Sharing Christmas - These are a Few of My Favorite Things - One

Carols and all kinds of Christmas music are wildly important to me during this wondrous season. And for some reason, this one is snugly wrapped around my ears and heart.

It's an unexpected combination of big orchestra music, Art Garfunkle and Amy Grant. The Frog, approaching the Baby Jesus is a favorite but, really, I can't address Christmas cards without listening.

And, while we're at it, I have to hear the Alfred Burt Carols and I just love sitting around with the candles burning, lights on the tree and, oh yea, the cards, with James Taylor singing his way through my night.

This year my son brought home the dazzling acapella fun of Straight No Chaser. These post college funsters met at the University of Indiana and have been singing fabulous harmony ever since. At our house, we love the 12 days of Christmas and the Christmas Can Can. My Dear bought tickets for the family to see them last weekend. The boy was beaming as Dad told the story was told at the Thanksgiving party table of procurring 3rd row for us all. Unfortunately, darling boy turned out to be darling fluish boy for the weekend, so he and I stayed home. His younger sister accompanied Dad and Uncle Scotty to the event. The next morning she came out to the living room where flu-boy lay, wearing a big T-shirt signed by all 10 members of the group. "Do you like my shirt?" she said. Of course he thought it very cool and responded with a quiet, "yes". At this point she peeled that layer and tossed it to him saying. "I got it for you Big Brother."

Check these boys out on iTunes. The big album is worth every penny - you get videos! You can also find Straight No Chaser on iTunes and YouTube, and their website is pretty fun.

So there it is. A few of my favorite Christmas music albums (and a sweet story of Christmas love).

Fa la la la la la la.

The found delight.

I have been working. Back to work. Working. Working. Working.

And this morning my dear husband needed me to make the trek to my eldest's acting class 40 miles north. But he had a carrot. A wonderful little massage place called, "Foot Inspiration." He'd happened on to it several months ago. And on his Saturday jaunts to the Valley, when he isn't writing or brunching with a friend or client, he stops in.

The initial draw was the foot massage. 1/2 hour for $18. It includes hands and face and feet.

As I walked out the door he handed me $27 for the massage and $5 for a tip. I figured my feet were going to feel great but oh, there was so much more. A cozy chair, calming music and partitioned areas where the masseuse works. No disrobing required.

My friend started in on my head, my face, my shoulders, then off to my feet and over (in the Barcaloungerish which flattens out to a chaise) for my back. I was completely relaxed, joints manipulated and muscles all smushy.

What an unexpected treat. Just as my kiddo was winding down a morning of improv comedy exercises, I was winding down from winding down.

Don't tell my dear, but I might make that drive again. Foot Inspiration, who knew?

Quotable Sunday - THE HELP

"I watched Lou Anne slip away in the parking lot, thinking, There is so much you don't know about a person. I wonder if I could've made her days a little bit easier, if I'd tried. If I'd treated her a little nicer. Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought." 
- Kathryn Stockett, THE HELP

I must say, I loved this book and it's unique voicing.

How I love being taught by the other Mamas ~ The Name is Mom

"Thank you, Mom!"

Very simply, I love learning more about being Mom. I am in the phase with a pre and a teen where I'm doing the mom thing differently. I feel more awake and aware in it than ever. I like it. My awakening is to the changes around my folks. They are thinkers and doers and interesting people. My mothering requires wisdom and thought.
Imagine how thrilled I am to find this post from Mary at The Yellow Door Paperie on teaching gratitude. I hope you enjoy it too. What inspires you on your path?

Satisfaction Saturday - a movie review or two

In this week, I've had more than a little satisfaction in movies. As I continue the recovery after my fractured shoulder surgery I find myself with the perfect set up for movie viewing. I have to sit (or lie) in my bed six times a day for an hour and a half with a prescribed, rented, high tech, ice machine. Here are two really good recovery movies.

First, a completely satisfying and highly recommendable portrait of Dr. Robert Kearns, the true inventor of the intermittent wiper blade: Flash of Genius. I loved the long walk on this movie from Dr. Kearn's "ah ha!" of an idea to create the "blinking eye" wiper, to his final presentation of the facts in Federal Patent Court. I enjoy Greg Kinnear as an actor, and this might be my vision of his finest portrayal. Kinnear is only slightly endearing in this case, but so fully dedicated and willing to be this man who fought the cheating-because-they can giants of Detroit. Watching with my 13 year old son gave me the pleasure of talking with him about what we might give up when we dedicate ourselves to the service of an ideal. In Flash of Genius, Dr. Kearns may have lost some, but we all gain, when one of us is willing to go the distance for what truly ethical and right, regardless of the recovery. 

The second film took me completely by surprise. Rachel Getting Married, is the view of the wedding week with the central character, Kym (who is in recovery) and her working-oh-so-hard-to-function-in-spite-of family. I knew almost nothing about the movie, except that it's up for an academy award, Jonathan Demme directed, and Anne Hathaway stars without lipstick. It's not the easiest movie to watch. The way it's shot I felt at times like I wanted to sit further and further away, like I was getting too close to the family and the drama. But I wanted more and more. Debra Winger plays Kym and Rachel's rather removed mother in a performance I found painfully dichotomous. I hated her distant yet proximate relationship to her daughters. (Really hated) And at the same time, I wanted to see more of her and understand how she managed to live so cut off from truth. Bill Irwin, as dad, is a marvelous portrait of dad, constantly rewinding the unraveling edges.


There is this brilliant moment when Demme has Kym's character very literally drive into a Y/why (?), that provokes such understanding of her character and desperation to be clear and cleared, that it took a while for me to release the deep breath I was holding for her. 


Living through the wedding with Kym, while she struggles to hang on to her 9 months of clean, is worth every minute of difficulty you might find as you seek the redemption the whole family requires.

If you want a review of a movie for kids check this: You'll Laugh, You'll Cry. 

Check out Journey to a Simple Happy Life for a e-course giveaway. Very cool!

The Fragrant Freesia - In Search of Spring

Freesia probably changed my life. The beautifully, delicate and fragrant flower entered when I was the VP of a marketing team in a big corporation. The creative director in my group would stealthily place a handmade, sky blue, pottery vase on my desk or table filled with Freesia at the first bloom each February. They were so pretty. But then their fragrance became more engaging even than their appearance.
I would notice the faint beckoning of tea topped with the Freesia's sweet finish. Coffee drinker that I am, I'd often find myself strolling for a cup of Earl Grey in the blooming winter months.
A couple of years into this, I decided to plant a few of my own Freesia. They are simple to grow and bloom prolifically. They also are more than willing to share summer space with carrots or broccoli in the big clay pot in the garden.
So today, I share them with you and encourage you to plant a few. The whites (don't you love white flowers?) are particularly fragrant. You'll find them at the nursery, but I found some specialties at Annie's Annuals.
Here's my favorite: Freesia
As to how they changed my life, you have to stop to smell the flowers and to brew the tea. The change is in the stop.

Potage Magali - Mediterranean Tomato Soup with Rice a la Julia Child

The soup base
3/4 cup thinly sliced leeks and onions or onions only

3 Tb olive oil

1 1/2 lbs. fresh, ripe, red tomatoes

4 large cloves garlic, minced or mashed

4-5 cups liquid: light chicken stock, or canned broth and water

1/4 cup plain, raw, white rice

Bouquet in cheesecloth:

6 parsley springs, 1 bay leaf 1/4 tsp thyme, 4 fennel seeds, 6 large fresh basil leaves

A large pinch of saffron threads salt and pepper

In a 3 quart stainless or enamel saucepan, cook the leeks and onions slowly in the oil to tender. Meanwhile, peel and halve the tomatoes, squeeze out seeds and reserve juice. Chop tomato pulp roughly and stir into the cooked leeks/onions. Add the garlic and stir over moderate heat for 3 minutes. Then add the tomato juice and liquid, bring to a boil and sprinkle in the rice. Add herbs and saffron; season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.

Finish

Carefully taste for seasoning, adding pinches of sugar to bring up flavor and counteract acidity, and small amounts of tomato paste if needed for color and taste. Remove herb bouquet.

To serve

Serve hot or chilled and sprinkle with minced fresh basil, chervil or parsley.

Recipe courtesy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume Two, Julia Child/Simone Beck. On Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Finally, a plug for Mrs. Child, I'd prefer not to live without MAF/I & II, so, I highly recommend the investment in cash and time. She provides brilliance. And my family waits for her Zucchini Tian (VII). 

I Love:: Seven. 9 cent coffee.

Beyond the mild roar of the big rooms and the queues waiting for sandwiches at Philipe's, is the secret, deeply desired 9 cent cup of java. I doubt Starbuck's would pair a cup of the bean with a French Dipped Sandwich. But then Starbuck's wouldn't charge me 9 cents for a cup that is just a bit smaller than a tall. So good on it's own. Without cheesecake. Ahhh love.

I Love:: Three - the landmark - Philippe's

History may repeat itself, but there are places we visit where something new can be found in the old. Philippe's French Dipped Sandwiches is like that. My family introduced our niece and nephew to Philippe's over Christmas break. It was great fun. The kids all sat in phone booths with the wood framed door closed, and perhaps for the first time, talking on phones tethered to the wall. 

My niece was astonished to find a place that really only offered one thing - the French Dip sandwich. (She'd had Subway for lunch and figured it would be the same. Mais non!)

Philippe's boasts inventing the French Dipped Sandwich sometime after it opened in 1908. Apparently, the owner dropped a sandwich roll into the roast juices and voila! l'histoire was made. The next day a police officer came in to have that sandwich again. And so on.

Our group ordered beef dips. A couple tried twists like adding bleu cheese (wonderful) or using Philippe's French mustard (hot) and were delighted. 

The place has a couple of rooms, with decor related to it's location near Union Station: circus pictures and a train collection. I watched the kids loading up at a big common table and looking at the old stuff which was quickly deemed cool. It is. Very cool to be a part of Los Angeles history. To sit in a restaurant where I know my mom and dad ate, where my husband ate with his parents, where, we get to go to LA's downtown and dine with Angelenos from all over the basin.

I recalled my first trip to Philippe's. I was working at my first advertising job as an account executive. A group planned to drive down to Philippe's for lunch and invited me along. All I'd heard was that it was French and I considered my cash accordingly. We all piled into someone's car and when we arrived, I was stunned. A big brick building where you queue to order and sit at any number or shared tables. I was thrilled at the potential for saving lunch money - sandwiches were cheap and coffee was then, 5 cents. (It's 9 cents now.) But I was most thrilled by this bit of history where I could see back in time a bit - lining up with weary workers for a hardy meal. I could picture a young, snappy reporter from the Los Angeles Times and that historic beat cop who ordered the first beef dipped sandwich and the builders of the Los Angeles infrastructure all together. 

It's a tasty picture.

http://www.philippes.com/