The Cozy Mystery List Blog

A few weeks ago, Alfred posted a great comment that I thought would be ideal to post during the week before Christmas. (Thanks, Alfred!) Here is Alfred’s comment:

“Danna – Just a quick note. How about since it is coming up Christmas time – Do the readers have any family traditions or special foods they like to get or make for Christmas time. Thought it might be a good column for future.“

Alfred, I totally agree>>> This is a great entry idea!

We have a family tradition that has sort of come out of “necessity.” Since our Riverwalk is so beautifully decorated during the holidays, we make our way down there every year. But, because the traffic is so absolutely atrocious during the holiday season, we don’t go down with the rest of the crowds. We wait until Christmas Eve to go take in the beautiful lights.

As for food, it is the only time of year when I actually bake cookies from scratch. I don’t know if that qualifies as a special food, though. Oh, and also, since all four of us have been able to spend the holiday seasons together, I make a meal that all of us love during the week either before or after Christmas: Mary Bass’s Tacoritos. Love them! And one more thing, I am going to try to make some felt ornaments (copied from some that my grandmother made years and years ago) so that I can sort of share the tradition of hanging her hand-made ornaments with my family. I know my sister would especially love them.

Do any of you have special family traditions that you keep alive during the holiday season? How about special foods?

Happy Hanukkah!

May you have a blessed and joyous Hanukkah.

 

My daughter will be flying in from Massachusetts later on today, and I know that she is hoping that our warm and muggy days hold out during her visit. The weather out east has been an eye-opening experience for her.

Yesterday we were wearing elbow-length shirts, but today is supposed to only get up to 63*… Not as bad as Cambridge winters, but certainly not as good as our previous 70* days.

Every once in a while my husband and I talk about where we would like to retire – when he finally retires. He comes from Ohio, and I have such fond memories of my grandmother’s home in northern Iowa >>> Those two states come up a lot. We had a little bit of a cold snap two weeks ago (I think it got down in the 40s) and my husband again said we should scrap those two states off of the list of possible retirement destinations…

I have to admit, although I miss the beauty of the four seasons… autumns with the beautiful leaf colors and winters with the pristine snowfalls. I also remember driving on black ice, doing a 180* unintended circle on a bridge (thank goodness there were no other cars present before I was able to straighten up… and also, that my car stopped before going over the side of the bridge!)

Getting back to the original point of my entry… My daughter is flying in for the holidays, and I am in the midst of trying to get the house cleaned. (When did she start taking on a “guest” status to me?!?) We are so fortunate to have our son still living here in town, so it will be the four of us for the holidays.

It seems my housework break is up… I have a few more things to get done before picking her up at the airport…

I have the same routine that I go through every single morning.  As soon as I come downstairs, I take care of “my birds.” For those of you who have been “with me” for a while, you know that since our sweet 16 1/2 year old puppy left us, I have taken up feeding the birds in our back yard. (Just call me “the crazy bird lady”!!!)

This morning, right after I finished filling the bird feeders, cleaning/filling the bird baths, and tossing the first (of several) handfuls of raw peanuts on the ground, I came back in to get on with my daily routine. As I was getting my first cup of coffee, I heard a ruckus of Blue Jays outside. For those of you who don’t know – Blue Jays are loud!

I looked out and was absolutely shocked to see a Cooper’s Hawk in our yard. In the twenty years we have lived in this house, I have seen a couple of hawks flying over head, but never (and I mean never) seen one land. And this one was in our yard!

However, this morning this hawk had not only landed in our yard, he was enjoying a hearty breakfast >>> I was absolutely floored to see him… and a few blue feathers laying by him. Right here in our residential neighborhood, where we all have approximately the same tiny-size cookie cutter lots!

My husband and I decided that since the hawk had already “done the damage,” we should just leave him alone – to avoid getting vultures in the yard later. Once the hawk was finished, he just stood there for quite a while. He looked like a different bird… He was so… “full” that he actually looked like he was shaped like a duck!

According to our trusty Bird’s of Texas Field Guide (by Stan Tekiela): “This hawk will come to feeders, hunting for unaware birds.” While he was standing there for such a long time, I was hoping that he wasn’t making a mental note of our address!