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Mindy Kinsey |
My Favorite Things About November and December — A List in No Particular Order
- Food: Most of the year, I stress about food: what to eat, when to eat, and
how much to eat. What to cook for dinner. Grocery shopping. Popcorn as a
food group. But then Thanksgiving comes, and the whole point is to gather
with people you like, then eat. The menu never varies, everyone pitches in,
and it's OK to eat. Then Christmas comes, and with it more food. I
specialize in toffee, while my friend makes excellent peanut brittle and my
mother-in-law makes the lightest butter cookies. I feel almost French during
November and December — I eat what I want and really savor it, knowing
we just don't have these foods any other time of the year. It's
marvelous.
- Decorations: In October, I always get an overwhelming urge to bedeck my
home with rusty objects, hay, frayed cotton, and candles. I'm not a country
décor gal, but it happens every year. After Halloween, I trade the
rustic black cats for rustic turkeys, and keep the cotton, corn, pumpkins, and
hay. At Thanksgiving, the rust and country disappear and the Santas appear.
I decorate everything. Then in January I put it all away and enjoy my
(comparatively) tidy home.
- Smells: Cinnamon. Pine. Roast turkey. Vanilla candles. Wood smoke.
Mmmmmm.
- Christmas carols: The first CD I ever bought was George Winston's
"Winter," and it's still one of my favorites. My husband introduced me to
Dean Martin and "Baby it's cold outside." My son loves a song about an
"everlasting fruitcake." From Thanksgiving 'til the new year, I listen to all
Christmas music, all the time.
- Real Mail: In November, I get birthday cards, and in December, Christmas
cards. I like getting something other than bills, junk, and catalogs, and I
love the hokey verses, general holiday letters, and school pictures of my
friends' kids.
- Catalogs: But don't be fooled, I like catalogs. We get stacks of them,
which I flip through during lunch. It's fun to shop the world without leaving
home.
- Cider: I usually get my first cider of the season in October, when Jack
and I go apple picking. We keep it in the house all winter and drink it warm
with cinnamon.
- Pumpkins: Pumpkins are so comical. They're orange. They're an odd shape.
Their stems are curly. They're full of goop. And for some strange reason, we
carve faces into them. But the seeds are pretty tasty.
- Movies: It's just not Christmas unless I watch "White Christmas" and
"Holiday Inn." Plus, "A Christmas Carol," "A Charlie Brown Christmas," "How
the Grinch Stole Christmas," and all those great claymation movies. I don't
watch much TV, but I have to have my holiday fix.
I hope you find a few of your
favorite things in this issue. Happy
holidays!
Mindy Kinsey
Editor in Chief
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