A Christmas Tradition part II

2011-09-12

Last time I told you all about how Little Crates come to life and today I want to expand somewhat on how the Little Crates are filled.  Because without some “innards” my Little Crates would be somewhat boring.

So come the 18^th or 19^th of December the house is filled with the scent of little Christmas stollen ( a German Christmas cake somewhat on the line of fruit cake with or without nuts).  Not only do I bake the little stollen—25 to be exact, but I also bake a Schwarzbrot (Blackbread—also a specialty here in Germany).  The bread isn’t very difficult to make.  You basically just throw the ingredients together, ease the batter into the loaf pan and put it into the oven in the evening.  Here it bakes for almost three hours.  After that I turn off the oven, where it stays overnight to cool off slowly.  Very often when I take it out the next morning the bread is still warm!  Wow!  And because the bread bakes so long you have to make sure that you don’t need the oven for the next 12 hours.  But I am getting off of the subject.  Stollen, Blackbread and cookies have to be made. To add some texture and body to the crates, I wander off into the woods gathering evergreen twigs, pinecones and anything that catches my eye.  Walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts along with small chocolate balls (brightly wrapped with colored foil) and clementines (those small oranges that find their way into the grocery stores every year sometime in October) are also added for eye-appeal! 

The baking takes about 3-4 days, turning my house and especially the kitchen into a commercial-like bakery of sorts.  Everywhere you look, you’ll find some kind of evidence that something out of the ordinary is taking place.  Little buttered bread pans scattered throughout the kitchen along with extra bags of flour patiently waiting to make their entrance.  Slivered almonds, orange and lemon extract, currents, rum (yes but just a tad—I really like Myers’s Jamaican Rum) and of course the spices.  Allspice, Cinnamon, Nutmeg are among the spices I love using.  During this time, my husband finds it very difficult to withstand the tantalizing scents coming from the kitchen.  And besides there are always those “mistakes” that need eliminating, right?  (Maybe this year I will put him to work and let him help—smile) 

Well baking is the first step and when the goodies have cooled they need some tender loving care so that they are still fresh on Christmas Eve.  I individually wrap each little cake first in plastic wrap and then once more with aluminum foil.  I dress up every tiny “package” by adding a small red ribbon and a teeny sprig of evergreen.  Together with the shiny foil it makes for a picture-perfect print.  (Hey that’s great idea for a Christmas card—which by the way, my Christmas cards are also all handmade!)  When the baking is over and done with, the next task at hand is collecting all the goodies, the crates, the decorations and the sweets.  Everything gets lined up on the long dining room table so that the assembly is as easy as possible.  When I hit this stage of the game, not only does the kitchen show signs of wear and tear but the living room turns into a decoration warehouse filled with all sorts of bits of string, red ribbons, evergreen twigs, small ornaments just to name a few.  What is really sometimes unsettling is that, well, this usually takes place on the 23^rd of December and takes me close to ½ a day just putting the crates together.  My husband is usually trying to put up the Christmas Tree, with all the problems that are associated with getting the tree just “perfect”.  So he often needs an extra hand to hold this or straighten that.  (I think I could write a whole page on the “joys” of putting up a real tree…maybe next time).  Not only is the living room topsy-turvy, but it being the day before Christmas Eve means that all has to be cleaned before I go to bed that night.  Whew—just writing about it makes me wonder how I get everything done by 12 noon on Christmas Eve.  

A Christmas Tradition part I

2011-08-22

Hi so much has happened since I last wrote.  I was telling you about the history of „Little Crates“ when Life kind of got in the way and interrupted.  That’s how life is sometimes. 

But I still want to tell you how things evolved. 

The Christmas tradition was, at first, for all the „crate receivers“ a highly new and different experience.  Not very many people take time out of their busy Holiday schedule to deliver little gifts of appreciation.  And especially not on Christmas Eve!  But being different is part of me—smile—and I love surprising people!  What I never anticipated is how this fun tradition wore off on my children either!  They, too, were „hooked“ and each year looked forward to our drive around town.  It just wasn’t Christmas if we didn’t drive through town delivering goodies!

All year long I am on the look out for nifty ideas on how to fix up the crates for Christmas.  Looking for interesting patterns or catchy cute ideas to paint on the sides of the crates.  This picture has to be clear by the 1st of December—theoretically that is. (Grin)  There are years when I get so wrapped up in work and family that I don’t really get around to painting the crates till a week before Christmas.  Yes I know that sounds like I am cutting it awfully close . And you’re right, I am.  (very close!)  It definitely leads to a higher stress level.  And yet, I love painting my little crates.  You know, getting in there mixing colors, listening to my favorite christmas songs and just getting into the holiday spirit.  It is so therapeutic and causes me to smile alot.  Funny thing about the time crunch that often surprises me just before christmas—my creativity seems to kick in and things just flow from then on.  Know what I mean?  Well I always end up putting a lot of love into painting my crates.  I guess that is what makes them special and why people have come to love them as well.  When the crates have been painted (all 15 or so) the work continues.  Because an empty painted crate is exactly that: EMPTY.  Now it’s time for the goodies that fill the crate and give it character. 

That, my friends, is another story which will appear next week.

Thanks for listening… Have a great day!

Little Crates!

Little Crates!

This Blog is about part of our family history.  As an American far away from home I tried to create some traditions of our own.  Quite by accident, the tradition of „The Little Crates“ began at Christmas time. 

Before I continue it is imperative that you know that It is absolutely my most favorite time of the year.  Ah, sleigh bells, candles, cookies and hot chocolate....yes I love Christmas!  Well, anyway, with 3 little children all looking forward to the coming of „Christkindchen“ (the Christ Child) it was necessary to give „Christkindchen“ time and space to deliver all the presents.  To accomplish this, I decided it would be kind of cool to pack all the kids in the car and drive around taking in the lights and sounds of Christmas. 

Actually that is what my mom and dad did with my sisters and I when I was growing up.  What my parents also did was not just drive without any seemingly reason.  My parents with us in the back seat drove around looking at winter houses dressed in their entire holiday splendor but at the same time the drive around had a deeper meaning.  My parents brought home the idea of spreading holiday spirit by delivering festive candy boxes to those having to work on Christmas Eve (e.g. Police Department, Fire Department, State Police etc).  So we had our own little tradition in Illinois.  Upon finishing our 1 ½ hour drive, we would often come home to discover that the Christ Child had indeed visited our house filling our home with gifts of love.

Thus, I too, packed our kids in the car and drove around.  Yet we didn’t deliver candy boxes, we delivered small presents for close friends and relatives.  Of course these gifts need packaging!.  But being a stay-at-home mom money seemed to be a never ending issue.  This just made me a bit more creative and that is how I stumbled upon little wooden crates.  They start popping up in the grocery stores around September each year filled with juicy tiny mandarine oranges!  Instead of throwing these cute crates away, why not fix them up and fill them with small gestures of holiday cheer?  Well the idea of „Little Crates“ was born. 

But not to bore everyone too much I will continue the history of “The Little Crates” next week.

Best regards

“Putzi”

Geburts-Taufe-Männer-Geburtstags-Crates

Hallo,
Da sind wir wieder! So, wir können ein paar neue Dinge berichten:

• Es gibt jetzt auch "Baby"-Crates; dies sind Crates zur Geburt oder zur Taufe. Baby-rosa... Baby-blau... Kleine Hände, kleine Füße... Leider gibt's noch keine Fotos, aber sie werden schnellstens folgen.
• Es gibt jetzt auch "Männer-Handtaschen"; Crates für den Mann, der (fast) alles hat. In den Farben des Lieblingsvereins, mit'm Bierchen oder alles, was ein Mann sonst noch zum Feiern brauchen kann...
• Es gibt jetzt auch Crates für den (runden oder nicht-so-runden) Geburtstag. Zum 60. kann's auch ein bißchen gold werden...

Also, meldet euch per Post bei uns. Fotos von einer kleinen Kiste zum Geburtstag findet ihr hier:

Crate zum 60. Geburtstag mit einer antiken Vase und einer Spitzen-Tischdecke

Little Crates

Liebe Leser,


Dieser Blog entstand als Projekt für ein Englischseminar an der Universität. Da das Seminar schon längst vorbei ist, liegt mein Blog schon eine Weile brach herum.
Dies möchte ich nun ändern und mit meiner Mama zusammen ein neues Thema starten: LITTLE CRATES!!!
Meine Familie hat schon immer gerne gebastelt und Gebasteltes verschenkt... Seit Jahren basteln meine Mama, meine Schwester und ich "little crates": Kleine Holzkisten, die man für jeden Anlass gestalten und füllen kann. Diese Crates bieten wir nun Euch zum Kauf an.
Falls Ihr ein einzigartiges Geschenk benötigt und keine Ideen habt, meldet Euch bei uns! Wir helfen Euch!


Viele Grüße,

Heidi, Putzi

Hier ein kleiner Vorgeschmack! So könnte Euer persönliches Geschenk zu Weihnachten, zur Taufe, als Dankeschön, und und
und aussehen! Meldet Euch!

Epiphany

The more or less professional conversation between Steven and Mary was slowly blossoming into a friendly – almost affectionate – talk about life, Steven’s choice of becoming a publisher and Mary’s love for literature. A stranger, who might have been watching them, would probably have said that this could be the beginning of a great love story – the stuff that Hollywood was made of. Steven truly enjoyed Mary’s intelligent and deep remarks that she – at times – accentuated with her dry sense of humor. And Mary felt at ease in Steven’s presence. Finally a man who was interested in books, in poetry, in the written word… It seemed like fate that she had ended up sitting next to the publisher of the author whose reading she had so looked forward to. Fate – that this man didn’t seem to notice her shyness and inexperience with men and other people in general.

They were so engaged in their budding talk and themselves that Mary almost jumped out of her skin when they were interrupted by the star of the evening, Marc Jacobs. Marc was accompanied by a stunning Hispanic-looking beauty, whom he introduced as Susan Fernandez. This Hispanic goddess immediately took over the talking-part and both men lost themselves in her dark brown eyes. Mary stood there – unsure of herself – feeling less comfortable by the minute. She didn’t know what to contribute to this meaningless chat, what to say, how to sound sophisticated. These people were high-fashion. She didn’t belong here, didn’t fit in, couldn’t stay – so she left. – Without saying a word and without anyone noticing.

As if Mary was never part of his evening, Steven was totally wrapped in Susan’s eyes and was hanging on every shallow word she was saying. Susan knew how to play with men. She knew which buttons to push to get just what she wanted. And Steven was just like any other guy she had ever dated. – So wealthy, so predictable. Just bat your eyes a little, show a little more cleavage than appropriate, tell them how great they are and then – they were all hers. They always were. And Steven and Marc were no different. Why was it that men always looked into her eyes but never into her heart? Why couldn’t she pass for the person she desperately wanted to be?

Blinded by Susan’s brown eyes and red lips, light-brown-haired Steven, a hunk with his muscular, though short physique, could hardly contain his desire. He wanted Susan so badly that he didn’t notice how her attention started to shift, when Hollywood’s rising blonde star, Hugh, arrived. Although Susan almost instantly went from admiring Steven to openly flirting with Hugh, Steven felt a great lost, when Susan – absent-minded – said her good-byes to Marc and Steven only to disappear in a black limousine. Steven stood in the middle of the still crowded conference room and felt like a lost puppy. What had just happened? How did this just happen? He was so used to getting his way with the ladies that he did not see this turn coming.

Now he felt lost at his own public event. He felt out of place. Just – just – just like Mary had felt. Mary – who had been so refreshing genuine… Steven, feeling ashamed of himself, took his coat and hat and left.

The Rhetorical Device of a Three Part-List

For next week’s lesson we are expected to read chapter four in Using English from conversation to canon by Janet Maybin and Neil Mercer. This chapter deals with the topic of rhetoric in English.

At one point the author of this article, Robin Wooffitt, explains two rhetorical formats that seem to be notably effective in especially political rhetoric. One of these formats is a so-called “Three part-list”, i.e. when a speaker tries to make a point with the use of three specific elements. For example, Barack Obama’s victory speech, which he held on November 4^th 2008 in Chicago, contained numerous three part-lists. Here are just a few:

“It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America”.

“And above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.”

“Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.”

“America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do.”

When I read this part of chapter four, I started to think about the way I speak when I am in a heated discussion about any given topic and I began to smile to myself: I guess, I am a born politician. I love to argue and when I try to make a point, I often use a list of three. I also noticed that I had used this rhetorical device several times in the short story that I wrote for class:

“Finally a man who was interested in books, in poetry, in the written word… ”

“She didn’t know what to contribute to this meaningless chat, what to say, how to sound sophisticated.”

“She didn’t belong here, didn’t fit in, couldn’t stay – so she left.”

So, maybe this rhetorical format doesn’t necessarily have to be taught because it comes natural to us?! Maybe one should just point out that the way in which a point is presented is sometimes more influential than its content. Maybe this insight would prompt people to be more alert when the listen to speeches by politicians, priests or anyone else!?