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
We will spend Christmas Eve doing our family obligation at the in-laws, then Christmas Day - breakfast with french croissants and opening some small presents, just hanging out with family, then we go to the beach, watch the sunset there, then everone carts food over to a friend's house where they will cook our beef tenderloin on the grill, we drink and eat until we're full, probably light a bonfire to end the evening.
I can't imagine it being more perfect.
Happy Holidays everyone.
I want to make my wishes for the Christmas to you. Romanians wish quite simple, for all the good things.
Our most sincere thoughts and wishes come towards you today: may your Christmas be jolly and plentiful, and your life filled with happiness, lots of good luck, health and blessings! May all your wishes come true now and forever! And let every New Year be peaceful, successful and full of love, for you and your dear ones!
Merry Christmas! and A Happy New Year 2009!
(Craciun Fericit! si La Multi Ani 2009!)
Love and hugs,
Alexandra & Silviu
(I will come back to share with you the kid's Joy of Christmas Eve, because this evening Old Man Christmas will come, with his bag full of presents)
Let's see...today I will clean the kitchen thoroughly...water the greenhouse, shovel out my desk so I can see the top of it, go to the village and check the mail, get a massage early afternoon and then home for our traditional: Porterhouse Steaks, Caesar Salad and French Fries (home made, of course)...with champagne! No family here...so we are flying solo and doing what we want! Tomorrow? Well...that's tomorrow. In the morning I will give Bob his present: new pruning shears. Saturday we are having friends in for Leg of Lamb dinner. Christmas seems far away here - always did when we were on the boat too. I may be sentimental, but everyday in my life seems like Christmas !
Aloha nui loa to all -
Carol
Santa Claus grew up with us...
Since I can remember (probably around 3YO) and until about 7, Santa came faithfully to our house. It happened on Christmas Eve. Until evening, we didn't do anything special, except bothering the adults in the house (parents plus a pair of grandparents) with our never-ending question "so when is Santa coming?" It seemed that time would stop moving, that's how long this day of anticipation was for us. When the daylight would start dimming, our strength in shooting the question found new proportions. The door towards the living room would close, and we would be hushed towards our room, to make sure it's clean in there, or else Santa would not come. (Have to admit I was a very meesy disorganized child, so I was lucky my sister was very opposite to me... things changed now). Mom, Dad, Buita and Bubu were somehow in our ray of vision almost continuously. There was not a chance they could be Santa (like some kids in kindergarden and first grade would say)!
We would escape from time to time, pressing our ears to the living room door, and sometimes it would seem we heard a move... but we were told we'd know when he arrived. And when we least expected, somebody would say: Mos Craciun (Santa) is here! Oh, what a rush, who gets first into the living room!...
Santa would come "live" in our living room! He would bring in the tree, too. Still very puzzling: how did he manage to bring in an already decorated tree, with lights? But who cared for this question anymore? We would go to him, sing a song, tell a Christmas poem, and then answer the tough question: were we good? listened to our family? with a peak towards Mom, Dad and Grandparents, we would lower the heads and say... yes! A questioning look towards our folks, their nod, and then...
Then Santa would start taking out of his bag presents for the two of us, and our friends (if they were with us - how did he know?). Grandpa (Bubu) would sing a carol for Santa. Then he would say that he has other kids to go to, wish us all the best wishes, and leave. We didn't mind, as the following hours (that now seemed minutes) we would be very busy!
OH, Alexandra...that's you, isn't it? What a darling child!!!
In my first year of school, suspicions started to rise. Almost all kids would say Mos Craciun doesn't exist. I didn't want to believe that, and fought by all means with those stoopid kids, secretly telling myself that he will not come to their house anymore just because of that. We complained a lot about those kids. Our family ignored our complaints.Evening of the Christmas Eve came again. The access to the living door was still denied in the evening.
That was the first year when Santa didn't come. He got sick. No, I'm serious! He got sick, and couldn't ride his sleigh. So he called us. I looked behind me, while holding the phone (I guess it was my first phone conversation too), and counted: Mom, Dad, Buita, Bubu. All of them... I'll show those kids... Yes, Mos Craciun, I've been good, ...did my homework, ...yes, listened to Mommy... really? Already? In the living room? ...Under the tree?
I couldn't wait to hang up on him, but I refrained myself, told him a short poem, then ran into the living room. There it was, the Christmas tree, as Mos Craciun said. And under the tree, the presents!
The year after that was the first time I saw my Daddy carrying a tree into our yard. Then and in all the other years to come, our family started the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree. We would all participate, even Mom and Buita, who were always busy in the last hours before "Santa would come". It was probably a deal, between us and Mos Craciun: if we decorate the tree, then presents will arrive.
Of course by now we would not try to catch Santa's arrival anymore. We would willingly go to our room, until somebody would say: "Santa was here!". And there were always presents under the Christmas tree. In all the years, hard, bad or good, Mos Craciun always came. In the years to come, of course the mystery of Mos Craciun's arrival would be solved... our house has two entries, one that we were told that is blocked. I think I was 12-13 when I first entered through that entrance. The little hallway was the presents' hiding place, and for a while it was locked every "before Christmas"...
Until this day, and until forever, our Christmas tree will be decorated on Christmas Eve. I don't know why to us Santa Claus comes on this day, when in most other countries he comes at night, when nobody could see him. It's not only my home, but the homes of many, if not most, Romanians.
While my husband and I are still waiting for Mos Craciun, he already went and delivered presents back home. He now has another kid to treat in our childhood house. My sweet nephew told his poem and sang his little song as fast as he could, so Mos Craciun would give him his presents. He was also asked if he was good, listened to his parents and his Bubu, ...you know, the works! He very well deserved his presents from Santa.
What surprises me is that we're still kids, and there is a present, unopened, under the tree back home. Apparently, we were good, my hubby and I. So Mos Craciun left us a present there, and maybe a few here... My Dad will come here to deliver the present from Mos Craciun, but for me he'll be the best present to come from our home far, far away.
Hello, Carol! Yes, that was me a long, long time ago; if the year is correct, I was 3 years old then.
Merry Christmas my dear friends!
Hugs,
Alexandra
Lovely. Yes, thanks for the thread...and being so loving to share your heart with us this Season....
Carol
Merry Christmas Alexandra, and to all!
Since we couldn't visit our parents today, we spent a good time on the phone with them... We also got some pictures from back home. It looks that Mos Craciun was so tired after delivering the presents there, that he forgot to take his sack back... My nephew did a thorough search to make sure there are no more presents in... He talked to me on the phone, sang me a carol, and recited a sweet poem, and then tried to enumerate his presents, but he got tired after a while.
Otherwise, we both had a huge amount of food, spent some quality time together and had a good rest.
Sweet dreams to you!
Alexandra
There's no New Year without: fireworks... champagne... good friends... parties... carolers' songs for the new year... kisses... kids staying up late... beautiful dresses... food... dance... more food... TV... music... old comedy sketches... phones ringing until the phone networks fall down... smiles... predicting rain with onion skins... tears... even more food... singing... good friends...
And still more good friends. For us, now for the second time, New Year is the other Christmas, as my father came to stay with us. It is a new and happy tradition... (I hope that my husband being on call for the New Year's Eve will not become a tradition...)
I actually wanted to post more, and I missed some days, but I will make it up to you for the next winter season! But until then, we'll meet again much sooner!
Have a Happy New Year, my beautiful friends! Feliz Año Nuevo! Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! Bonne Année! Ein Gutes Neues Jahr! Un An Nou Fericit!
Hugs and lots of love and best wishes,
Alexandra
Aloha Alexandra,
Hau'oli Makakiki Hou. I can see that you will be having a great time visiting with your dad!
What a good looking family!!!!
Happy New Years to all of you and yours!
Carol
Alex, how wonderful to have your Dad there! I'm sure you have enjoyed his visit.
Hope you had a great day!
Jeanne